South Carolina is known for its slow pace, live oaks draped in moss, historic homes, and world-class golf. However, if you convert the golf cart into a safety harness and drop the beach towel in your hotel room, you will discover a real side of the Palmetto State, full of heights, velocity, and high-octane excitement.
From the drop-out-forget-where aerial sensation provided by extreme vertical drops along the coast to the heart-pumping excitement of flying across elevated, multi-tiered obstacle courses woven high in the pine and hardwood canopy trees, there’s no better fun to take in than an aerial adventure getaway and bungee jumping South Carolina.
Put on your own sturdy sneakers, leave the fear of heights at the door, and prepare for a weekend itinerary that will push your limits.
Day 1: Coastal Free-Falls & High-Wire Heights
South Carolina’s high country and its lively, colorful Grand Strand. Traditional bungee jumping, typically at a commercial jump off of a bridge, is almost nonexistent in the state due to tight regulations. Still, in Myrtle Beach, they have mastered the art of high-gravity, free-fall engineering.
In the morning, riders face the Ultimate Drop at the Free Fall Thrill Park.
Beat the humidity of the ocean breeze before it brings the heat with Free Fall Thrill Park, right in the middle of downtown Myrtle Beach. This attraction hub is designed with the adrenaline rushers in mind, with a need for quick g-forces and a sudden vertical drop.
If you’re looking for something as close as you can get on the coast to experience the sheer weightlessness of bungee jumping in South Carolina, this 170-foot drop tower is right up there. Slowly carried up into the air so you can enjoy the views of the Atlantic Ocean and the boardwalk along the ocean.
Once you’ve cleared the top, the countdown is off, only followed by a sudden mechanical release that sends you the rest of the way to pavement in a split-second free fall before magnetic brakes take over at the bottom.
Named the “reverse bungee” for the extreme riding, this “riddle” lifts two people so that a metal sphere can be attached by heavy-duty spring cables to the front, then anchored to ladders 150 ft. up two towers. To separate from the ship, you are catapulted straight up into the air, up to 300+ feet at speeds over 100 mph in less than 2 seconds.
Afternoon: Work on Soar + Explore Canopy Course
Take a break after lunch along the beachfront boardwalk and then go over to Broadway at the Beach to complete Soar + Explore.
This tropical-oriented adventure playground is a huge three-level ropes course designed using more than 3,000 ropes and cables. Participants are strapped into full-body climbing harnesses and attached to an overhead safety track.
Each level of the structure is higher, and the 33 obstacle elements are increasingly difficult and wobbly as they climb up the structure. You’ll swing over narrow, tight, swinging wooden logs, cargo nets, foot-wide wooden planks, and swing across tightropes that are high above the ground.
After completing the highest rope course level, finish off the day with the Soar + Explore Zipline’s launch platform.
Day 2: Upstate Canopy Quests and Floating Obstacles
The second day is spent traveling inland, where the interior of South Carolina is lush and unique, with flat coastal plains turning into rolling hills, meandering river valleys, and dense forests in the Blue Ridge foothills.
Mornings – Flying Rabbit Adventures Course climb.
Head northwest to the lively outdoor scene of Greenville and Flying Rabbit Adventures. This is an elevated park that sits next to the renowned Swamp Rabbit Trail, in a beautiful wooded park setting, and has one of the most extensive and up-to-date aerial ropes experiences in the State.
Participants receive a safety briefing (referred to as “ground school”) that provides a short safety orientation by a certified instructor to teach you how to use your continuous belay safety equipment.
There are three levels of difficulty for this course:
- Beginner: low height bridges, solid footings and short zip line transitions to help you get comfortable with the height and movement of the cables.
- Blue (Intermediate): Core balance and hand-eye coordination needed, higher elevation with floating stirrups, swinging logs and wider gaps.
- High in the tree canopy, this level requires true upper body strength, extreme concentration and stamina as you cross wobbly rickety bridges, hang from rings and traverse long ropes without any footwork.
Bungee Trampolines for Families and Group Warm-Ups (Day 2 Evening Option)
If you’re traveling with younger thrill seekers that don’t qualify for 100-foot drop towers, then you can end your weekend at Mr. Putty’s Fun Park in Tega Cay, near Rock Hill.
The Bungee Jumper is a popular activity for them that’s made with heavy-duty harness technology, elastic bungee cords, and high-rebound trampolines.
It can be used safely to jump into the air at heights up to 20 feet, enabling participants to perform continuous front flips or back flips without risk of a hard landing, for all ages. It’s a wonderful, non-threatening introduction to aerial flips and acrobatic skills for novices before attempting to do bigger free-fall towers.
Useful checklist for preparation of Aerial Adventures
Here are a few tips and tricks for a safe and comfortable weekend at high elevation:
What to Wear
Shoes: Sandals, flip-flops, Crocs and slip-ons are not allowed on any ropes course or free-fall attractions.
Harness-Friendly Clothing: An all-body climbing harness is made of heavy nylon webbing which fits snugly around the thighs and waist. Never wear short shorts so that the skin is not able to rub against bare exposed skin. A pair of mid-thigh athletic shorts, or yoga pants, leggings, or light hiking trousers is recommended.
Hair Accessories: Long hair should be pulled back in a ponytail or braid at the nape of the neck and not be in safety pulleys, carabiners, or helmet straps.
In the end
It turns out that you don’t have to travel to the high Alpine regions or leap off enormous suspension bridges for a real ‘dose of adrenaline’ in South Carolina. The unique features of both the local canopy ropes course and the rowdy reverse-bungees at the Grand Strand make it easy to create a gravity-defying weekend adventure visiting a different aspect of Palmetto State’s natural beauty from a bird’s-eye view!