Amazing staff- friendly, attentive, fun, knowledgeable. Felt absolutely safe leaving our two teens with them for the 3 hour tour (which they absolutely loved!). Kids had a great time and would totally go again! read more

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Amazing experience! Colin and Will were our guides and made everyone feel comfortable and safe. Very professional operation, gorgeous views, great guides made this a five star experience. Highly recommend. read more

Incredible staff great equipment beautiful scenery. No towers to zip off just trees and everything they do is for the environment.

Every single employee we interacted with was awesome. Marc has a great Zipline course set up and our tour guides Alec and Austin made our experience so fun. They even took pictures for us on the tour so we could just enjoy our experience. We will definitely be back with more friends! read more

Shawnee Bluffs Canopy Tour - They had a helmet with a veil for my bachelorette party! (For photos only ) - Tours Near Me - Makanda, Illinois

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From the booking through the very end of the tour our group had a great time. The customer service was superb, our guides were funny, fun, and supportive (especially when I had a few fear of heights moments). The owner is very involved and a really neat person. Our group would go back in a heart beat. read more

Shawnee Bluffs Canopy Tour - We came with a bachelorette party - Tours Near Me - Makanda, Illinois

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What a great way to enjoy the outdoors! Ziplining through the trees right in the middle of Shawnee National Forest. It's a new exerience every time, each season is so different. I recommend going in the late fall/ early winter after all of the leaves have fallen. The views are incredible. Don't get me wrong Spring and Summer are lush and beautiful And who doesn't enjoy the incredible colors of Fall? But the winter months are where its at in my book! It's breathtaking when you see what the leaves are hiding! (Sidenote: No sweating, another plus) The facility is very well taken care of. The staff are friendly priding themselves on safety. read more

Recently I went on my second zip-lining experience at Shawnee Trails. Both times I had fantastic tours and felt safe the entire time. First you go through 'zip school' where you have a mini zip just to practice the basics on. Expect a nice hike in-between some of the last few zips. Make sure to bring closed-toe shoes and extra cash-they have cold candy (Reese's) and sodas, which were perfect after a long afternoon of zip-lining. We bought t-shirts ($15 each) as souvenirs and a CD of photos that had been taken of our group throughout the experience. Our guides took extra time to take photos of each person individually against a great valley backdrop. Forget about being thirsty or bringing water bottles-you'll be provided a water bottle that clips onto you, with another cooler of water bottles on a zip-lining platform. While I've only gone in the middle of the summer, I image the fall or spring would also be great times to have this experience. read more

Excellent zip lining. Everything is very professional and Marc the owner is very detail-oriented. Our guides Kyle and David were top notch. Very friendly and patient and a lot of fun. The views are great and you can get pretty fast on a couple of the lines. Really fun experience. read more

Fantastic zip-lining experience with friends! It's one of the best ways to enjoy fall season hiking in Shawnee National Forest. The place is clean and well organized. They charge your credit card the minute you book your day, probably helps with no-shows and people backing out. You get there and sign a few wavers. Meet your zip lining guides and get geared up. Then the fun starts. You get a bit of an intro class on the mechanics of how it all works and you get a trial run before you hit the big trees. The whole thing takes about 2-3 hours with some hiking, suspension bridge walking, and of course zipping through the trees. Water is provided and you cannot bring your camera or phone. They sell video and a photo disc for $40. The video is a go-pro you wear on your wrist. Our guides Kyle and Curtis were awesome. Thanks guys! Cool way to spend our morning among the trees. read more

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I was convinced by my friends to overcome my fear of heights and do this. The instructors explained the safety gear and made sure I understood it all. The first few zips were slow and short to build up my confidence with the final one being over 1000 feet long and I hit about 40 mph. The final zip you go over a ravine and end up going over the tops of the trees. So exhilarating. This was one of the most scary (for me) and fun things I have ever done. Had a couple of older people (in their 70s) who had zip lined in many places in the world (including Costa Rica and Hawaii) and they said this was the best. What a great way to view and experience nature. You will be doing some hiking so bring sturdy shoes. They provide water and pictures. read more

If you're fond of heights, trees, and speed, this is for you. The instruction was complete and encouraging, and appropriate measures were taken to ensure our safety while keeping things fun. They start out with some shorter ziplines, then build up to some longer ones later in the tour. read more

Pretty nice Zip Line Adventure! I was hosting some clients down in Carbondale, IL and we wanted to do something that would help with team building. We heard of Shawnee Bluffs Canopy Tour and thought it was a great idea. The staff was excellent and was able to handle our (rather large) group beautifully! The staff were not just our guides but kept us all entertained the entire time we were on the line. The facility is a bit out in the middle of no where and the roads are not well maintained out there but if you can make it, you will not be disappointed! read more

I came here with an IDNR Women's Outdoor Workshop. It was very well organized. The tour guides were very enthusiastic and didn't let us get away without hearing our share of "dad" jokes. They have "flight school" at the beginning . . . a small zip line to teach you how to zipline and all the safety features. Plus, the Southern Illinois natural features can't be beat! read more

My kids (aged 11 and 17) and I have done 3 of these sorts of adventures. We did Go Ape in Indianapolis and Urban Jungle in Sydney, Australia. What was different about this? 8 big ziplines and very little climbing or other adventuring. The course is built over a deep ravine in a rural (hard to find) area of southern Illinois. There is an extreme emphasis on safety. In fact, unlike the other 2 adventures we went to, here you can't do much by yourself. The well-trained guides hook you, unhook you, make sure you stay in the group and between them. You have one guide in front and one in back. After the first "training" school, you have a couple of easy zip lines - then they tend to get longer and faster. The last one sent me at about 50 MPH at the fastest. We ended up meeting 4 other people; and by the end - we all got to be friends. You nearly have to. You don't have to be in good shape to do this. The equipment does it all for you. I wasn't out of my comfort zone at all - and had a great time. The cost is quite reasonable. It is quite a feat of engineering to build 9 platforms; put in the zip lines; put in the wires to help hold things up; cut back the trees for the clearings; keep the trees trimmed; make the trails where needed; etc... I think it has only been open a few months; improvements continue. Allow at least 3 hours. We took about 3:15. read more

My wife and I had a blast at Shawnee Bluffs Canopy Tour. The scenery among the trees was awesome with views of some bluffs, creeks, and rolling hills. Our guides, Jessica and Andrew made the tour even better with their great knowledge of the course, helpfulness, and sharing conversations and jokes with our group. They make everything very easy and enjoyable for those who visit whether you've zipped before or not. This was our our favorite part of our trip and we'd highly recommend! read more

What a blast. We were on an adult "high adventure" weekend with friends, and saw this as an activity in the area here in Southern Il. While not crazy about heights, this was something we all decided needed to be experienced. And so glad we went. 8 zip lines thorough the forest and 3 rope bridges - exhilarating, yet completely safe. The owner was fantastic at giving the low-down on what to expect. The guides were awesome guys who really knew their stuff. We zipped up to 50 mph, saw some beautiful area from "high up", and had the thrill of our vacation on the zip line. Definately something we'd do again. read more

I've done other zip lines in jungles and destination resorts around the world. This outfit out did them all. Safety was clearly job 1. The layout was well thought out. The staff were organized, outgoing, professional and eager to make sure everyone we having a great experience. Highly recommend this if you're anywhere near Southern Illinois and looking for a fun way to kill a few hours in a beautiful old forest. A little hard to find but well worth it. I will be back to experience other seasons. read more

I've done this tour twice, each time with about 8 family members, ranging in age from 12 - 72, and everyone loved it. The guides are professional and friendly, so you're having a good time but you always feel safe. And "Shawnee Bluffs Canopy" is as gorgeous as it sounds. Yes, it's remote, and some of the reviewers make that sound like a bad thing; for me, that's the charm. It's easy to find if you're looking for it but not something random tourists will find by accident. You'll get a frequent zipper card, w/ a free zip after only three paid zips; I was there five years ago, and of course had not kept track of my card, but they had a record of me and gave me a new card w/ credit for the 5-yrs-ago zip. That's classy. They offer the four seasons and a night zip. read more

AMAZING! FUN! PROFESSIONAL! My husband and I went to do the zip lining this weekend and it was a great time. Candy was great giving us instructions and Will and Hogan were fun but professional at the same time. They kept all the safety processes and were very patient with the whole group. My husband who is afraid of heights said that was not an issue since you feel so safe. I am recommending to all my family, friends and co-workers. This place is a gem and I hope they continue to grow in success since they all work hard and deserve it! read more