Recreate In Utah’s first post in the new year is “What’s Trending in 2020 in Outdoor Adventures”. After considerable research we came up with a list of ten activities we believe are hot right now.

Ravens Rim Adventures in Moab Utah is a one stop shop for four of the ten on our list. We’re going to focus on their Zipline, Via Ferrata and Hummer tours.

Zipline

This was our second time out on the course. It was great the first go around, so in my mind the second time was to be a refresher tour to make writing about it easier. However, I was caught a bit off guard; only minutes into the UTV ride I could feel my heart rate increasing and I was looking for somewhere to hold on. Your UTV  climbs up over 1000 feet above the city of Moab to the first of six ziplines. To call the ride anything less than exhilarating, would be an understatement in my book.  And for the second time I found myself happy that I’m not the one behind the wheel. Just think about it, you come down the same road (I use the word “road” loosely).

Once on top, the adventure continues! There are six separate ziplines ranging in length of a few 100 feet to 1/4 mile on two of them plus a suspension bridge that spans a narrow canyon.

Picture yourself flying a couple dozen feet above Moab’s world famous Slick Rock. Now add in tour guides that are kind, helpful and knowledgeable about the area’s history and are able to point out landmarks in the distance. But first and foremost, your guides are concerned for your safety and that you’re having a great adventure.

he reasons for booking a Raven’s Rim Zipline tour are many. Maybe you’re wanting to try something new or you want to step out of your comfort zone. For me I’ve always wanted to see more of the terrain in the slickrock area but knew a mountain bike ride was not in the cards.

Via Ferrata

Via Ferrata is Italian for Iron Path. In WW l there was a need to get troops and supplies over steep rock cliffs. So they took rebar and bent it into horseshoe shapes, drilled holes into rock and cemented the rebar in; creating a ladder up the mountain. This was easy to defend and made it possible for anyone to climb up.

When the war ended, the courses became recreation spots for someone looking for a new adventure.  They have continued to grow in popularity in Europe for decades. It’s only been in the past five or six years that the adventure sport has started to catch on in the United States.

From the moment I heard that there’s a course in Moab, I could hardly wait to try it. We’ve all had the experience of anticipating, thinking about, and even dreaming of something for so long that when it finally happens, it doesn’t measure up to expectations. Let me assure you that was not the case with Raven’s Rim Adventures’, Via Ferrata tour. It exceeded my expectations!

I was pushed just enough out of my comfort zone to make it challenging and exciting. Yet not once did I feel unsafe. The course contains multiple obstacles besides just climbing a iron ladder. We have such a relativity small number of courses in the United States, this should be moved to the top of all adventure seekers’ lists of things to do on your next Moab excursion.

Hummer Tour

Moab’s Slick Rock Recreation Area has been drawing crowds from all over the globe for over half of a century. It started with Jeep enthusiasts. Now mountain and dirt bikers as well as UTVs are found testing their skill here all year. As for me, I wanted to leave the driving to someone who knows the area and has the experience and skill to navigate the course. Our guide spent 12 years in the Marines driving hummers while under enemy fire and training others to do the same. There’s a number of off-road tour companies in Moab but only Raven’s Rim Adventures has access to the private road that takes you from Moab’s Main Street up and over the mountain to the Slickrock area; adding an excitement to the tour that’s just not available to other tour companies.

We took Raven’s Rim’s Hell’s Revenge tour. It’s packed with numerous obstacles that causes one’s heart rate to speed up at least a little. Some will say that their heart is at a full-on pounding stage. No matter what your heart is doing, I’m sure you’ll find the tour to be as exhilarating, informative and awe-inspiring as my wife and I did.

Whitewater Rafting

You can also book a whitewater rafting trip with Raven’s Rim Adventures. We were there too early in the spring to enjoy one of the rafting trips available in the area.

Adventure should be 80 percent ‘I think this is manageable,’ but it’s good to have that last 20 percent where you’re right outside your comfort zone. Still safe, but outside your comfort zone.

Bear Grylls

The guides at Raven’s Rim Adventures are a perfect example of tour guides breathing life into your adventure with stories, history and folklore that surround Moab making it the adventure hub of Utah.