Nantahala Gorge Canopy Zip Line Tours, North Carolina

No need to travel to the tropics to fly through the treetops. The first canopy zip line tour in the North Carolina Smokies is convenient to many southeastern cites like Atlanta, Charlotte and Asheville. Located on the southern edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the Nantahala National Forest, adventure in the Smokies now moves a bit faster.

The 3-hour zip line flight is powered by gravity and a gradual 3 percent elevation change. The 1/2 mile air time Nantahala Gorge Canopy Tour takes you through multiple ecosystems, past hemlocks, into hardwoods, and through a deciduous forest packed with native flowering plants such as mountain laurel, dogwood, rhododendron, giant Frazier magnolia, rare umbrella magnolia, silver bells and many more. Your canopy ranger will point out these natural features and will also share with you some of the cultural history of the gorge.

The zip line is just one way to get to each section on the 20 acre course. Flyers will also use three Sky Bridges to get to the 11 zip line sections in the trees, slope side and elevated platforms. Canopy Rangers provide all the necessary instruction and assistance and use state-of-the-art equipment, including helmets, full body harnesses, trolley, gloves, tether safety lines. There are two canopy rangers per group.

The zip line course is located 12 miles west of Bryson City, NC (about 80 miles west of Asheville) at the Falling Waters Adventure Resort in the Nantahala River Gorge. Age and weight minimum is 10 years and 70 lbs. with a weight maximum of 250 lbs. Call 877-247-5535, www.nantahalagorgecanopytours.com.