Zipping through the trees

“Santa Rosa County never looked so beautiful.”

Those words came from Denise Haywald of Navarre as she zipped over canoers on the Coldwater Creek at Adventures Unlimited, feet from its crystal clear waters.

The former Girl Scout had always been afraid of heights until the day she stood six stories above the north end of Santa Rosa County.

“I am so scared of heights,” Haywald said. “But the fear of heights is a false expectation, and fear holds people back.

“My plan today was to get over that fear and continue on with life.”

And Adventures Unlimited did just that for her.  The outdoor adventure park held it’s grand opening of its new zip line tour on Friday, May 7, and brought along eight hopefuls, half of which had never been on a zip line before.

“I wanted to try to be more in tune nature.  And what better way to do that than to sore through trees,” Haywald said.

The mother of two not only soared through trees, but over water, people, and down a 900-foot strand of cable on the last leg of the course.

Jack Sanborn, the president and co owner of Adventures Unlimited said the new addition would give visitors the opportunity to look further north when they visit Santa Rosa County.

The 14 sections that make up the zip line cover a mile long trek from tree top to tree top, making it the longest zip line tour in the state.

“This is totally unique to this area,” he said. “This gives people a different appreciation for what we have here in Santa Rosa County.”

Looking out 60 feet in the air gave everyone on the tour that appreciation. Bill Hay, the Challenge Course Manager and zip line guide said the new zip line tour will enable visitors to do more in the north end of the county.

“I think this is really going to put Santa Rosa County on the map. It gives people a unique opportunity to do something other than just visit the beach,” Hay said. 

Adventures Unlimited has had a small zip line rope course for the past 15 years, but the co owner is calling the new zip line course a tour course. 

And several on the tour could see why. 

“The people of Santa Rosa County and the oil spill volunteers should know that there is so much more here than just the beaches.  Just a hop skip and a jump away is the forest, and that’s the best of both worlds,” Haywald said.

Sanborn said he expects the new course to give families an opportunity to do something different in the county, and at the same time, bring more revenue into the area.

“This really compliments the beaches,” the Tourist Development Council member said. “This helps with the bed taxes, and gives people the opportunity to stay an extra day.”

And that extra day entails only a $99 fee for the full 5-hour zip line tour for the first 100 people to sign up for the tour.  After that, the price will stay solid at $129 per person with a two-person minimum.  Those looking to spend a little less can do the forest flight, which costs $69 per person, for a total of three hours of zipping.

Adventures Unlimited also has canoe rentals and other activities on their property in Allentown that put the extra icing on the cake.

Hay said the zip line course gives a lot of people a new outlook not just on the community, but on life.  Haywald couldn’t have agreed more.

“I always asked myself ‘How can I truly be in tune with nature if I never knew how to fly and gain a heavenly perspective on what nature is truly about?”, Haywald said. “This gave me the best of both worlds. I have no regrets, and I now have a new look on life”