The raft teetered.  Boulders surrounded
us and raging waves raced below.  
“Paddle forward,” Tom, our guide
commanded.  We did and crashed over
the waterfall.  Waves splashed and
drenched us.  I screamed.  And
laughed.  And loved it.

We were enjoying the world’s only
mountain top whitewater course.  The
man-made course is one of many
exciting offerings available at the
Adventure Sports Center International
located near the Wisp Four Season
Resort in McHenry, Maryland.  This fun
family vacation destination is about a six-
hour drive from Cincinnati.  Our
comfortable room could sleep up to
seven and included a handy fridge and
two TVs.  Generally filled to capacity
during the ski season, the four-season
resort has openings and exciting
offerings during the rest of the year.

But even when it’s not snowing, it’s not
hot in the mountains.  Despite the
summer date on the calendar, chilly
temperatures worried me.  I feared I’d
freeze white water rafting, but renting a
wet suit kept me warm.  And our guide
kept us safe.

Tom gave us paddling instructions and
cautionary words, which we practiced in
the pond before steering to a conveyer
belt.  Like the first hill of a roller coaster,
the conveyer built anticipation before
dropping us into a current that swirled
us backward until we paddled hard
forward.

Throughout our two hours, we did our
best to back paddle out of eddies, avoid
bumps, and stay in the boat while we
watched more adventurous rafters
taking chances, tipping, and surfing --
riding the top of waves.  While the
course takes rafters in a circle, the
experience still changes with every lap.

Another Wisp thrill remained the same,
but exciting: the Mountain coaster.  We
bought our tickets at the ski lodge and
heard brief instructions as we took our
seats.  It’s one adult per car, but kids
can ride together or with a parent.  A
chain drive pulls the car up the
mountain.  And up.  And up.  And then up
still higher.  

From there, an attendant reminded me
to release the brake, and the car circled
down the track, picking up speed as it
whizzed through straight-a-ways, and
sped around corkscrews.  Lights
flashed green or yellow to warn about
braking, and attendants watched the
track from booths, but I got the all clear
and kept racing down the mountain until
a banner of yellow ribbons cautioned
“SLOW!  Slide stops in 100 feet.”

Much slower and relaxing, the ski lift flew
us above towering pines where we
caught another view of the coaster.  We
also saw families playing Frisbee golf
and mountain bikers bounding across
narrow bridges, zigzagging among
boulders and trees and zipping up
ramps soaring airborne to the next one.  
And of course, we saw the beauty of the
mountain and deep blue of Deep Creek
Lake.

We enjoyed more beautiful sites at
Swallow Falls State Park.  Stroller-
friendly hiking trails led to lovely views of
trees and wildflowers, spectacular rock
formations, and breathtaking waterfalls.  
From a boardwalk we could view the
waterfall and sparkling pond, but we
needed to navigate trickier trails to reach
the falls and scenic outlooks with views
of other streams and still more
waterfalls.

Hiking’s not the only way to navigate
nature.  Wisp resort also offers dune
buggy rides.  We followed a guide,
driving up mountain trails, splashing in
mud puddles, and dodging trees.  I’m
pretty short and had some trouble
seeing over the dash, especially with dirt
flying in my eyes, but I still a ball, as we
did throughout our week at the Wisp
Resort.
Wisp Four Season Resort
Trips with Kids!
Trips with Kids!
Wisp Resort
296 Marsh Hill Road
McHenry, MD  21541
301-387-1491
www.wispresort.com

Adventure Sports
Center International
250 Adventure
Sports Way
McHenry, MD 21541
www.adventuresport
scenter.com
Oh,
the places
you'll go!
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book!