Husband and I spent 2 days in the Hocking Hills this week, thanks to the very nice people at the Inn at Cedar Falls. We left Columbus at 11am and made it to Logan in just about 45 minutes, and we started the day flying through the trees on the Hocking Hills Canopy Tour.
We were surprised to learn that the tour would take 3 hours! (don't worry, the time flies - hahahahaha - and you will never be bored, I promise).
The tour begins with signing a waver, wherein you are warned that you may die or have your feelings hurt (I don't know why I thought that was so funny; a list of risks ranging from hurt feelings to death). Then you start zip camp. Our tour guides - a guy and a girl - were funny and informative, and they did a great job of remembering all of our names in the group of 9. That was very impressive. We chatted a bit with the girl, who lives close to us on campus, and was very charming. Both guides were supportive and helpful, dealing very well with children and adults alike. As a matter of fact, everyone on our tour was pretty cool - including the kids with us, girls from about 9ish - 13. The only irritating person was the father on the tour, who was constantly coaching his kids over (and sometimes in contradiction to) the tour guides. They should add a line in the beginning instructing parents to keep their mouths shut and let the tour guides do their jobs. But that has nothing to do with the tour.
There are a number of zip lines of varying heights. It's nice because the first few lines are shorter and slower, so that you are prepared for the longer, faster, and higher zips. In addition to the zips are long rope bridges, which your tour guide will kindly jump on for you, making crossing a bit of a challenge. You end the tour by repelling back down to the earth.
The scenery is beautiful, of course, and the weather couldn't have been more lovely. It was a sunny, breezy day; at first it threatened rain, but as you can see if you watch the video, it turned out very lovely.
The zipline tour is a great activity for pretty much anyone, it seems - our tour guide said he had a group of 80somethings recently! There is very little exertion involved, so it's a great outdoor activity for those of us who might not be in our best shape every...
Some pictures of the course:
this little kitty just lives in the woods and greets you when the trail is over! a nice surprise!
Here is a video I took of one of the slower zips - although it's decent considering it was dangling from my harness, was taken with my Canon Powershot, and is sideways, I wouldn't necessarily recommend viewing it if you get motion sickness...
info: Hocking Hills Canopy Tour 10714 Jackson St in Rockbridge
