Hawksnest Snow Tubing and Zip Line

We went tubing over the weekend while in NC, and I thought it was a blast! Every staff member we encountered were friendly. The upstairs bar/lounge area is nice and relaxing, but I was very dissapointed that a full bar did not have Jager..hmmph.

But, surely you go there to tube, not to drink. I'm not sure why they call it a ski resort, as they closed the skiing portion down...there's only tubing. But it's fun, the tubes are well taken care of and any souveneir pictures you may want are reasonably priced!

We had a lot of fun, but I wish the weather were cooler. If the weather is warm, the slides don't run well and you don't make it very far down each run. That means you get to burn a lot more calories lugging an innertube down to the end of the run and back on the magic carpet to the top.

Strong recommendation to check the weather carefully before booking. Warm or rainy - I'd recommend another activity instead.

Made reservations online as required, they sent quite a few texts for reminders and to sign waivers.

You are reserving a time to snow tube so keep in mind that parking is slow going. Snow tubing cost was $35 pp but rates go up on weekends. This gives you 1 hour and 45 minutes, however, I didn't see anyone actually checking the tickets.

There are 4 different areas and conveyer belts to stand on with your tube to bring you back to the top.

The tubing itself is a lot of fun. The problem is it's really weather dependent. It hadn't snowed recently so your tube only went about halfway down and that requires you to drag your tube and that gets a bit tiring after a few runs. Especially for a 7 year old. I think we lasted a bit over an hour before giving up.

Would've been way better with real snow but still enjoyed the experience

Avoid if windy. Avoid if the previous day was canceled due to weather. DEFINITELY avoid if both!

We have been wanting to do this for years; sadly, the experience was not worth the wait. We encountered AMAZINGLY strong and persistent wind gusts. Also, we found the place very crowded, which resulted in us doing only 5 runs in our 90-minute rez.

The wind blew us and our tubes around so much that we had to kneel on the conveyor lift.

The crowd was, no doubt, due to the entire previous day being canceled for weather, which likely resulted in many previous-day people moving to our day.

As a first-time visitor, I can say that the staff was ZERO helpful. With only one or two exceptions, the staff just stood around and had no engagement with the guests.

I am unlikely to return.

We recently went snow tubing. The slopes were awesome. Although the attraction itself was fun, we experienced very poor customer service. To add to that, some of slopes don't have bags at the end to break your crash. My dad ended up getting a minor concussion; the workers at the bottom of the slope didn't offer any help.

Staff was excellent and 18 and 26 year old had a blast today. Two men giving the zip lining tour at noon were great. Love this place for tubing and the zip lining didn't disappoint. Will definitely be back.

This place is lots of fun, especially if you are new to outdoor activities in the snow and cold. This was our first time taking our kids and they had snow much fun. We wondered how they would manage with having to wear a mask and it wasn't an issue at all. There is no social distancing but you are asked to wear a mask to enter the park. The two days we were there we saw maybe two different t families that took off their mask after entering. To each their own.

They have several different slopes, small, medium and tall. Be warned even with the magic carpets, you will do a lot of walking and pulling of snow tubes.

The key to each slope is to see which lane is having folks make it all the way to the end. It's a bit of trial and error. Our second day it was a lot warmer and the slopes were soggy and no one was really getting good slip. But you could tell what lane was best because it's line was the longest.

There is a pizza truck on property, we didn't try it but it looked tasty. Bathrooms were kept pretty clean and their small gift shop had the necessities you might need if you forgot something.

There is plenty of staff around and most are either high school or college kids. They will give you a push if you need it and most seemed to be enjoying their job.

We would visit again and maybe do their zip line tour.

I have awesome memories of Hawksnest Ski Resort as a kid and the remanence of the trails still exists but go unused. Now a tubing park, there is still fun to be had.
Reservations online are the way to go and be sure to knock those waivers out before you arrive. I don't know if walk up availability is even an option. When booking you are paying for a specific two hour time-slot (actually about 1:45 of tubing time). It is encouraged to arrive thirty minutes prior to your appointed time which was way more than enough time. Slots sale out fast, especially on weekends. Once you arrive, find a parking spot, change into whatever you want to tube in (ski pants and raincoat are recommended) and walk up to get your tickets. Then a short wait in line for the previously time slot folks to clear and off you go.

There are four or five "runs" that sort of feed into each other. None seem too extreme but that is VERY dependent on the quality of the snow. Warmer days bring slower slush, colder days bring icy speed.

We went on a warmer day with teenage boys that thought it was "too slow". I know this was solely because of the slush and nothing to do with the park but the boys were bored after about an hour.

Went today to try out snow tubing. Had such a great time. We decided to try it out because they mandated masks. The snow tubing itself was a blast. It was well organized and the "elevators"!in between were great.

I reduced my number of stars because our experience was definitely lessened by the lack of mask enforcement. There were about 20 people who did not have a mask on and no one was doing anything about it. Very stressful when they got too close to us.

Well i was not able to cancel my tubing time even though the guy who was supposed to do my ziplining didn't show up for work.
My kids had a lot of fun and for the most part everyone working there was very friendly.
I ended up launching off a bump on the 1000ft slope and landing in another lane.
I rarely do reviews but i have bruises all over my body and a concussion.
I asked the guy at the bottom If this happened often. He said no.
When i went on one more ride i heard the situation being discussed over the radio.
I'm an adventure seeker. I love this kind of stuff but this was not a good experience.

Doesn't look like much when you drive up and the place is pretty old. But the 2 guides we zip lined with were what made the experience so wonderful. We had smaller children in our group, the guides were patient and kind with them while remaining uplifting and energetic throughout the tour. I highly recommend the Hawks tour for the kids, younger teenagers if they haven't zip lined before. It's a great introductory course that isn't just a "kiddie course". If you or your kids weigh less than 120 lbs it is not recommended to do the Eagles course because of the momentum and speed needed to complete the 2400 ft line. I know on the website it says something different but each guide we talked to said more often than not they have to meet people because they didn't weigh enough to make it all the way across. Just food for thought.

Definitely go and try it out! You won't be disappointed! We even did it on a cloudy, rainy day and still had an amazing time!!!