By Karen D. Lorentz | June 04,2013
Rutland Herald
PROVIDED
To ramp up business during summer and fall, Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln, NH has added attractions such as aerial courses.
The hot trend of adventure parks and
challenge courses heats up at Upper Valley ski resorts in New Hampshire
and Vermont this summer with special events like Tough Mudders joining
an assortment of activities that include attractions, festivals, and
special events.
Among the latest offerings are water parks, zip-lines, canopy tours featuring treetop challenge courses, Segway tours, mountain coasters, bungee trampolines, and climbing walls. These have joined traditional lift rides to scenic mountain tops, lift-served mountain biking, golf, tennis, horseback riding, hiking, children’s day camps, and special events like cycling competitions, hill climbs/foot races, and music, food, craft beer and wine festivals.
Major areas in both states now offer an expanded summer slate, and even smaller areas like Granite Gorge in Keene, NH and Magic Mountain in Londonderry, VT are joining the major resorts in a bid to achieve year-round business.
Jay Peak in Vermont recently achieved this distinction. “Summer business levels now equal winter visitation rates,” spokesman JJ Tolland said. “Between May 31 and September 30, 2012, we had approximately a quarter of a million visitors to Jay Peak, with a majority of those visitors spending at least two nights in one of our lodging properties.”
New Hampshire’s ski-resort summer
In New Hampshire, summer “has become an increasingly vital part of our business structure,” said Karl Stone, marketing director for Ski New Hampshire. “For the state as a whole, it’s critical to attractions as well as to lodging, dining, and other retail.
“Approximately 40 percent of our tourism takes place during the three summer months, when families are able to enjoy time together with kids,” said Stone. “Most of our ski resorts are located near where these families are already vacationing (at lakes and mountains), so it’s an ideal fit to take advantage of the traffic near the resorts.”
Attracting summer guests, he added, also provides “a great way to be able to offer valued staff year-round employment, so resorts don’t run the risk of losing them [employees] to other jobs over the summer months.”
Stone called the summer 2012 season New Hampshire’s “most significant thus far,” and said he’s confident that with attractions continuing to be added, “business levels will once again exceed the previous summer.”
Granite Gorge in Keene is getting into summer operations with lift-served mountain biking, Segway tours, Frisbee golf, and concerts; it also will host functions for its first summer season. In addition to offering food services, the area is providing free shuttle service to Keene to facilitate guest visits.
Mount Sunapee’s new Adventure Park — Canopy Zip-Line Tour, Segway tours, miniature golf course, and disc golf — opened May 25 and features a 50-by-50-foot AcroBag airbag slated to debut June 29. With a ramp made of artificial snow, guests will be able to hit the bag on skis, a snowboard or on a snow tube, said marketing director Bruce McCloy.
“We are also adding two more loops to the aerial challenge course” for a total of “two loops with 16 challenges and four loops with 32 challenges, ranging in difficulty from beginner to advanced,” McCloy said. In addition to chairlift rides to the summit, Mount Sunapee will host many events, including a Mountain Mucker 5K obstacle race, a traditional clambake, a family night, the 80th annual League of NH Craftsmen’s Fair, a beer pairing festival, the New Hampshire Mustang Club Fall Harvest Show, and a fall foliage pig roast.
At Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln, “Summer and fall business is growing,” said spokesman Greg Kwasnik. “People are starting to realize that we’re much more than just a winter resort. Over the past five years, we’ve worked hard to build our summer offerings and events and to broaden our appeal to families.”
Loon added bungee trampoline, a zipline, a rock-climbing wall, and Segway Tours, and opened the first phase of its Aerial Forest Adventure Park last July. “This will be the first summer that all five courses in the Aerial Forest will be open to the public,” said Kwasnik. Among popular summer events are the White Mountain Cycling Classic and the Monster Mud Run, a 5K adventure race with obstacles.
At Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, a Tough Mudder has been added this summer, with a June 1 and 2 event expected to draw 12,000. Tough Mudder events are hardcore, 10-to-12-mile obstacle courses designed to test competitors’ strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie.
Gunstock also offers an Aerial Treetops Adventure Course with 12 zip lines, 22 ladders, and 91 course challenges spread over eight courses, Segway tours, a ZipTour, and expanded campground.
Rounding out mountain offerings in New Hampshire are new stand-up paddle boards at Waterville Valley Resort, which offers golf, tennis, mountain biking, hiking, an ice arena, and skateboard camps; a canopy tour, ziplines, guided rock climbing, indoor climbing wall, mountain biking, and disc golf at Bretton Woods; and ziplines, Segway tours, the Aerial Adventure Course, Mountain Coaster, and Adventure Park with a giant swing, summer tubing, bungee trampoline, Spider Mountain, and bouncy houses at Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway.
Vermont’s expanding ski-resort summer
“While summer is a significant season for Vermont’s overall tourism economy, which is essentially split into thirds between summer, fall and winter, I would put the overall ski-resort business percentage at 10 to 15 percent, while individual resorts like Smuggs and Jay Peak would see a higher percentage with their summer park infrastructure,” said Parker Riehle, president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association.
“Smugglers’ Notch truly led the way on the summer business angle in Vermont’s ski industry, with others like Bromley and Jay Peak coming online in the years since with summer park attractions aimed at boosting visits and business in the off-season. In addition to the golf courses at seven of our state’s ski resorts, the ski areas have constantly been on the move to expand their summer offerings with mountain biking, disc golf, zip lines and canopy tours, in addition to pushing hard for wedding business,” Riehle said.
“Canopy tours have seen the biggest growth in recent years, with Smugglers’ Notch, Bromley, Okemo, and Magic Mountain offering these tree-top ropes courses for our warm-weather thrill seekers.”
Okemo unveils a new wedding garden that can accommodate 200 people and be used to host receptions, family reunions and other gatherings at an idyllic Jackson Gore location where an old barn once stood. Among Okemo’s destination attractions that appeal to wedding and summer guests are the golf course and Adventure Zone — zipline tours, mountain coaster, miniature golf, trampoline bungee jumping, inflatable big-air bag, climbing pinnacle, disc golf, and Segway tours. The resort also hosts free concerts on Friday evenings, several festivals, and Camp Gokemo.
At Magic Mountain in Londonderry, “TimberQuest [Park] has a new course . . . so there will be more variety for repeat visitors to the park during the summer and fall,” said marketing director Geoff Hathaway. The area is also hosting field trips for camps, and offering day or overnight adventures for children in fifth grade and up.
“For the first time, we will have ongoing business at Magic from Memorial Day through Columbus Day with the TimberQuest Park,” he added.
The high tree ropes and obstacle courses launched at TimberQuest last August “brought many new visitors to Magic seeking adventure — some who did not even realize there was a ski area in Londonderry,” Hathaway said. “Therefore, we think the summer park actually helps our winter business.”
Stratton Mountain debuts its Triathlon Training Workshops in June and July. The Wolverine Challenge — a six-mile course with 25 military obstacles — is scheduled to start July 13. Also planned is a yoga retreat and teacher-training certification week with Beryl Bender Birch in August.
Stratton’s returning line-up includes the Wanderlust Yoga extravaganza June 20 to 23, weekly concerts, and weekly activities like paintball, golf and tennis schools, and children’s camps.
Rounding out summer resort offerings: Killington Resort offers disc golf, mountain biking, golf course, and gondola rides; while Bromley Mountain offers 23 rides and attractions including its Kids’ Park, Alpine Slide, ZipRider, water-slide, and Aerial Adventure Park with 63 tree-borne elements, in addition to family shows, live bands, deck barbeques and events.
