If you’re considering making a year-end, tax deductible donation to a worthy cause, look no further than Children First/Communities In Schools of Buncombe County. Navitat Canopy Adventures is proud to partner with this wonderful organization to support their work with at-risk youth and families in the Asheville area.
Children First/CIS of Buncombe County serves economically disadvantaged children, youth and their families through literacy and mentoring programs, parenting classes, safe-haven after-school learning centers, a food pantry and community garden.
“All of the children who we work with are living in poverty, and this is a great chance to provide them with a new opportunity and allow them to have fun and just be kids,” said Allison Jordan, Executive Director of Children First/CIS. “It is exciting to work with a company that truly cares about the community it is in.”
Through the partnership, Navitat is providing at no cost their zip line canopy tours to Children First/CIS, which will provide opportunities to low-income children that they would not otherwise have. In addition, the tours will be used for team building and professional development among staff and volunteers.
“We are proud to support Children First/Communities In Schools and the very important work they do with children to help them be successful in school and in life,” said Ken Stamps, CEO and Managing Partner of Navitat. “As a company, we are committed to partnering with organizations that are making a difference in our community.”
To kick off the partnership, community members who make a donation to Children First/CIS by Dec. 30 are entered into a drawing for two free passes to experience Navitat’s zip line canopy tour during the 2012 season. Visit www.childrenfirstbc.org or call (828) 259-9717 to donate.
Did you know? Navitat Canopy Adventures partners with Eliada Homes to bring high risk youth, their families, and mentors to the trees. So far this year, we have welcomed 280 Eliada youth, their families, and staff on our tour at no charge.
Through the challenge of doing something new and experiencing nature in a totally new way, Navitat is providing a dynamic learning experience and effecting positive change in the lives of Eliada youth. We are so proud of this partnership! Click on the image below to watch a great story about Navitat’s relationship with Eliada and our commitment to never stop learning.
We love Moody Cove. And if you’ve visited us at Navitat, you can no doubt understand why. If you haven’t yet zipped through our corner of the world, here are just a few words to describe our home: Quiet. Secluded. Calming. Invigorating. Alive. We could go on… but you get the idea. It’s pretty amazing.
CEO Ken Stamps and Environmental Programming Leader Sarah Marcinko along with Navitat Canopy Guides Brittany, John, Kat, Bob and Mike.
Choosing Moody Cove as our home was no happy accident; the Navitat team spent months of time and energy surveying more than 300 properties in the Asheville area before finding this land and finally saying, “Yes. This is the place.” And in the 16 months since we first opened, Moody Cove has become a special place not only to those of us who work here, but also to all of our zipping friends who have taken to the trees.
We’re committed to protecting this special place. In fact, we aim to leave Moody Cove even better than we found it. To that end, we work to control invasive exotic plants on site and restore the land with native trees, shrubs, and perennials. Navitat’s full stewardship plan includes our commitment to minimally invasive building practices, on-going conservation efforts, and environmental education at all levels.
Some of the Navitat Asheville crew plants 525 native grasses and perennials near the Welcome Center
While lots of businesses invest in landscaping to bring elements of natural beauty to their location, at Navitat our goal is merely to mimic the natural environment with any planting we do. To capture the essence of the surrounding plant communities, we are working to integrate native landscaping designs into our natural resources plan for the site. Around the Welcome Center, guests will now see more than 500 newly planted native grasses and perennials including black-eyed Susan, goldenrod and little bluestem grass.
Last spring, we planted approximately 400 native tree saplings in areas surrounding the Welcome Center and on slopes alongside the road leading to the start of the tour. In addition to bringing new life to the forest, the trees were planted to bring stability to steep slopes helping to reduce erosion. Whenever possible, we look for ways to lessen our impact on the land and, in fact, leave it better than we found it… after all, we owe it to this special place. We are so fortunate to call Moody Cove home. Now ya’ll come see us, ya’ hear?!
***Many thanks to our Environmental Programming Leader, Sarah Marcinko, for her continued hard work in the areas of conservation, education, stewardship, and land management on behalf of Navitat. Now out on maternity leave with their new bundle of joy, we’ll sure miss Sarah while she is away. Welcome to the world, baby girl! We can’t wait until you’re old enough to zip…
Ziplining through the trees at Navitat Canopy Adventures is a great way to experience Southern Appalachia’s spectacular fall color show each year. Navitat offers a unique perspective of the fall leaves — and because our tree-based adventure combines both a thrilling and educational nature experience, fall is one of our most popular tour seasons!
