Sherman's Travel

Fresh from its December 9 debut, the intimate, 30-room Diamond Mills Hotel & Tavern – a lovely little luxury boutique newbie situated on the Esopus Creek in New York State’s Catskill Mountains (just 100 miles north of NYC) – is luring potential clientele with a great-value “Ski & Stay Package.” Built in partnership with nearby Hunter Mountain, the promo serves up some serious discounting: You’ll get 20 percent off regular rack rates, 25 percent off lift tickets at Hunter, transportation to and from the mountain (about a 35-minute drive), an après-ski beverage for two at the on-site Tavern, plus comped breakfast. All in all, the savings total an attractive 30 percent off of booking each component separately. Discounted package rates, inclusive of all of the above-mentioned extras, start at $180/night, plus, you’ll pay extra for the lift tix (starting at $44 with the promotion). Read more

We covered New York Zipline Adventures when it opened its first two courses at Hunter Mountain last fall, but we haven’t returned since the company launched its third and most ambitious project yet: The Skyrider Tour, North America’s highest and fastest ziplining course, and the second-largest of its kind in the world.

Naturally, I felt compelled to investigate, so last weekend I drove to Hunter (about 130 miles north of New York City, in the Catskills) to try out the course, which consists of five, side-by-side lines (allowing you to race the person next to you).

My verdict: The first line, an intimidating 3,200-foot crossing swaying 600 feet above the valley floor, is the scariest part of the three-hour adventure. After that, you’re just flying high – and traveling as fast as 50mph.

Ready to test it out yourself? I have a few key survival tips.  Zip away!

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Gone are the days you had to set off to some obscure Central American rainforest to get your ziplining fix. Happily for adventurous American travelers, numerous ziplining operations have been cropping up across the country, with one of the newest – and the largest – of the bunch perfectly poised for leaf-peepers looking for a little extra kick with their fall rite of passage. New York Zipline Adventure Tours (www.ziplinenewyork.com) rolled out the first two phases of its three-prong operation at New York’s Hunter Mountain Ski Resort in the Catskills (one of our Top 10 Fall Foliage Travel Destinations), in early June, with the last – and most anticipated – of its courses scheduled to roll out by late December. Read more