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The story below is an excerpt from our May/June 2014 issue. For the rest of this story and more like it subscribe today, view our digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
C’mon along as we get ready to go outside and have some fun in the mountains of eight states!
Georgia
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Tap into your inner Tarzan at North Georgia Canopy Tours, which has more than a dozen ziplines, along with two sky bridges and three nature walks. Depending on how adventurous you’re feeling, there are three zipline tours to choose from, including a three-hour excursion that includes a thrilling 695-foot dual zip over Hilltop Pond, along with two zips over North Oconee River and a rappel wall. Other tours include a videographer/photographer who will capture all the action – and yelps of fear – so you can relive the fun again and again. After your treetop adventure, you can enjoy a number of other activities, including 18-holes of disc golf, geocaching and games like cornhole, tetherball and foosball. There’s also hiking trails that meander by the North Oconee River and several ponds.
Stay:
Located in Lula, Ga., North Georgia Canopy Tours offers a variety of lodging options, including teepee camping, complete with heating and air conditioning, lighting, and electrical outlets. There are also 15 rustic camping sites, with bathroom facilities nearby.
Kentucky
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Go trailblazing at Black Mountain Off-Road Adventure Area, a rugged, 8,000-acre expanse in Harlan County. Considered one of the best destinations in the East for all-terrain vehicles, Black Mountain has about 150 miles of trails, with elevation ranges from 1,180 feet to 3,321 feet above sea level. If you prefer your adventures in the sky rather than in the mud, there’s the Adventure Area’s new Black Mountain Thunder, where you can soar some 500 feet in the air at 60 mph on a two-mile zipline canopy tour. The Adventure Area has two convenient trailheads, including one in Evarts, which enters the park from the south side of Black Mountain near the main office and store.
Stay:
Both of Black Mountain Off-Road Adventure Area’s trailheads are less than 10 miles from the quaint town of Harlan. Here you’ll find cozy accommodations like the historic, 3,600-square-foot Little Inn of Harlan, which has four bedrooms and five bathrooms, a living room with a fireplace, private study, dining room and eat-in kitchen. For something more rugged, Harlan County Campground and Cabin Rentals is situated at Black Mountain’s Putney trailhead. Here you’ll find a variety of one-, two- and three-bedroom cabins, all with heat/ac, barbeque grills, kitchens or kitchenettes, as well as picnic tables and fire pits. Camping is available on more than 138 acres, with both primitive wooded sites and others located near electric/water hookups, bathrooms/shower houses and a laundry mat. Harlan County Campground also offers kayak rentals and shuttle service to the headwaters of the Cumberland River, where you can paddle Class I-II rapids. For calmer waters, there’s Martin’s Fork/Crank’s Creek Lake, which is ideal for fishing or simply lazing on the sandy white beaches.
