Browse Our Archives

Resorts across North America have been busy adding attractions for spring, summer and fall.

Okemo, Vermont

Okemo has added the Sawyer’s Sweep zipline tour to its Adventure Zone. The high-flying treetop tour, located on the mountain behind the Jackson Gore Inn, features a rope ladder, suspended bridges, tree platforms and seven ziplines, all 40 to 50 feet above the ground and ranging from 300 to 900 feet in length. Guides provide technical assistance to keep guests safe as they entertain and educate visitors on local lore and legends. Total vertical for the tour: 300 feet. Okemo hopes to see 4,000 visits by end of the calendar year. Phoenix Experiential Designs created the tour, and Okemo staff assisted with the installation.

Okemo’s Adventure Zone is adding several other items. The 30 x 50-foot Amp Energy Big Air Bag, introduced in January as an on-mountain feature for skiers and snowboarders, is catching free-fallers during the summer. A new slackline, set close to the ground, challenges visitors to test their balance. Okemo is also inaugurating Segway tours and constructing a rock-climbing pinnacle.


Whitefish, Montana

Whitefish is investing more than $550,000 to add a new zipline, bike trails and an aerial adventure park.

Montana’s longest Zip Line Tour gains an additional line, dubbed Inspiration for its view. The new zipline--a dual, like all those at Whitefish--adds 1,900 feet of flying to the Tours. It stretches one tour to more than three hours, covering more than a mile of ziplining and 500 vertical feet. Riders on Inspiration are up to 200 feet above the ground, and cross over four ski trails and one lift. Zippers, in guided groups of up to 12, ride the Bad Rock Lift to the start. The lift eliminates some of the hiking that was previously required.

Inspiration was designed and built by Whitefish staff, as were the other lines. Crews poured tower foundations last fall, then installed the towers and cables in June. Wet weather delayed completion past the planned June 16 opening date.

Later this summer, Whitefish will launch a five-acre Aerial Adventure Park, with five courses ranging from beginner to expert, in front of the base lodge between the zip tours and the existing Alpine Slide. The Park was designed by Outdoor Ventures Group. Construction was set to begin in late June, with an Aug. 1 opening date.

Whitefish also plans to add two new freeride (downhill only) mountain bike trails to its system. Each will have more than 2,000 feet of vertical drop and, with connector trails, add 4.6 miles to the system. Pending Forest Service approval, the trails could be open by late summer/early fall.


CAMELBACK, PENNSYLVANIA

Camelback is investing $3 million to add a mountain coaster and top-to-bottom zipline to its CBK Mountain Adventures, a separate entity from both the ski area and the Camelbeach waterpark. Mountain Adventures launched in 2010, and operates April to November. The new attractions, though, will operate year-round.

The 4,000-foot-long, tandem-run Zip Flyer is said to be the longest and fastest (up to 60 mph) in North America. The line has a 700-foot vertical drop; it begins at the mountain summit, soars over the waterpark (to the surprise of many in the park), and ends in the parking lot. “Although the Zip Flyer has only been open a few months, we are already selling out all of our sessions,” said spokeswoman Megan McHugh.

Camelback is also installing a new steel-track 4,500-foot coaster targeted to open at the end of July. The ride nestles along the Raceway trail and incorporates two 360-degree turns, one at treetop level. It was designed and built by ADG Alpine Mountain Coasters, part of the Aquatic Development Group. Camelback staff assisted in the construction of both new attractions.


DEVIL’S THUMB RANCH, COLORADO

Devil’s Thumb’s new High Lonesome tour mixes adventure and history as it showcases the spa and cross-country resort’s 6,000 acres on the Continental Divide. The tour opened in late May.

It’s unusual in a couple of key respects. The course starts high up on the property, a 25- to 30-minute ride from the base area via a 1970s Pinzgauer troop transport, a rugged 10-passenger 4x4.

The three-hour tour, designed and built by Texas-based Adventure Experiences, Inc., starts in the trees and ends with an open-slope zip and an expansive view of the entire ranch. The zips range from 370 to 1,600 feet, and are up to 78 feet above the ground. Top speed is 40 mph. Zips are linked by short hikes of two minutes or less.

The course blends into its surrounding in a forested area, out of sight from the main lodge. Tour guides provide historical information about the ranch’s ties to Native American, railroad, and logging histories, and chart the area’s development as a Nordic center and spa (and not, as was proposed a decade ago, as an upscale golf
community).


JIMINY PEAK, MASSACHUSETTS

The resort is adding to its Aerial Adventure Park and offering two new attractions this summer, the Soaring Eagle Zip Ride and Segway tours.

Jiminy’s Aerial Adventure Park, which serves up varying levels of treetop challenges including suspended bridges, swinging logs, and ziplines, is adding a sixth course, a more-but-not-most-difficult option. The new course features floating bridges, a log bridge, “pogo sticks,” and a ladder climb, along with ziplines and other surprises. Jiminy is also freshening existing courses with new elements to keep past guests on their toes. Among the new elements: three new ziplines, one with a 3-1/2 story drop, along with more bridges and wire rope walks.

The new Soaring Eagle zip ride is a lower-thrill and lower-energy attraction. Unlike a typical zipline, the two-person Eagle is pulled uphill on a cable 800 feet into the trees, then is released to glide back down to the starting point. This child-friendly ride is separate from the more aggro aerial park.