Ever looked down at the top of a forest? Not across at it or up into it, but down on it, with your feet dangling 120 feet above the trees and nothing under you but air and a whole lot of trust in a cable?
That’s the view waiting at Upstate Zipline, tucked inside Keowee-Toxaway State Park on Lake Keowee. If you’ve been hunting for something to do in the Upstate that doesn’t involve a screen or another lap around the mall, put this one at the top of the list.
If you love adventure or want to try something new for the whole family, Upstate Zipline near Greenville, SC offers that thrilling ride you’re looking for! We checked it out ourselves and have all the details on how to enjoy this new attraction in the Upstate, SC.
Quick Summary: Upstate Zipline
Got a family that can’t agree on anything? Put them 120 feet up a tree. 🚀
We just spent the weekend at Upstate Zipline near Greenville, SC, and every single one of us, teens included, walked away grinning.
✔️ Rental cabins or tent sites for the whole crew
✔️ Kayaking on the lake
✔️ 10 ziplines soaring over the treetops
✔️ Kids as young as 3 can zip with a guide
✔️ Gem mining, keep everything you find 🪨
✔️ Full Moon Tours with campfire s’mores 🌕
✔️ Discounts for groups of 4+
Tucked inside Keowee-Toxaway State Park and built with nature in mind. No clunky towers, just big views and serious thrills.
Book it: (https://upstatezipline.com/)
Thank you to Upstate Zipline for hosting us so we could write this review.
You Watch Our Visit to Upstate Zipline Before You Read About It
Have you ever wanted to speed through the trees for a half-mile while suspended a couple hundred feet in the air? I have! The Upstate Zipline has you covered. In fact, it has the whole family covered as kids as young as three-years-old can zipline here. Plus, they now offer kayaking, gem mining weekend cabins and so much more! So if someone in your group doesn’t want to zip, or you want to add on another fun activity, you can!
Kidding Around has visited Upstate Zipline three times. We’ve sent three writers and their families, so we’ve collectively done the course with six different kids ages 8 to 15. Everyone absolutely loved it, even our hard-to-please teens!
From registration to communication beforehand to check-in to the actual zipline tour, Upstate Zipline was a memorable and exciting experience, one we are sure families will enjoy.
About Upstate Zipline
Upstate Zipline’s course is at Keowee-Toxaway State Park in the Upstate, about an hour from Greenville. It consists of 10 ziplines, It’s even cooler than it sounds.
Upstate Zipline is owned by Robert and Joanna Nickell, who have been constructing, inspecting, and imagining the adventures of ziplines for 27 years. They’ve moved all over the country as they have opened new zipline places but fell in love with the Greenville area and decided to relocate here and build a zipline course in 2021.
Robert and Joanna were able to work with South Carolina State Parks to construct the current zipline course at Keowee-Toxaway State Park. If you’re familiar with the park, the location is across the street from where you would go to hike the Natural Bridge/Raven Rock Trail.
There are picnic tables and bathroom facilities where Upstate Zipline is located.
When the course was designed and constructed, it was done to preserve as much of the natural world as possible and not include clunky steel towers or anything that looks like it really doesn’t belong there. What you’ll notice most is how the course is built around the trees and natural topography – which is exactly the way it was designed. The platforms are held up with wires, and not drilled into the trees. So as the trees grow, the course can be altered to accommodate that growth and the trees stay healthy.
The Course
The canopy tour covers more than a mile and a half of flying: ten ziplines, a suspended bridge, and three short nature walks that give your heart rate a minute to come back down. The highest line sits 120 feet above the forest floor, and the longest runs up to 2,000 feet, long enough to stop gripping the harness, take a breath, and actually look at the mountains, the trees, and the lake rolling out underneath you. Plan on an hour and a half to two hours, start to finish. They run daytime and nighttime tours, so once you’ve flown it in the sun, you’ve got a reason to come back and fly it in the dark.
The guides make it easy. Ours kept the mood light, got a little competitive with us, and pointed out the native and invasive species along the way, so we came off the last platform knowing more about that forest than we expected to. Two of the five of us needed a rescue near the end of the longest line, and even that was handled so smoothly that we were all giggles by the time everybody’s feet were back on the platform. If you’re nervous, you’ll be in good hands.
Then comes the really fun part. You’ll zip to a platform, cross a suspension bridge and head right to the half-mile-long zip line. I couldn’t see the other side of it and felt just a tad nervous. But once I got up there and started zipping through the air, it was the coolest feeling. You’re so high and going so fast and it’s just a really neat, freeing feeling. When you go, don’t forget to look all around you. It’s beautiful!!
After that zipline, you get to go on the fastest line in the course so pay attention to your guide and when he/she tells you to brake. It’s easy, don’t worry. That line can get up to 60 miles per hour!
Once you zip through the last line, you’ll be brought back to the headquarters of Upstate Zipline in a little bus, about a three-minute drive.
