The Flightline: Travel Nevada’s David Lusvardi and Connie Mancillas prepare to take their trip down the Flightline. Photo by Alan O’Neill/Outside Las Vegas.I had heard about zip lines at destinations such as mountain resorts, rain forests, and even cruise ship land excursions. They sounded exhilarating. “One day,” I always thought, “I will get to experience a zip line.”
Then I heard about a new adventure outside of Las Vegas called Bootleg Canyon Flightlines—touted as too high, too long, and too fast to be called zip lines. I had to try it.
It all started early in the morning, as my Nevada Commission on Tourism colleague, Connie Mancillas, and I arrived at the Bootleg Canyon visitors center in Boulder City, 23 miles southeast of Las Vegas. During our orientation, we were given briefs to read and releases to sign. This was a good thing, I thought, as any true adventure always requires multiple signatures. We were told about how this attraction came to be and the other experiences the company offers tourists in exotic places such as Peru, Ghana, and Madagascar.
Then we were fitted with our harnesses. It’s the same type of apparatus you step into and strap on to go parasailing. After we were all secured and buckled up, we loaded into the vehicles to drive up Red Mountain.
The first stop was the shortest and simplest beginner run. Although once we stepped onto the stand and had our harnesses hooked to the giant steel cable, it did not exactly feel like a beginner run. All of a sudden we were told to fly. I just sat down in my harness and let gravity do its magic. Speeding down the line, feeling the air fly by, I just let the adrenaline pump and enjoyed the ride. The sound of the brakes cracked the air and sadly, the ride came to an end. I was excited for the next ride.
We then drove to the top of the mountain and took a short hike to the pinnacle, where an amazing view of Boulder City, Lake Mead, and the Las Vegas Valley awaited. I had no idea there was a place to see all of this at once. This alone would have been worth the trek.
Taking flight: Four flyers cruise down the Flightline. Photo by Alan O’Neill/Outside Las Vegas.Hooked up again, I flew down the mountain, faster and higher than before. Now I know why these are called Flightlines. The attraction is aptly named. I took three more wild rides that morning. Each was exhilarating and had its own character, determined by the height, speed, and scenery. One of them allows flyers to reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.
After two years of designing, planning, and construction, the Greenheart Conservation Company, LTD has created an adventure masterpiece. The Canadian-based company wanted to build a showcase attraction in the United States near a major visitors’ area. Las Vegas was the perfect choice due to the volume of visitors as well as the city’s reputation as a great destination for adventure travelers.
Greenheart truly has conservation and sustainability in their core beliefs, which is evident in the development of their projects. The new Bootleg Canyon Flightlines will provide a revenue generator for the area, which is a city park, and yet maintain a minimally intrusive footprint in the area. Bootleg Canyon Flightlines opened to the public on August 22 and will beckon those hungry for an exhilarating outdoor experience in Southern Nevada.
For more information, visit bootlegcanyonflightlines.com. To read more about Boulder City, visit NevadaMagazine.com.
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