Throughout the year, tours book up fast… but that’s especially true during the month of October. Check out our new Fall Video to get a glimpse of zipping at Navitat in the fall, and then plan your adventure today!
Navitat Asheville – Fall in the Mountains from Navitat Canopy Adventures on Vimeo.
Suddenly, Mom and Dad are cool again.
One of our favorite perks of being in this adventurous business is watching the ways people are drawn together because of the Navitat experience. This is especially true of families. Because folks must weigh at least 90 pounds to participate in our tour, most of the adventure-seekers we welcome are at least 10 years old; the bulk of youngsters are teenagers accompanied by their parents.
It’s a fun scene to watch unfold:
In walks a family, whether on vacation or locals on a day-trip adventure. The parents might be nervously stepping outside of the box with this experience, or maybe they are pro-adventurers… either way, many kids tend to have the same expression pre-tour. The expression says something like, “We’re going ziplining. Sure, it’ll be fun, but I’m not going to act too excited. After all, I’m stuck chillin’ with Mom and Dad.”
But then they meet their Canopy Guides. And get geared-up. And then they head up the mountainside in an all-terrain vehicle. “Maybe this is gonna be fun…”
By the time they’re zipping across the first few ziplines, something awesome happens… they’re smiling. Real smiles. (Yes, teenagers smiling!) Mom and Dad are laughing. Everyone’s learning something new. And it is fun. And suddenly, Mom and Dad are cool again. At least a little.
Navitat Canopy Adventures exists to to provide immersive, engaging and educational nature experiences. We get the pleasure of providing this experience in a thrilling and fun way. While crossing 10 ziplines, 2 bridges, rappelling and hiking, groups experience the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Southern Appalachia’s forests in an entirely new way. And for families, it’s a brand new way to get away for a few hours, reconnect, and cheer each other on. The result is truly (honestly!) life-long memories. You can’t beat that.
For more information, including how to book your Navitat adventure, click here.
Weekends are a busy time at Navitat Canopy Adventures, and we want to make sure road warriors can make it to us safely and on time!
We’ve recently learned that a section of I-240 will be closed on weekends from July 8 through August 15. The closure begins each Friday evening at 6:30pm with work continuing through Monday morning at 7:00am.
Click here for complete information including a road map and detour information.
Navitat Asheville is excited to announce that East Tennessee residents now receive a 15% discount on Wednesday tours!
Here’s a snippet from the latest press release:
NAVITAT CANOPY ADVENTURES, a world-class zip line canopy tour near Asheville, N.C., is offering a special tour price discount to residents of East Tennessee.
Throughout the season, residents of the 33 easternmost counties in Tennessee who book Wednesday tours receive a 15-percent discount on the regular tour price. An ID showing proof of residency is required.
“We’re excited to be able to offer this special discount to our neighbors in East Tennessee,” said Abby Burt, Marketing Manager of NAVITAT CANOPY ADVENTURES. “We invite them to come join us for our exhilarating and educational canopy tour – whether they’re doing a quick day trip to the Asheville area, or spending a longer time exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina.”
NAVITAT specializes in high-adventure zip line canopy tours, with a heavy focus on educating guests about the natural environment, history and culture of the surrounding area. The tour showcases the breathtaking natural beauty of a 242-acre serene mountain cove, located just 20 minutes north of downtown Asheville. The course is entirely tree-based and features two sky bridges, two rappels, and 10 zip lines ranging from 120 to 1,100 feet in length — including one that sends guests soaring more than 200 feet above the forest floor. USA TODAY called it “One of 10 Great Ziplines in the US” in 2010.
For more information, visit our Rates & Discounts page, then give us a call at 828-626-3700 to book your tour!
We hope to see many East Tennessee folks headed our way soon!
CNN Headline News reporter Joe Carter and cameraman Ferre Dollar recently spent a day in the trees at Navitat Canopy Adventures Asheville. HLN is featuring Navitat on their “Off the Beaten Path” series as the place to experience ziplining in the US. The feature will air this summer.
We had a blast zipping through Moody Cove with Joe and Ferre! Check out what they have to say about Navitat, and keep in touch with us — we’ll post the air date just as soon as we’re told!
Navitat Canopy Adventures CEO Ken Stamps recently sat down with the folks at BossStart.com to discuss life as a fearless leader of a new business (and entrepreneur extraordinaire!)
Check out the article to learn more about how and why Navitat came to be, and to read about the five key strengths of the Navitat brand.
BossStart.com exists to share the stories of knowledgeable professionals and build a network where anyone can learn what goes into starting and maintaining an Independent business. Thanks, BossStart.com, for featuring Navitat!