Jay Peak Resort, which has a new wedding and event space called The Barn located adjacent to its golf course, also added two additional weeks of summer camps. Smugglers’ Notch Resort debuts Splashville, a water playground for youngsters six and under, with features such as water misters and sprays, pulsating fountains, and a water slide.
Among the latest offerings are water parks, zip-lines, canopy tours featuring treetop challenge courses, Segway tours, mountain coasters, bungee trampolines, and climbing walls. These have joined traditional lift rides to scenic mountain tops, lift-served mountain biking, golf, tennis, horseback riding, hiking, children’s day camps, and special events like cycling competitions, hill climbs/foot races, and music, food, craft beer and wine festivals.
Major areas in both states now offer an expanded summer slate, and even smaller areas like Granite Gorge in Keene, NH and Magic Mountain in Londonderry, VT are joining the major resorts in a bid to achieve year-round business.
Jay Peak in Vermont recently achieved this distinction. “Summer business levels now equal winter visitation rates,” spokesman JJ Tolland said. “Between May 31 and September 30, 2012, we had approximately a quarter of a million visitors to Jay Peak, with a majority of those visitors spending at least two nights in one of our lodging properties.”
New Hampshire’s ski-resort summer
In New Hampshire, summer “has become an increasingly vital part of our business structure,” said Karl Stone, marketing director for Ski New Hampshire. “For the state as a whole, it’s critical to attractions as well as to lodging, dining, and other retail.
“Approximately 40 percent of our tourism takes place during the three summer months, when families are able to enjoy time together with kids,” said Stone. “Most of our ski resorts are located near where these families are already vacationing (at lakes and mountains), so it’s an ideal fit to take advantage of the traffic near the resorts.”
Attracting summer guests, he added, also provides “a great way to be able to offer valued staff year-round employment, so resorts don’t run the risk of losing them [employees] to other jobs over the summer months.”
Stone called the summer 2012 season New Hampshire’s “most significant thus far,” and said he’s confident that with attractions continuing to be added, “business levels will once again exceed the previous summer.”
Granite Gorge in Keene is getting into summer operations with lift-served mountain biking, Segway tours, Frisbee golf, and concerts; it also will host functions for its first summer season. In addition to offering food services, the area is providing free shuttle service to Keene to facilitate guest visits.
Mount Sunapee’s new Adventure Park — Canopy Zip-Line Tour, Segway tours, miniature golf course, and disc golf — opened May 25 and features a 50-by-50-foot AcroBag airbag slated to debut June 29. With a ramp made of artificial snow, guests will be able to hit the bag on skis, a snowboard or on a snow tube, said marketing director Bruce McCloy.
“We are also adding two more loops to the aerial challenge course” for a total of “two loops with 16 challenges and four loops with 32 challenges, ranging in difficulty from beginner to advanced,” McCloy said. In addition to chairlift rides to the summit, Mount Sunapee will host many events, including a Mountain Mucker 5K obstacle race, a traditional clambake, a family night, the 80th annual League of NH Craftsmen’s Fair, a beer pairing festival, the New Hampshire Mustang Club Fall Harvest Show, and a fall foliage pig roast.
At Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln, “Summer and fall business is growing,” said spokesman Greg Kwasnik. “People are starting to realize that we’re much more than just a winter resort. Over the past five years, we’ve worked hard to build our summer offerings and events and to broaden our appeal to families.”
Loon added bungee trampoline, a zipline, a rock-climbing wall, and Segway Tours, and opened the first phase of its Aerial Forest Adventure Park last July. “This will be the first summer that all five courses in the Aerial Forest will be open to the public,” said Kwasnik. Among popular summer events are the White Mountain Cycling Classic and the Monster Mud Run, a 5K adventure race with obstacles.
At Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, a Tough Mudder has been added this summer, with a June 1 and 2 event expected to draw 12,000. Tough Mudder events are hardcore, 10-to-12-mile obstacle courses designed to test competitors’ strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie.
