The Adventure Center of Asheville

Last week the kids and I took the kind of adventure you just want to share with everyone you know.

(You guys – it is just so fun to have big kids!)

This adventure involved helmets and heights and wires and harnesses and conquering fears and pulling together as a team.

And it was pretty close to home too.

The Adventure Center of Asheville is just a couple of minutes from downtown Asheville, NC.  As soon as I heard about their brand new KidZip, the first zip line in the country to be built especially for kids ages 4 to 10, I wanted to try it with my kiddos.

(Our family received tickets for writing and reviewing and sharing about the park.  Our opinions are absolutely all our own.)

We arrived a little early because I wasn’t certain how long the drive would take or the length of the paperwork process.

The check in process was laid back and simple.

There was a waiver to sign per kid, of course.  And this time, for the first time, I actually had my writers fill in their own info and sign their own names.  Man – that made that process so much faster.

We watched zip liners climb way up high on the adult course and wondered if our zip lines would be that high.

Turns out – they were not.

For which all of the kids were grateful.

At the course we were given helmets and harnesses and instructions.

I’m not going to lie – the older I get the more young adults look like children to me.

And a lot of the workers at the KidZip area certainly looked young.  I watched closely as they harnessed my kids in and checked the equipment.  I can tell you this – these young men and women were professional, calm, well spoken and careful about their work.  I saw zero cell phones in their hands and they all kept their own helmets on and they were focused on their jobs at hand.

After we received our instructions we started on the zipline.  There were nine ziplines I think and each had an obstacle before you zipped off down the line.

At first the zipping and the obstacles were easy but goodness, they got more complicated.  You are always attached by your trolley to the zipline and always harnessed in but you had to maneuver your trolley over several tracks and something they called “sharks” which could be a little tricky for tiny hands and arms.  The kids did a stellar job though.

At tough obstacles they talked through them and worked together to help their younger siblings reach the sharks and conquer the heights.

If I had realized this would be helpful, I would have positioned myself between the kids differently.  Once your trolley is on the zipline you can’t change orders or get off so occasionally I was several kids behind Otto and Piper and they could have really used a grown up’s helping hand.  Or – if you were zipping with multiple grown ups you could plan to stagger grown ups and kids accordingly.  We managed just fine in the end since Berg and London and Mosely really helped out a lot.

(Actually – I think one thing I most valued about this entire experience – aside from the fabulous just plain fun factor – was the fact that the kids really pulled together.  They spoke encouraging words.  They laughed.  They gave each other a helping hand.  They were a family – up high and all together.)

The climbing wall on the next to last zipline was my least favorite – I seriously did not like balancing on that high up wall and trying to pull down the sharks for my trolley to pass over. Piper almost panicked at that one, but she reigned it in bravely and conquered it.

(This picture doesn’t entirely do it justice as this obstacle was way high up in the air – adding to the fear factor for cautious me.)

Can you guess which little Keigley was the least afraid throughout the entire experience?

If you guessed Otto then you guessed right.

That little man is as fearless as they come.

He was usually the leader on our excursion and would continually look back at us and ask, “Can I head to the next one guys?” with the biggest happy grin all shining out of his sweet boy face.

One thing I really appreciated about the Asheville Adventure Park was that, after we finished our zipping, I assumed we were done.  One ride, so to speak.  But nope – the staff smiled and said, “Want to go again?”

Which we did, of course!  Because on the second round you felt more like an expert and could be a little bolder.  By the third round, yep – the third round – Bergen was putting his hands behind his head, relaxing style, and zipping across like a champ.

I loved that you could go round and round as often as you wanted.  It certainly would make you feel as if you received your money’s worth.

After we had all the zipping we could handle, we stared up in wonder at the Asheville TreeTops Adventure Park, situated right beside the KidZip area.

It looked fascinating and terrifying and awesome and challenging and exactly like something we all wanted to try but were afraid to try – all at the exact same time.

The obstacles were wild – lily pads two stories up that you jumped across, a kayak strung between trees about five stories high that you paddled across on ropes and air, skinny wires to walk on, trapezes to swing through the trees, hula hoops dangling between trees, ropes swinging for balance, a slide to come down and so so much more.

We gulped and decided we’d try that adventure too.

The really great thing about the TreeTops Adventure Park is the fact that its appeal is so wide to so many ages.  There are five courses of varying levels and enough dizzying challenges to frighten even the most adventure loving grown up big kid.

The hook up and safety procedures for the TreeTops Adventure Park were a bit different.  You are always attached to your harness and the wires through the use of two hooks and a cleverly designed system using tweezles.  (Yes, that’s a real word.)  It is impossible for both tweezles to be unlocked at the same time so you can trust that you (and your beloved kiddos) are safe and sound and secure.

There is definitely a learning curve to the tweezles and I’d say the kids got the hang of it before I did. It was certainly a big part of the challenge to switch your carabiner from side to side while balancing on a little platform far up in the trees.

There were several obstacles for which I was legitimately scared.  I think I would have liked to have tried to challenge myself to some of the even harder courses but time didn’t allow for that bravery.  (Yep, I’m blaming time when it was probably because I was too scared!)

We could have stayed for hours and hours longer but we did eventually grow hungry and exhausted.

We had so much fun and we all were steady non-stop talking about which obstacle was the scariest and how hard it was or how easy it was or how scary it was.  London, my stay-at-home-every-day kind of kid, pulled me aside as we were turning in our gear and whispered, “Momma – I’m sorry for not having the best attitude about this trip when you told us about it.  It was way more fun than I ever thought it would be.”

Asheville Adventure Park features lots of other options for adventurous souls.  There is an adult zip line canopy tour, a tree house quest, a bungee style jump and a bike course.

I know I have an unusually large family.  (Although, ironically, lately London says she feels as if our family is small.  I think I agree with her.  It’s all perspective, people.)  But I know not everyone has to fork over entry fees for five kids when they take adventures.

The prices at Asheville Adventure Park seem high.  It’s pricier than a movie, for sure.  (Although, not all that much any longer.)  You certainly do get a lot of bang for your buck.  After having spent a long morning at the park though, I can guarantee, the prices are worth it!

The adventure is fun.  The challenges are great.  The bonding can’t be beat.  Sharing pictures and telling others what you can’t even believe yourself that you conquered – just the perfect amount of thrilling.

It’s so conveniently located that you can treat it as a staycation option or as a choice for when out of town friends come for a weekend visit.

All of your prices and specific details are listed on their website – The Adventure Center of Asheville.

I hope you decide to go.

And I hope you take lots of pictures and I hope you get to make as many sweet and solid memories with your cool kids as I got to make with mine.