Zip Lines Set To Reopen in Lancaster County

  LANCASTER, PA - 03/27/2017 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

Listen closely, and you will once again hear guests shrieking with excitement as they fly through the forest at Refreshing Mountain Retreat and Adventure Center in Lancaster County.

Following the intense storms that hit portions of the Lancaster area on February 25, 2017, the staff at RMC estimated that the zip line courses might remain closed until mid-summer. “Our zip line experiences are our most popular attractions, and we were concerned we would be gearing up for our busiest season without the ability to offer them to our guests,” said Justin Harnish, Director at the retreat and adventure center. That is no longer the case, thanks to hard work and fortuitous timing.

After encountering lengthy scheduling timelines to assist with the rebuild of Refreshing Mountain’s zip line courses from most companies that specialize in this industry, Refreshing Mountain finally connected with Treetop Quest Builders in Georgia. “The timing was quite providential,” said Harnish. The builder had a crew working another project in Pennsylvania and was able to send a team to Refreshing Mountain to begin the repair and rebuild of RMC’s 3 zip line courses right away.

“A month ago, we were hoping that we could have things back to normal by July, and early on, even that seemed to be a goal that was overly optimistic. To think that 4 weeks after the hit we took from the storm, we are able to re-open again, is truly a testament to our hard-working staff, top-notch contractors, and God’s promise to work all things for our good,” Harnish shared.

Guests visiting the rebuilt zip lines can rest assured that safety is top-priority at Refreshing Mountain. “We replaced about 5,500 feet of cable and set 3 new telephone poles to replace fallen trees, in addition to setting several new anchors, rebuilding some platforms between 20-60 feet high and re-inspected every bolt, clamp, tie and screw on every element of every course,” assured Harnish.

The same is true for the many other outside adventures that Refreshing Mountain offers. "We had lots of trees and debris to clean up in our archery, slingshot, and paintball areas, as well as the Teambuilding course, horse corrals, the sports fields, etc.,” noted Harnish. All of these areas have been inspected and repaired as necessary, and are ready to welcome guests again.

"You can still see reminders of the storm damage here and there, and they make great conversation pieces" joked Harnish, "but we are well on our way to full recovery. We are so happy to be able to re-open just in time for warmer weather, and now we have some great stories to share with guests as they come out to enjoy our property this season".

To learn more about everything happening at Refreshing Mountain, visit refreshingmountain.com. You can also see lots of pictures of the storm damage and cleanup efforts on their Facebook page.

About Refreshing Mountain

Refreshing Mountain is a year-round retreat and adventure center providing family friendly fun and refreshment for over 30 years in Lancaster County, PA. We provide a variety of outdoor adventures, day field trips, and corporate team-building events, and overnight getaways with activities including zipline canopy tours, high ropes course, climbing tower, problem solving challenges, and much more. Our center is built on 8 acres of beautiful PA woodland.