SUMMER 2011
celebratedliving.com
20
IT’SPLAYTIME!
Parks, zoos, museums, and outfitters are gearing up for the summer
family-travel season, offering fresh incentives to hit the road,
whatever your clan
’
s interests.
—
ELAINEGLUSAC
●
M
ountain coasters— roller coaster-
style rides onelevated rails that use
thenatural pitchof amountainside to
generate speed— are all the rage this
summer. Hopon thenew
GOLD RUNNER
COASTER
at BreckenridgeSki Resort in
Colorado (breckenridge.com) or the
TIMBER RIPPER
atOkemoMountainResort
inVermont (okemo.com).
●
Clip intonew
ZIP LINES
at CrestedButte
MountainResort inColorado, offering
a series of five lines plus adventure
obstacles including a40-foot net climb
and anarrowplankbridge (skicb.com). In
PuertoRico, thenewToroverdeNature
AdventureParkdebuts
THE BEAST
, anearly
mile-long linewith adouble-harness
system that suspends riders horizontally
to simulatebirdflight (toroverdepr.com).
●
Among themeparks, riders can swing
30 stories above the LakeErie shoreon
thenew
WINDSEEKER
ride at Cedar Point in
Ohio (cedarpoint.com).
RICOCHET RAPIDS
, a
unique family raft ridewith a40-foot hill,
splashes down at SilverwoodThemePark
in Idaho, less than anhour fromSpokane
(silverwoodthemepark.com).
THRILLRIDES
OUTDOORADVENTURES
O
neof twonew family-focusednational-park trips fromAustin-Lehman
Adventures, the six-day
BRYCE CANYON AND ZIONNATIONAL PARKSADVENTURE
visits
hoodoos, hanginggardens, andwaterfalls in the companyof guidesknown to
surpriseguestswith fresh-churned ice creamon the trail. TheirYosemite trip
offers rock climbing, rappelling, andhikingamong sequoias (austinlehman.com).
Cruise the less traffickedbranchesofAlaska’s InsidePassagewith thenew
INNERSEADISCOVERIES
line launching thisMay. Itinerarieshighlight kayakingamid
icebergs,whalewatching, andglacierhiking rather than traditional port calls
(innerseadiscoveries.com).
Raft therapidsofOregon’sscenicRogueRiverwithanew lodge-to-lodge trip
from
ROWADVENTURES
.Takeonbeginner-friendlyrapids through forestsandcanyons
bydayandsleep incomfortbynighton these three-and four-dayexcursions (row
adventures.com).
The Beast
Windseeker
Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks Adventure
