Bretton Woods Canopy Tour

Photo Courtesy of Mark Butterfield, Omni Mt. Washington Resort

Have you heard about the new Canopy Tour at Bretton Woods? 3.5 hours of 10 ziplines, 2 sky bridges, tree platforms, and 3 rappels! In April of 2009, I had the chance to take the tour and although I couldn't do it perfectly, I had a fantastic time. You don't need to be an athlete to do this - just be willing to give heights a chance (and be able lift your hands above your head although you are asked at the beginning if you can do one pull-up).

You start out with an easy chairlift ride up to get you up the mountain and then a short hike over to the "ground school" zip line. This short line is just a few feet off the ground to learn the proper technique to take off, zip smoothly, and to brake. I found I didn't need to brake for the future zips but struggled with making a smooth take off and staying still to have the best zip ride. That said, I still had a super time and even on the zip that I messed up the most, I really enjoyed it and did manage to pull it back together to land on the platform (so I didn't have to pull myself in). Sue Flagg (editor of the Mountainside Guide) is taking off here to the right and you can see the platform in the distance. Bretton Woods provides the helmets, gear, including gloves (and even boots or wool caps if needed).

Midst the zip lines, you encounter 2 wonderfully built sky bridges. Thankfully, I crossed in the 2nd group with Frank rather than go with Sue in the first group - although Sue didn't do it, she was tempted to get it bouncing. I knew Frank wouldn't start it bouncing!! Frank discovered the Canopy Tour on the Internet and drove up from Long Island, NY for it (the rest of us were locals). All the zips and these sky bridges take you through the forest with wonderful views of the mountains (esp. Mt. Washington). You also learn a bit about the forest and the history of our area as well as meet some great people.

You build up your skills as you go from one zip line to the next and then you reach the 830 foot zip line. It is long and your guides will remind you to look as you zip - not sure how many of us remembered to take the time to look. I did try but you are only on the line about 30 seconds. As you can see by this photo to the right, it is a long zip line!

Oh, then there's the rappelling - some of the zip lines end up high in the trees and unless another zip is connected to that tree, you need to come down - straight down! That first step off the platform is something else but after I made that first move, I found that I really enjoyed the rappelling.

The tour ends with a dual zip line where you can race with a partner to the tower platform . . . and it is a fast zip. A thrilling ending to a wonderful experience. If you want to learn more visit the Canopy Tours website; while you are there check out the video section and you'll see a a great little video of the canopy tour. Remember, reservations are required and it really does take at least 3.5 hours (I think ours took closer to 4.5 hours but we weren't in any hurry to be anywhere else). Sue's husband, Bryan is the editor of the Northcountry News and I expect he'll be writing an article (along with his great photos) about our particular canopy trip. This photo above was taken by Bryan of me in my harness. Check out Sue & Bryan's newspaper for lots of local adventures: Northcountry News
           Thanks for reading about my zip-line experience.               - Brenda Aldrich