Adventures in the sky

High Gravity

At least two new aerial parks have recently risen on North Carolina’s adventure landscape to challenge children and adults.

High Gravity Adventures, next to Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, is an aerial adventure park specializing in unusual outdoor recreation activities for ages 5 and up. Guests can experience 75 different elements, such as tight-rope walks, a maze of cargo nets, spiders’ webs and ziplines, requiring various levels of stamina at heights from 15 to 50 feet. Young children and those who prefer staying closer to the ground can enjoy the specially designed kids’ course, with lower, easier-to-navigate challenges. 828-386-6222 or highgravityadventures.com

Skywild treetop adventure park above the Greensboro Science Center Zoo offers 60 challenges, including ziplines, bridges and nets, that range from 15 to 50 feet above the ground. Adventurers can choose from seven courses, from beginner to advanced, with most features designed so participants can experience a variety of animal behaviors to better understand the diversity of life. They can leap like a frog or hop from nest to nest like a bird while enjoying an exciting workout. 336-288-3769, ext.1402, or skywild.org.

More sites

The nation’s first zipline canopy tour opened in 1998 at Earthshine Mountain Lodge (now called Earthshine Discovery Center) in Lake Toxaway. Today, the numbers of aerial parks and ziplines in North Carolina  keeps climbing. They include: