Tucked away in the woods of Whitesburg, Georgia, Historic Banning Mills is home to the world’s largest zipline canopy tour. The property stretches across 516 acres of Snake Creek Gorge, serving as a historic district, conservation center, and adventure destination.

Beyond the zipline tour packages, Banning Mills also offers a variety of lodging options, from cabin rentals to tree houses. At the main lodge, you can book a four-course gourmet dinner with a beautiful view of the gorge. Other attractions include kayaking, the world’s tallest climbing wall, and off-road vehicle tours.

For this adventure, we put Ivey’s fear of heights to the ultimate test. Banning Mills has four levels of zipline tours, each one ramping up in both speed and height. We opted, boldly, for all four levels.

The tour began with our two guides explaining how to zipline safely. Once we had our harnesses securely fastened, we were ready to soar through the treetops.

To get between towers, we traversed sky bridges, long suspension bridges with planks that sway with each step (don’t look down!). Throughout the tour, your harness is suspended from a network of cables, so you never need to worry about falling.

The first zipline is one of the longer ones, but cruises at a very pleasant 20-30 mph. Around Level 2, the ziplines start to get fast, and reach lengths of 1000 ft. By the end of the tour, we careened down the Screaming Eagle, a 2500-ft zipline that gets its name from the high-pitched roaring sound it makes.

Even if you’re scared of heights, you get used to it very quickly after the first couple of ziplines. With a few high-speed ziplines under our belts, we were navigating each landing like pros.

The views really are breathtaking. Several of the ziplines and bridges cross over Snake Creek Gorge, and for a thrilling moment, there’s nothing but you, the treetops, and the wind rushing past you.

If you take a zipline tour beyond Level 1 at Banning Mills, you should be prepared for several hours of climbing bridges, hiking trails, and stair-climbing. You might want to skip leg day at the gym before you visit!

When we finished our zipline tour, we checked into one of the poolside tree house lodges. The cozy rooms have a jet tub, and a balcony overlooking the woods. It was the perfect way to wind down after our exhilarating, but exhausting, journey.

For dinner, we enjoyed wagyu sirloin in a creamy zip sauce and elk medallions with blueberry compote. Our desserts were a honey glazed cheesecake and chocolate pistachio torte. Banning Mills also has vegetarian dining options.

Even if you don’t stay the night, the miles of hiking trails are open to visitors for a small fee (under $10). The Adventure Bridge crosses the gorge hundreds of feet off the ground. You can follow the trails to scenic falls, mill ruins, and lakes.

We didn’t know what to expect, but ziplining at Banning Mills was an unforgettable experience.