High Point Outdoor Activities

With snowy manes aflutter in the wind and tawny haunches trotting leisurely along paved streets, Bo and Doc—the horsepower behind Camel City Carriage Company—dutifully ferry passengers around Winston-Salem’s city center. Piloting Bo and Doc on public and private tours, sisters and company founders Toni Phillips and Gina McClamrock, along with their father, Ron, happily regale passengers with interesting and invented area history as well as recommend restaurants for post-ride feasting. The old-timey carriage’s striped cover shields riders from inclement weather, keeping precipitation and rainbows’ ends from infiltrating tours.

Standing on a platform, eco-tourists pause to admire the view before stepping from their perch to soar across a high wire and admire the complex ecosystem of animals, plants, and Swiss Family Robinsons that lives in the scenic canopy. This moment—both tranquil and adrenaline-filled—occurs every day at Carolina Ziplines Canopy Tours, where experienced guides lead safely harnessed visitors on excursions through the verdant treetops of the Carolina forests nestled in the shadow of Pilot Mountain, near Hanging Rock State Park. The zipline course weaves from platform to platform, culminating in a 1,000-foot-long uninterrupted soar. After tours, guests can linger to have a picnic on the historic grounds, enjoy a bonfire when the weather’s cool, or even stay overnight in a cozy inn.