Saluda’s Gorge Zipline in running for top 10 in the country 

 

SALUDA—While most people in the area know that the Gorge is the best zipline in the country, now is the time to put that to a vote.  

The Gorge in Saluda is in the running to be in the top 10 aerial adventures in the United States by USA Today.  

As of Wednesday, votes had the Gorge in Saluda as the 8th best out of 20, but voting is open until April 22.  

“While ziplines and canopy tours began as a tool for scientific field research, they’ve exploded in popularity as an attraction in their own right—a way to experience the forest canopy in a safe and thrilling environment,” states the USA Today poll. “We asked a panel of family travel experts to nominate their favorite aerial adventure parks in North America, and now it’s your turn to choose a winner.”  

Voting ends on Monday, April 22 at noon Eastern Time and the 10 best winners will be announced on Friday, May 3.  

The Gorge calls itself the nation’s steepest and fastest zipline canopy tour and includes 11 ziplines that span 1.25 miles with a total descent of more than 1,100 vertical feet. The course includes a sky bridge and three rappels.  

The Gorge owner Sara Bell said their zipline is one of a kind.  

“Even though it is the steepest, fastest canopy tour in the United States, dropping 1,100 feet in elevation from start to finish, we use an automatic braking system, so the experience is accessible to pretty much anyone,” Bell said. “Then, combine that thrill with flying from tree top to tree top through old growth forest overlooking some of the most rugged wilderness on the east coast, outstanding is an understatement.”  

The Gorge goes above 18,000 acres of state protected Green River Gamelands and the rumbling Green River nearby can be heard.  

People are allowed to vote one time per day for the Gorge in the USA Today poll.  

The Top 10 leaderboard as of Wednesday included Branson’s Shepherd of the Hills Adventure Park in Missouri; The Kerfoot Canopy Tour in Minnesota; Historic Banning Mills in Georgia; Cocoa Beach Aerial Adventures in Florida; Camelback Mountain Adventures in Pennsylvania; Ramblewild in Massachusetts; Koteewi Aerial Adventure Park in Indiana; The Gorge in Saluda; Denali Zipline Tours in Alaska and Sky High Adventure Park in New York.  

There are 20 total zipline tours in the running for the top 10.  

To vote, visit https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-aerial-adventure-park/the-gorge/.