All in all, it took us just over two hours to complete the course. We had about five people in our group so it may be shorter if you have fewer since the guides need to clip and unclip everyone about a hundred times throughout the course (it may be less but it seemed like a hundred times – safety is of utmost importance).
Safety at Upstate Zipline
Speaking of safety, that is of utmost importance to Upstate Zipline, high above everything else, pun intended. Guides are extensively trained by Universal Zipline Technology, the leader in the zipline industry, on how to use the zipline ropes and clips and what to do in cases of emergency.
The entire zipline course is inspected daily and Robert and Joanna have 27 years of experience in this industry. They also travel and inspect other zipline courses throughout the country, including some we’ve written about at Kidding Around.
Our guides were laser-focused on safety our entire trip. They must have rechecked our gear a dozen times and gave us instructions multiple times as well on how to best enjoy the course safely. They were both really fun to be around with great personalities but it was more than obvious they were paying close attention to us the entire time.
Requirements for Guests
Upstate Zipline is the only zipline place I’ve been to that allows kids as young as three-years-old to participate. They make it safe for these kids because they pair them with a guide for the longer zip lines. The reason most zipline places don’t allow kids this young to go is because they would never make it across the zipline because they don’t weigh enough. By pairing them with a guide, the kids can enjoy the course, making it a true family adventure!
My youngest child is 10 years old and hardly weighs anything while I was nervous. Alan only had to rescue her once. She had a blast and I was comforted knowing that my daughter was in good hands.
The other important rule is that for participants that are 5′ 6″ and shorter, they must be 250 pounds or under. Participants that are 5′ 7″ and taller must be 280 lbs or under.
When you check in, you will be weighed (this is absolutely common practice on all zipline and ropes courses).
When you book your zipline adventure, please make note of all of these requirements before purchasing your slot.
Full Moon Tours
We did a daytime tour but Upstate Zipline does offer Full Moon zipline tours for the truly adventurous among us. You’ll do the course by moonlight with headlamps and then you get s’mores and a campfire afterward. This would be such a fun adventure, especially if you’re camping nearby.
Guests who do the Full Moon tour must be 8 years old and advanced reservations are recommended.
Tips on Enjoying Your Zipline Tour
After doing the entire zipline course, we have a few tips:
- Bring water. It gets warm out there and having water is key. There is a water station on the course.
- You have to wear shoes that won’t fall off so basically no flip-flops.
- Wear sunscreen. When the leaves are off the trees especially, you’ll be waiting in the sun on the platforms.
- If you plan to have your cell phone with you, make sure to purchase a cell phone lanyard. They are awesome, stretching over your phone so you can still comfortably use it to take photos or videos.
- Go to the bathroom before you go on our tour. You can’t get out of your harness to make a bathroom stop during the tour. There are bathrooms where you check in.
- Follow the rules and get there a half hour before your tour so you have the time you need to get geared up and go through all the safety instructions.
- Book now for the fall. I can’t even imagine how incredible this course will be come October when the leaves change. It’s going to be awesome.
Gem Mining at Upstate Zipline
Upstate Zipline offers gem mining. You can enjoy this experience after your zipline tour since you’ll be headed back to the office to get your gear off anyway. Or, if you are traveling with someone who doesn’t want to try the ziplines, they can enjoy some quiet gem mining while you’re out on your adventure.
Purchase bags of mining materials from the Upstate Zipline office. Prices start at $10 and go up to $50 for the biggest bag.
My kids ages 10 through 15 all really enjoyed gem mining, and I have to say my husband and I did too. But sifting through the Motherload bag of dirt in the sluices beside the office was actually really fun! And my kids found amethyst, fossils, quartz, crystal points, obsidian, and lots of other cool things. They are still sorting through all their finds and looking up information to help them positively identify the gems. So, you could definitely call this activity both fun and educational.
Booking Your Adventure
You can book directly online with Upstate Zipline through their Upstate Zipline website. They do offer group discounts and be sure to sign up for their newsletter and follow them on social media to keep updated on the latest news and discounts.
The zipline tour is $89/person and the Full Moon Tour is $99/person. Use our code “KAG10” until May 8th 2027 for 10% off!
Stay at Upstate Zipline
That’s right! The camp located within the Keowee Toxaway State Park called Camp Cedar Creek is now operated by Upstate Zipline. They’ve done some awesome things, converting cabins to be perfect for families. We stayed in these cabins and had so much fun enjoying the outdoors, kayaking on the lake, and of course, staying minutes from the zipline course!
Get all the details about these cabins in our story: Stay and Play at Upstate Zipline
Upstate Zipline
138 Museum Circle, Sunset, SC
864.720.4318
Upstate Zipline Website
Upstate Zipline Facebook
For other places to zipline in our region, see our Ziplining in the Southeast story.