Gunstock also offers an Aerial Treetops Adventure Course with 12 zip lines, 22 ladders, and 91 course challenges spread over eight courses, Segway tours, a ZipTour, and expanded campground.
Rounding out mountain offerings in New Hampshire are new stand-up paddle boards at Waterville Valley Resort, which offers golf, tennis, mountain biking, hiking, an ice arena, and skateboard camps; a canopy tour, ziplines, guided rock climbing, indoor climbing wall, mountain biking, and disc golf at Bretton Woods; and ziplines, Segway tours, the Aerial Adventure Course, Mountain Coaster, and Adventure Park with a giant swing, summer tubing, bungee trampoline, Spider Mountain, and bouncy houses at Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway.
Vermont’s expanding ski-resort summer
“While summer is a significant season for Vermont’s overall tourism economy, which is essentially split into thirds between summer, fall and winter, I would put the overall ski-resort business percentage at 10 to 15 percent, while individual resorts like Smuggs and Jay Peak would see a higher percentage with their summer park infrastructure,” said Parker Riehle, president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association.
“Smugglers’ Notch truly led the way on the summer business angle in Vermont’s ski industry, with others like Bromley and Jay Peak coming online in the years since with summer park attractions aimed at boosting visits and business in the off-season. In addition to the golf courses at seven of our state’s ski resorts, the ski areas have constantly been on the move to expand their summer offerings with mountain biking, disc golf, zip lines and canopy tours, in addition to pushing hard for wedding business,” Riehle said.
“Canopy tours have seen the biggest growth in recent years, with Smugglers’ Notch, Bromley, Okemo, and Magic Mountain offering these tree-top ropes courses for our warm-weather thrill seekers.”
Okemo unveils a new wedding garden that can accommodate 200 people and be used to host receptions, family reunions and other gatherings at an idyllic Jackson Gore location where an old barn once stood. Among Okemo’s destination attractions that appeal to wedding and summer guests are the golf course and Adventure Zone — zipline tours, mountain coaster, miniature golf, trampoline bungee jumping, inflatable big-air bag, climbing pinnacle, disc golf, and Segway tours. The resort also hosts free concerts on Friday evenings, several festivals, and Camp Gokemo.
At Magic Mountain in Londonderry, “TimberQuest [Park] has a new course . . . so there will be more variety for repeat visitors to the park during the summer and fall,” said marketing director Geoff Hathaway. The area is also hosting field trips for camps, and offering day or overnight adventures for children in fifth grade and up.
“For the first time, we will have ongoing business at Magic from Memorial Day through Columbus Day with the TimberQuest Park,” he added.
The high tree ropes and obstacle courses launched at TimberQuest last August “brought many new visitors to Magic seeking adventure — some who did not even realize there was a ski area in Londonderry,” Hathaway said. “Therefore, we think the summer park actually helps our winter business.”
Stratton Mountain debuts its Triathlon Training Workshops in June and July. The Wolverine Challenge — a six-mile course with 25 military obstacles — is scheduled to start July 13. Also planned is a yoga retreat and teacher-training certification week with Beryl Bender Birch in August.
Stratton’s returning line-up includes the Wanderlust Yoga extravaganza June 20 to 23, weekly concerts, and weekly activities like paintball, golf and tennis schools, and children’s camps.
Rounding out summer resort offerings: Killington Resort offers disc golf, mountain biking, golf course, and gondola rides; while Bromley Mountain offers 23 rides and attractions including its Kids’ Park, Alpine Slide, ZipRider, water-slide, and Aerial Adventure Park with 63 tree-borne elements, in addition to family shows, live bands, deck barbeques and events.
Jay Peak Resort, which has a new wedding and event space called The Barn located adjacent to its golf course, also added two additional weeks of summer camps. Smugglers’ Notch Resort debuts Splashville, a water playground for youngsters six and under, with features such as water misters and sprays, pulsating fountains, and a water slide.
1 comment:
And Killington gets 12 whole words in this article.
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