Global Courant 2023-04-18 20:12:08
If you swoon over the jaw-dropping blooms, Skull Canyon Ziplines has a two-fer deal for you – a chance to hike on private trails through lush wildflower beds, then race back to the start on skyscraper-high zip lines that zigzag across golden fields of poppies and sunflowers.
Sure, at $90 to $160 per person – depending on the length of the ride – the experience is more expensive than parking your car and wading through flowers, but it’s also much kinder to these fragile native plants, not to mention a great opportunity to shine complement your social media posts with some extraordinary photos.
Just don’t plan on using your cell phone to take photos, especially on the Monster course, which rises 300 feet above the ground, says Yvette Liston, co-owner of the Corona-based company.
“Most people usually hold on for life, so they don’t want to hold their phone as well,” Liston said. “And if they drop their phones, their phones are gone. If you drop your phone from 100 meters it’s hard to know where you dropped it, and we have rattlesnakes in the fields so we don’t like sending our guides out looking for phones.”
A portable camera is probably your best bet, Liston said. Skull Canyon Ziplines rents out GoPros for $40, as drones and selfie sticks are absolutely prohibited. Imagine what the consequences would be if one of the latter got caught in a zip line…?
passage. Difficult passage.
Reservation is absolutely necessary nowadays because of all the intense interest in undulating goldfields. And that interest has only grown this year, as Skull Canyon Ziplines is actually just one canyon away from Walker Canyon in Lake Elsinore, home to the famous 2019 superbloom—and the infamous chaos that resulted from the crowds that came yawn and selfie- graph herself amidst the lush blooms. The crowds were so bad that Lake Elisnore city officials closed all access to the Walker Canyon in February to keep people away.
‘Are you asking how it was? The flowers were beautiful, the scene was a nightmare,” Lake Elsinore Mayor Natasha Johnson said during a news conference on Feb. 7, when she talked about the trouble caused by “Disneyland crowds” gathering in the city in 2019 to see the wildflowers.
Starstruck poppy fans left their cars in town, blocking streets, freeway exits, and even the emergency lanes of Interstate 15 as they traversed Walker Canyon, free climbing the hills to pose among (and trample) the flowers, sometimes dispelling rocks that rolled on people who climbed below.
Wildflowers bloom in Skull Canyon as zipline participants climb to a platform.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
After Lake Elsinore closed off access to Walker Canyon and threatened to arrest people who disobeyed, Liston said some people accused Skull Canyon Ziplines of orchestrating the closure to pump up business on their private land.
“If only we had so much power,” she said with a laugh. “We haven’t closed the roads into Walker Canyon. In 2019, he flourished as the Wizard of Oz; the flowers were so beautiful it hurt your eyes. People literally double parked on the highway because they were so in awe. They (Lake Elsinore) closed it this year because it was for safety reasons, but it doesn’t affect us.
Yvette’s husband, Pete, and his brother, Mike, own 160 acres in Skull Canyon, where the family runs the zipline business, along with a separate wholesale nursery that supplies the store, Seven Oaks Nursery in Corona.
The family started the zipline business in 2009, when nursery sales slowed, Liston said. The brothers had installed a few zip lines across the canyon to entertain their kids and friends, but when more people asked to ride, they decided to try it as an afterthought.
At the time, “We were happy if we could do a few people a day,” Liston said. “Then it got busier and busier, and now we do about 300 people a day.”
The turning point came in 2019, when the family realized they could promote the zipline as a way to enjoy the wildflowers without trampling on the blooms. “We put it on social media: ‘Fly over the poppies, don’t disturb the poppies.'”
Today, the family operates multiple zip lines, rising 80 to 300 feet above the ground, in the canyon. Once people walk to the start of the ride – which takes 30 minutes to an hour – it’s about two hours to ride down because the ziplines are divided into segments. People who prefer slower rides should choose the shorter Original line, where “if you were flying through trees, you would go slow enough to pick the leaves,” she said.
The Extreme, at 200 feet above the ground, and the even taller Monster, are much longer and faster rides, she said. And the heavier you are, the faster you fly. Speeds range from 20 to 40 mph, but Liston said those numbers are variable depending on a person’s weight or wind conditions. “A little girl isn’t going to go as fast as a 240-pound guy,” she said. “Headwind slows down, while downwind speeds up.”
Los Angeles’ Sean Castillo gets an elevated view of the superbloom at Skull Canyon Zipline in Corona.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Speeds of 20 to 40 mph may not sound super fast, “but the first time you do it, it’s definitely a leap of faith,” Liston said. “If it’s your first time, I suggest you try to bond with your guide, the person who hangs you on the cable. Look them in the eye and say, “I’m fine, right?” I’m totally addicted, right?’” She laughed.
“Actually, it’s so much fun, and we’ve never dropped anyone — the insurance people wouldn’t like that. But the first ride is always the hardest or the scariest.”
The canyon is only accessible to those with reservations to ride. Some people try to sneak into the grounds to roam the poppy fields, but Liston said they scare people away by reminding them that A, they’re entering private property, and B, the place is swarming with rattlesnakes.
Sarodge Dechgan of Orange County gets an elevated view of the beautiful flowers at Skull Canyon Zipline. He said he didn’t want to drive to Lancaster and the local canyons were closed to visitors so this experience was a good option.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Zipliner wannabes should know a few rules:
Everyone is weighed before they start driving. Riders cannot exceed 250 pounds, and they must weigh at least 60 pounds to ride the Original line—the slowest ride, usually recommended for beginners and children—or at least 100 pounds to ride the Extreme and Monster. Weighing is discreet — only staff members see the scale and no one calls out the numbers, Liston said. “The lines are strong enough to hold 5,000 pounds, but our insurance company has set the limit at 250.” Walking uphill is required to get to the top of each line. The walks take 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the ride, on trails that meander through the poppy fields, but you’re not allowed to stray off the trail or take any bouquets home. “It’s the state flower, so we’re going about the whole wildlife thing — ‘Don’t walk through it and don’t pick it,'” Liston said. Do not arrive without a reservation. Liston said they can only manage a limited number of people at a time. Those without reservations are rejected. Rain doesn’t stop zipline rides, but with 24 hours’ notice, you can cancel or reschedule at no cost, Liston said. The company will close rides in the event of hazardous weather, such as high winds or lightning, and will refund or reschedule appointments. “Ziplines started in rainforests, so rain isn’t a problem, but a lot of people don’t like riding in the rain to get here,” she said. “Except 12-year-old little boys — they don’t care. They want to go rain or shine and jump in the mud.
Orange County’s Tracy Dau takes a ride at Skull Canyon Zipline in Corona.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
