Cypress Valley Canopy Tours is an aerial

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

located along the

Pedernales River The Pedernales River ( ) is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in Central Texas in the United States. It drains an area of the Edwards Plateau, flowing west to east across the Texas Hill Country west of Austin. The name "Pede ...

in the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ameri ...

. Founded in 2005, the company offers

canopy tour A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bo ...

s, canopy walks,

zip-lining A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bo ...

and overnight

treehouse A tree house, tree fort or treeshed is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, a han ...

accommodations for guests.

Overview

Cypress Valley Canopy Tours was founded by Amy and David Beilharz and began operation in 2005 after they bought the property in 1999 and decided they needed to share it, making it the first canopy ziplining tour in the continental United States. The Beilharzes came up with the idea of ziplining after discovering it in Costa Rica; they had previously tried other vocations such as buffalo ranching. It is situated approximately 30 miles east of

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

on 88 acres of

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

forest purchased by the Beilharz family in 1998. Guided tours focus on

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

, and area history, and consist of six zip lines, three sky bridges, and a rappel. Many of the cypress trees in the area exceed 100 feet in height. The property also features a picnic area, a small lake and a swimming pool. Describing "The Nest," one of the treehouses on the property, the ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' said, "If the Swiss Family Robinson ever thought about upgrading their home to include more luxurious finishes, this would be it." Another treehouse, "The Lofthaven," has been called, "a romantic bird's-eye suite for two." Other treehouses on the property include Juniper and Willow. The first treehouse was built in 2006, but was damaged during the 2011 Texas wildfires. Cypress Valley Canopy Tours was recognized as one of the 20 best places in Texas to get your adrenaline pumping by the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

'', which described it as, "an ideal destination for risk-takers who prefer not to lounge around." As of 2017, Amy and David Beilharz are building another treehouse resort in the

California redwoods ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.cypressvalleycanopytours.com/ Texas Hill Country Zip lines Tourist attractions in Burnet County, Texas Buildings and structures in Burnet County, Texas Resorts in the United States Tourist attractions in Texas 2005 establishments in Texas Adventure parks American companies established in 2005 Privately held companies of the United States