Navitat Canopy Adventures zip tours
Looking for a canopy zip line tour: check out THE NAVITAT DIFFERENCE
Navitat Canopy Adventures is a world-class canopy zip line tour located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, just 20 minutes north of downtown Asheville, N.C. At Navitat, guests travel through the tree canopy on an artfully constructed course more than a mile long that showcases the natural beauty of a mountain cove. A Navitat tour combines the exhilaration of a zip line adventure with the educational and environmental elements experienced in the original Costa Rican canopy tours. Here’s what sets Navitat Canopy Adventures apart:
Our tour home
- Located on a 240-acre tract of forestland in the Southern Appalachians — one of the most biodiverse regions on earth. The site is home to many large hardwoods, native and rare plant species, streams and mountain wildlife.
- Site is situated in a valley formed by three mountain ridges, with elevations up to 3,600 feet and more than 1,200 feet of vertical drop.
- Site offers long-range views of the Black Mountains, the Craggy Mountains, Blue Ridge Parkway and Pisgah National Forest.
- Course site property is owned by the McDarris family. The land has been in their family since the mid-1800s, and they lease it to Navitat as a way to conserve the property, its flora and fauna, and views.
Our tour design
- Entirely tree-based design uses no poles or other structures to support the platforms and course features.
- Innovative installation methods are minimally intrusive to the trees and other natural features, while maximizing the safety of the course visitors.
- Course fits seamlessly into the natural landscape, leaving the smallest footprint possible on the land.
- Course designer is Bonsai Design Inc., the leading designer and builder of canopy tours in the U.S.
Our tour experience
Navitat tours combine the best elements of a thrilling zip line tour, sky-bridges, trails and rappels, with the educational and environmental elements experienced in the original Costa Rican canopy tours. Guests are gradually introduced to zipping by beginning with shorter zip lines closer to the ground before moving onto higher, longer zip lines and sky-bridges. Knowledgeable guides handle all safety equipment, provide coaching and encouragement, and present interpretive information throughout the tour.
Our tour course
Length of course: 5,731 feet Number of sky bridges: 2
Number of zip lines: 10 Number of rappels: 2
Longest zip line: 1,100 feet Number of tree platforms: 15
Highest zip line: 205 feet Number of trails: 3
Fastest zip line: Approximately 35 mph Length of tour experience: 3 ½ hours
Maximum number of guests per tour: 8 Number of guides per tour: 2
Our commitment to the environment
- A full-time, master’s-level educated Environmental Programming Leader is responsible for creating interpretative educational programming for guests, and providing environmental resource analysis and management of the tour site.
- The company completed a full inventory of the course site’s natural resources prior to construction and has established a management plan for non-native invasive plant species identified during the survey.
- The small amount of wood harvested during course construction was milled on-site and used to build many of the course features including platforms, sky bridges, trail bedding and signage.
- The Navitat Welcome Center incorporates many sustainable design features including natural daylighting to save energy, low flow toilets, natural ventilation, a long-lasting metal roof and concrete floors.
Our commitment to safety
- Canopy Guides must complete between 50 and 70 hours of training before they are certified to lead tours. Additional training hours are required weekly throughout employment.
- Guests are escorted at all times on the tour by two highly skilled Canopy Guides.
- Canopy Guides handle all equipment, and guests are attached to a redundant safety system at all times while off the ground.
- Navitat is a member of the Association for Challenge Course Technologies (ACCT), which is accredited by the American National Standards Institute. The company adheres to and exceeds all ACCT standards for construction, operations and training.
Our team and experience
Navitat is a family business that employs approximately 60 people. The Navitat leadership team has more then 35 years of combined professional experience in operating, programming, designing and installing canopy and zip line tours, and more than 75 years of combined experience in business development and management with backgrounds in landscape architecture, civil engineering and real estate.
To book our tour
Tours run daily from April 1 through the end of November. Reservations are required. Daytime tour price is $89 per adult, and $79 per youth under age 18. Exclusive “Navitat at Night” tours will be offered Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at dusk. Nighttime tour price is $109 per person. Visit www.navitat.com or call (828) 626-3700 to book your tour.
Photo credit: Corinne Krogh/Navitat Canopy Adventures
