Zip lining consists of a series of heavy duty wires suspended in the air, typically connected to a tree or man-made platform at either end. A harness straps the daring rider in and a pulley system allows the rider to hang from the wire and glide - or "zip" - across from one end to the other! This extreme activity offers thrills on a multitude of levels. The speed and height of the zip line varies throughout each "course" and beautiful views of Ohio's lush flora are consistent through and through!
We are fortunate here in Ohio to have some fantastic zip lining facilities right at our fingertips! The newest of which is Valley Zipline Tours, found in Fairfield County in the northern part of Lancaster. Built in 2012, Valley Zipline Tours consists of 10 zip lines soaring high in the sky at heights up to over 100 feet above the ground. Brave souls get the rare opportunity to soak in amazing views of the local Catfish Valley, home to an extremely popular fishing pond called Paylake.
The tour begins with a short how-to presentation to get folks acquainted with zip lining. After you get your gear on, you hop onto a mini-zip line to practice with the instructors. Our instructors and tour guides did an awesome job at making us feel comfortable and have a great time the whole way through!
Transportation then took our group (we had three, but groups can be as large as eight people) to our very first zip line! We found that the first five zip lines were built from treetop to treetop and were noticeably closer to the ground than the others. This was by design, so that the zip lines would get progressively higher off the ground and therefore ease folks into the idea of the more extreme zip lines that were to come!
We completed the treetop zip lines with ease and moved on to the tower-to-tower zip lines! Three of these zip lines run right above the aforementioned Paylake pond, providing a pretty spectacular view! These above-the-water zip lines are complete behemoths, spanning 1,000 feet from start to end and zooming at over 40 mph!
Next came "The Duel," two side-by-side zip lines where two opponents "face off" to race each other to the other side! I unfortunately lost to my friend in this race, but it was a super fun element nonetheless, and one that is not found at many other zip line courses in Ohio.
Last but not least was the final zip line which takes you to a 50-foot platform that you then must rappel down to the ground (think of it as a bonus 11th zip line!).
Zip lining can be for almost anyone! While it offers an extreme thrill, it does not require a great deal of skill or athleticism, as most of the action comes from gravity and physics! While there are weight, height, and health restrictions, when it comes to age, the sky is the limit!
There's virtually no excuse for you to get out and feel the wind against your face as you zip above Ohio this spring!
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