When my twins had their birthday this year, they asked for their present to be us doing “a zipline and ropes course in the woods.” I was pleased to discover a hidden gem right here in Knoxville that met their criteria: Navitat at Ijams. The reviews were amazing and it was voted by TripAdvisor as Knoxville’s #1 outdoor activity.
I am here to tell you that it lives up to that title!
When we arrived, we were fitted with all our gear: helmet, gloves, and harness. We also had to lock up all of our loose articles (including our phones) in a locker to prevent anything from falling out of our pockets and onto the course. Then, we took a short walk out to the Navitat area.
The first several minutes were spent in “ground school” where our instructors outlined in great detail how to use our carabiners to safely clip in and out to move through the course. Then, they had us all practice. I won’t try to explain all the details, but if you’re nervous like I was, I can reassure you that you are NEVER not clipped into something if you are on the course, and you CANNOT MESS UP. Even if you forget how to clip and unclip, it is virtually impossible to make yourself unsafe. Also, if you completely forget what you are doing, there are always instructors nearby who can help.
Kids have to be at least eight to do Navitat and all kids under the age of ten must have an adult with them out on the course. My husband and I each went with one of our girls. It was our job to help them clip in and out, and to get them hooked up to ziplines. We had to do most of it for them at the beginning, but by the end of our time, they were pros doing it themselves.
There were six courses to choose from, and we had 2.5 hours to climb and zipline. All the routes were all rated beginner, intermediate, or advanced. As novices to the ropes course world, we did the two beginner routes first. Once we finished those a few times, we moved on to one of the intermediate ones. They were all challenging and so much fun.
When I booked our adventure, I also paid a little extra for photos and it was absolutely worth it. The instructors took a group photo of us and several other photos of us climbing throughout the course. Taking pictures myself would have been impossible without my phone, and even if I had risked bringing it, I wouldn’t have been able to take any of us while out on the courses. 
