In this sport, resort staffers harness you into protective gear and you're hurtled through the treetops for an adrenalin-rushing adventure. Many resorts in Pennsylvania offer just this sort of adventure vacation.
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington boasts a brand-new 1,060-foot Fatbird Flyer Zip Line, which reaches speeds of 60 mph and 300-foot elevations. Watch the new video on the company's website to sample the experience.
Whitewater Challengers, on the Lehigh River in western Pennsylvania, has added a zip line to its list of adventures in addition to camping options, making for a getaway offering multiple adventures.
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort
1001 Lafayette Drive
Farmington, PA 15437
800-422-2736
724-329-8555
nemacolin.com
Whitewater Challengers
288 N. Stagecoach Rd.
Weatherly, PA 18255
800-443-RAFT (7238)
whitewaterchallengers.com
Whitewater rafting in Pennsylvania is an adventure for your whole family. After a briefing on the best methods for paddling through rapids and how to handle your raft, you are set adrift in rubber rafts to navigate, with your experienced guide, the rivers of the state.
Whitewater rafting adventures come alive at Jim Thorpe River Adventures, based in the town northeast of Harrisburg, named for the Olympic athlete. The September 2007 issue of "National Geographic Adventure" magazine chose Jim Thorpe as one of the top 10 mountain towns in its cover story, "50 Best Places to Live and Play."
Another company well-versed in whitewater rafting adventure vacations is White Water Adventurers, located in Ohiopyle State Park and on the Youghiogheny River. Offering rafting adventures from sedate, class I and II trips, through Class V "Beast of the East" adventures, White Water Adventurers will have a vacation package to suit your needs. With bicycling and fishing available and campsites accessible in the park, you can round out your adventure vacation to meet everyone's preferences.
Jim Thorpe River Adventures
One Adventure Lane
Jim Thorpe, PA 18229
800-424-RAFT (7238)
jtraft.com
White Water Adventurers
6 Negley St.
Ohiopyle, PA 15470
800-992-RAFT
wwaraft.com
Following the Appalachian Trail through Pennsylvania is an adventure vacation for hiking and camping enthusiasts. The historic trail stretches from Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, with more than 2,160 miles of well-maintained hiking-only trails. Almost 230 miles of the trail cutsthrough the middle of Pennsylvania. It has a difficulty rating of 2 to 4, with 10 the most difficult, so hikers of all abilities can walk the trail.
Shelters are conveniently spaced for overnight stays. About 25 miles of the trail lies within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and although the area has strict rules, it is a nice place to camp overnight. In Pennsylvania, that facility is Dingmans Campground, a 133-site campground, located in Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania. Dingmans Campground offers a variety of camping settings, with campsites along the banks of the Delaware River, forest and meadow campsites.
Delaware Water Gap park offers a variety of water sports, hiking and a step back to the year 1900 with Millbrook Village, open from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area
Bushkill, PA 18324-9999
570-828-2253
nps.gov/dewa/index.htm
Dingmans Campground
1006 Route 209
Dingmans Ferry, PA 18328
570-828-1551
877-828-1551
dingmanscampground.com
