If you’re visiting Asheville, you’re likely a fan of the mountains and fresh air. And have I got a fun activity for you, Navitat Canopy Adventures! If you’re in the mountains enjoying all the fresh air and trees, how about taking a flight over them? While I know many of you love to hike, flying is exactly what you can do with Navitat, just 15 minutes north of Asheville in Bernardsville.
I had seen some good online reviews for Navitat Canopy Adventures and while I was a bit nervous signing up, the perfect 5.0 star rating on Google reviews made me confident that it would be a blast! Sign up online and you can choose from the Mountaintop tour, Treetop tour, and Treetop Express tour which range from $59 to $110 in price. The drive up to Navitat is relaxing, you pass through some scenic territory to get to their building, a low-slung structure that blends in well with nature!
Check in inside and browse through their merch while you wait for your tour to be called. TV screens overhead list the scheduled parties and participants along with the approximate start time! After you get called, head over to the equipment area where you’ll be provided a helmet and harness and snugged up tightly and go through some safety checks. You’ll also be given your zipline trolley and if you want to rent out a GoPro camera or if you have brought your own action camera, get it attached to a helmet mount.
Hop into the Navitat van and they’ll bring you up a VERY steep hill to the launch point. This van ride is crazy scary and you’ll feel like a mountain goat navigating up some rutted, mountain passes. Once you’re offloaded, hop on the platform to your first zipline and you’ll immediately get hooked up to the line for safety. Your guides are with you every step of the way and were great at making me feel at ease despite my fear of heights. One guide will zip on over to the other side of the line to prepare for your party’s arrival. Communications over walkie-talkies will let the launch party know when all’s clear!
And when it’s your turn to go, yee-haaa! Grab onto both handles of your trolley and with a little push off the platform, you’re off! Your body weight pulls you forward, it actually may be a challenge for smaller, lighter zip-liners. It’s scary at first but you’ll be amazed at the views around you and the landscape flying beneath your feet. Some of the zips are over 400 yards in length and you’ll hit speeds up to 40 mph. Exhilarating would be the right word in my book! While the mountainscape around Asheville and the Smokey Mountains are usually stunning, flying high above it all, is a whole another perspective. Keep both hands on your zipline trolley to keep yourself pointing straight!
At the other end, the zipline is designed to slow you down or there may be a braking device to mechanically slow you down as you approach the platform. Once on the platform, you’ll be clipped into a safety line and wait for the next folks in your party to come through. The Treetop tour had six or seven ziplines which go by pretty quickly! After going through them all, we walked back to the Navitat building to remove our equipment and check out some pics of ourselves on the trip! And don’t forget to tip your Navitat guides if you enjoyed yourself, I’m pretty sure you will.
So if you’re an adventurous type, you can’t really do better than Navitat Canopy Adventures. It’s a fun outing for people of all ages and sizes and a great way to enjoy the beauty and nature around Asheville.
Take a Spin Around Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Wilson