Zip Lining Adventures

Last year Mark and I visited Shenandoah River State Park and "Zipped the Park" with Virginia Canopy Tours.  Since we had never done more than a short zip lining course we wanted to try it out ourselves and get a feel for if the kids would like it.  After two zips it was pretty clear that this was something the kids would LOVE.  I started planning a trip in my head that would involve the kids and a return trip back to the park. 

Now I will share a little secret about some of the adventures we go on....it's called Living Social.  That site has some really good deals and some really fun things to try out.  That is how Mark and I went on our first Canopy Tours Trip last year.  This year it offered a similar deal and knowing I wanted to take the kids I jumped on it and bought 4 packages.  The regular price to zip is $89 but the package price on Living Social was $39.  Can you say BARGAIN! I booked a room for a night in Front Royal (same place Mark and I stayed last time) and made our reservations for the zip lining.  Virginia Canopy was very easy to work with and even helped me switch times when I needed to add an extra person. 

This time I knew to get the Go Pro...if you do nothing else...get the Go Pro!  It's an extra $35 and worth every penny!

 

 

8 zip lines, 1 set of air stairs, 1 air bridge, 1 repel down,  2 nature walks and an ATV ride up to the zip lining start=3 teenage kids that thought their parents were awesome for arranging to do this with them. 

 

Living Social has a similar package going on now.  The price is a little higher but includes an inner tube so you can float on the river after all that zip lining.

 

 

The park itself does have camping...so if you do want a little more adventure thrown into your trip then check it out. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zip Lining the Park

This time when we said we were going on an adventure....we really meant it.  We spent a few hours this last weekend flying from tree to tree, suspended by cables, going up to 40 m.p.h. and hanging up to 90 feet off the ground!  And we did all this while visiting our 19th Virginia State Park! 

Shenandoah River State Park has partnered with Virginia Canopy Tours to offer zip lining in the park.  We bought a couple of packages off of Groupon a few months back and decided this was the weekend to give it a try.  The park, near Front Royal Virginia, was amazing.  If you are looking to camp here while on your adventure then they have the perfect spots.  We didn't camp because we were just going up and staying the one night and honestly I don't want to do all that work just for a night. 

We went up during the day on Friday and toured some of the wineries (there are PLENTY-we only hit 4).  Then later Friday night we wandered over to historic Front Royal and spent an evening chowing down on good food and listening to good music.  We've been near the city before but didn't actually look around so this time Mark and I took our time wandering around.

  

Saturday morning we drove down to the park and got checked in.  If you don't already have a park pass you do have to pay a small fee for parking ($5).  There are plenty of signs to direct you to the Zip Lining.  Along with the zip lining you get a T-Shirt, instructions, a lift up to the site.  There is also an air bridge, air stairs and a final repel down.  The price according to the web site is $84.  If you want pictures or to rent a Gopro there is an additional fee ($35).  I am totally kicking myself for not renting it!  They do take pictures at one point of you zipping but it's not the same as looking down and seeing how far you are off the ground!  And you aren't supposed to take cell phones or free hanging cameras.  They do all the rigging for you so you just sit down and fly.   

      The longest zip was over 1000 feet long and up to 40 miles a hour!  I even managed to get a "That was cool" out of Mark...who doesn't impress easily.  I swear I would have to set the house on fire in order to get him really excited!  He did say he would like to do it again...so you KNOW I'm already planning that adventure!   I would recommend that if you don't have a Gopro or someting similar you rent or borrow one from a friend.   This is one adventure you are going to want to share with all of your friends!

Shenandoah National Park

In October of 2010 the Busy Bryants went on the Great October Adventure to the Shenandoah National Park.  The trip was planned for this time of year in order to catch the leaves changing into their beautiful autumn colors.  But like most females Mother Nature is a little unpredictable.  The trip was still pretty amazing even without the autumn blaze.  We were accompanied by my parents, my sister and her hubby and all three kids in tow.  We made the plans about three weeks in advance and gave ourself two days and one night to get up there and back. 

Small town in Culpepper

Part of the fun of this trip was getting up to the northern entrance in Front Royal, VA.  We took mostly scenic routes and went through some small towns in order to get there.  I loved the places we passed through and made a note to come back and visit those places some day.  What I did not love were the curves (me+curves=barf). But a couple of dramamine and some fresh air did the trick and we were on the road soon again.   

Before going into the park we did make a pit stop at Glen Meadow Winery.  Located in Front Royal near the entrance to the park this winery had a nice place to sit and sip the wine while taking in all the beautiful views.  You can sit here and actually see the cars up on the Shenandoah Parkway.  

 Once we had our wine we finally headed for the park.  The Shenandoah National Park is in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and is 105 miles from the start in Front Royal to the end in Wanyesburo.  The fee to enter the park varies depending on time of year and if you plan to be there for more than one day.  But it cost somewhere around $15 per carload for two days.  They provided us with a park map that highlighted the important stops.  For the most part we found the park easy to navigate and the picnic areas marked for visitors.  We had plans to stop along the Skyline Drive and hike at a few of the stops.  I had found the park website was useful in describing which ones had waterfalls or points of interest.  There are also a couple visitor centers that sale books that have the same information, some with better detail.  The visitor centers also have park rangers that can answer questions and will do informational talks to guest about various park subjects.  There is so much history to the park so there was a lot to take in.  And with all the scenic stops there are a lot of sites to see. 

Lunch was a mixture of picnic foods that everyone in the family brought for the trip and was at one of the picnic areas provided by the park.  Plenty of tables with charcoal grills placed through the area.  These areas also have bathrooms for visitors.  I only recall one place to get food within the park.  And I did not see that until day two.  So you would need to exit the park for food unless you bring it in with you.  That was also the same with gasoline.

Before night could set in we exited the park at the Luray entrance/exit and stayed in a motel in the town of Luray.  There is camping in the park but because we were only going to stay overnight we opted for the motel.  Camping in the park is outlined on their website and a few visitors we talked to were happy with the accomodations they offered.  The park also has two hotels/resorts.  From what I could tell on the website you had to exit the park to get to them so I figured any hotel would be just as easy to get in and out of and then back to the park.  There were not as many options with dining in Luray as we had hoped but managed to find a pizzaria with plenty of choices on the menu. 

In the a.m. we headed back for the park to finish off the tour.  Our second day we used the guide books from the visitor center and planned a hike on one of the many trails. Because the park is part of the Appelacian Trail you could seriously hike for days and maybe even then still not reach the end of the park. 

  

The end of this hiking trail ended with a gorgeous waterfall. 
I think we hiked 1.5 to get down.  Up seemed to feel like 10 miles.

A shot of the hike back up!  Not as easy.

After the hike and a quick picnic we finished the drive along the Skyline Drive.  The end for us was at the Rock Fish Gap exit near Wanyesburo.  This is also where you can enter the Blue Ridge Parkway if you are interested in that trip.  It puts you out on I-64, west of Charlottsville. 

We really enjoyed this trip and plan to continue down to the Blue Ridge Parkway this year.  I do think we will allow more time for this trip because we really wanted to get out and do more hiking and not rush to finish the parkway.  There were so many scenic overlooks in the park it was hard to decide which one to stop at and which drive by.  The park guides and books did help with that by describing what you might find at each one. 

If your interested in visiting in-box me and let me know.  There is so much more I could share about this great Virginia park!