TreeTops Zipline Canopy Tour

Adventures on the Gorge’s TreeTops Zipline Canopy Tour starts on the porch of a little tin-roofed cabin, where you meet a pair of tour guides who get you outfitted with a harness, helmet and leather gloves. Then, there’s a 10-minute, ground-level training session, where any fears are quelled as you practice how to hand brake and learn how to reel yourself back in. (The personable and friendly guides also help reduce nerves before the first zip.)

TreeTops Zipline Canopy Tour’s location along West Virginia’s New River Gorge National Park promises a scenic experience as you traverse the 11 zips, seven suspended sky bridges and 1 mile of hiking over the course of a three-hour adventure. 

The first two zips are about 30 feet above ground and 200 feet across, and after the second one, participants who have had enough excitement can exit the course. But see it through, and the zips start to get a little longer. Early morning tours might even get a splash of dew as they pass through the treetops. 

Eventually, you settle in, just in time for a 430-foot zip that passes over an expanse of trees. If you happen to let out a scream, Adventures on the Gorge guests staying over at the cabins can hear you thanks to echoes created by the mountains. The second-to-last zipline is a favorite of the experience. At 1,800 feet long, it offers views of Mill Creek Gorge while you fly through the air for about 60 seconds at speeds between 35 and 40 miles per hour. 

Back at the start, you return your gear and congratulate yourself on a job well done with a complimentary beer or soda you that can enjoy on the front porch of the cabin. 219 Chestnutburg Rd., Lansing, West Virginia 25862, 855/379-8738, adventuresonthegorge.com