Refreshing Mountain Ziplines and Activity Courses
Oh. My. Word. This was a trip my husband planned and I came along unsuspecting. He had gone with Jackson last year so we just planned on having me take the older two girls while he watched Lilah and then Jackson would do a different activity course by himself. There are two courses of ziplines to choose from: the “Challenge Adventure Tour” and the “Aerial Excursion Tour.” The first one (the one I did) has 5 ziplines and a series of obstacle challenges on the course. It is an older course with 1400 ft. of ziplining fun, up to 60 ft. above ground, and takes under 2 hours to complete. The second tour is their newest course, with 3500 ft. of ziplines, 3 aerial bridges, no obstacles, and takes up to 2.5 hours to complete. My husband and son did that one…did you catch that…no obstacles. Yea, THAT was the crazy part! It started fun and easy with a quick zip through the treetops and everyone came out smiling, but next you were asked to choose one of three directions. You can take the easy way out and walk across a swinging bridge, but we thought we’d try out an obstacle course, supposedly the less challenging side. My 10 year old bravely marched ahead of me, while my 7 year old tentatively came behind me. We were connected to a rope pulley system above our heads but the rope had a lot of give to it so you had the feeling you were not attached to anything, and the course was about 30 feet off the ground. We got through the first two obstacles okay although by now I began to realize how difficult it would be and my heart was pounding and my palms were sweating. Then came the wobbly log you had to cross with nothing to hold onto except your own lifeline…gulp. Since Eliana was ahead of me, she had to go first but she surveyed the obstacle and immediately started crying. I struggled with how to react since I was scared too, but eventually one of the guides (a young, handsome guy with a patient, carefree attitude that had a way about him that instantly put you at ease) came over and offered to help her over. So sniffing as she went, she made it across. After some helpful tips from Dan the tour guide, I helped Mia across. I just didn’t look down. By the last obstacle, for the first time ever, I saw a look of sheer terror on my youngest daughter’s face, which was white as a sheet. I couldn’t help but feel like I was a terrible parent for putting my girls in this situation. Would they ever forgive me? Once we got back to the landing, we were able to calm down and I realized my whole body was sore from hanging on for dear life! We then watched as other children in our party made their way across with help from the guide, another girl was also crying! We joked around as parents that they would need therapy after this.
The rest of the course was ziplining and progressed smoothly. The most difficult part was the landing, especially the heavier you are because you feel like you are coming in at a hundred miles an hour about to crash into the tree, but the guides have a mechanism to quickly slow you down and it works out okay. My older daughter and I were even brave enough to let go of our handles as we zipped. One dad in our party was bold enough to try upside down which our guide demonstrated, making it look so easy. I had enough heart-pounding excitement and didn’t feel the need to try. The final zipline took you over a pond and down to the ground where you land with your feet running. Once everyone was safely on the ground, we were all smiles and the girls said they had a great time! Go figure. 
Jackson did the “Explorer Package” which was a menagerie of fun camp-like activities. He spent about 20-30 min. at each station which included rock climbing, pedal carts, archery, and paintball targets (not shooting at each other). He mostly enjoyed it although it probably would have been more fun with a friend. Refreshing Mountain has many more amenities and purposes including a retreat center, overnight camping, nature program, community pool, horseback riding, and a large playground, which Lilah, my three-year old made good use of. It is a perfect place for families, group activities, corporate team-building, home-schooled families, and churches. 
After I pondered our experience there, I realized I had done something beneficial for my girls. I taught them it is good to do hard things, to face fear and push through it, to get out of your comfort zone, and try something new…maybe I’m not a terrible parent after all.
Hours: vary depending on the activity, see website for complete details
Rates: Challenge Adventure Tour $49/child, $59/adult; Aerial Excursion Tour $67/child, $79/adult; Explorer Package (Jackson’s activity) $24/child, $29/adult
Be on the lookout for deals on Black Friday, that’s when my husband got our packages for maybe 20% off.
Refreshing Mountain
455 Camp Road
Stevens, PA 17578
(717) 868-6276
Definitely check out the website as there are too many details to list at www.refreshingmountain.com
