Appalachian Adventures — Local services in Virginia

Wonderful tour! Check-in was 10:00, tour time 11:00-1pm. EAT prior to your tour or AFTER. There is NO time for bathroom breaks or a picnic. Take sips of water where you can on the short trail stops. The reservation process was a bit frustrating and almost made me not want to go, but I persevered through as I was booking this trip as a gift. Do not complete the online reservation form on the website, it is better to call and make the reservation. Please don’t be like me and try to make the reservation on a 10 minute break at work as there is only 1 person to speak with. A credit card is needed to secure your reservation. Amex is not accepted. Once you give the credit card info, please be in a place with good service on your cell phone so that you won't miss the email that includes the time sensitive agreement that you will need to digitally sign. Do not ask any questions after that as there will be an email loaded with information that you MUST read. Once you read the email, THEN you may call or text back with questions. Our check-in time at the cabin was 1000, that included the 1 hour legal paperwork brief/signing, & cash payment. Do not bring all $20 bills, they don't have change. You get a discount if you pay in cash instead of having your credit card on file billed. The check-in site and ride site are about 11-12 minutes away from each other. USE THE RESTROOM PRIOR TO CHECKING IN!! There is a McDonalds 5 miles from the check-in cabin. We drove past the road the check-in cabin is on so that I may use the restroom since we had already driven 2.5 hours from Southern Maryland without stopping. The email stated that there is a 15minute grace period past your check-in time, but honestly they would like for you to be at the check-in site well before your scheduled check-in time. Just a heads up, that last part isn't stated in the instructions, so be aware that you will receive a call 5 minutes prior to your scheduled check-in time if you are not already on site. After leaving check-in to drive your POV to the trailhead, you will pass by the McDonald's, Burger King, Walmart on your way. DO NOT STOP unless you want to make everyone in your group late for the helmet fittings & ATV instructions. For the helmets: they are not cleaned between riders, so bring your own ATV helmet or clorox wipes & a handkerchief/scarf for your head if you'd like. There is sanitizer spray available. Bring a small backpack for your waters & small snack (like crackers) as well as sunscreen & bug spray. Get out of your vehicle at the trailhead READY TO RIDE! Get everything that you need because going back to the car delays the whole group from getting started. Your 2hrs includes getting fitted for helmets, signing another waiver, learning about ATV basics, & taking a lap in a circle to see if everyone is comfortable. On our tour, the strongest riders were behind the lead guide. Non-experienced, slow riders were bringing up the rear with 1 more guide behind them. We had to stop several times for them to catch up...which wasn't so bad as it allowed me to get more pics & take sips of water. Listen to instructions and mimick every turn & move your instructor's ATV makes. You'll be fine. Tips are EXPECTED! We tipped 20% as we truly had great guides & the ride was perfect for beginners & those of us who have never ridden a quad through the mountains. What others have stated: it's to slow, we wanted to ride on our own, etc. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THIS IS A TOUR! You don't live in the mountains as the guides do. Many people don't know the trails & won't respect the trails, wildlife, & vegetation if left alone on trails which will ruin this adventure for everyone. Just be mindful that "my tour guide is showing me this mountain that I've never been on & he's showing me where he grew up, so I'm taking my time to soak in all of the natural beauty & wonder of these mountains" and you'll have a great time. This is a liesurely nature hike on wheels not an ATV capability demonstration. I will do this trip...

Minaya Family Review: Appalachian Adventures was able to schedule us in on the same day for a 2-hour ATV experience. My son was visiting after getting back from his 2nd tour in Afghanistan and we wanted to take him out to do something he had not done before. ATV riding experience fit the bill. Patricia explained everything over the phone so that I could make an informed decision. The two hour ATV ride for 3 adults and one minor child was pricey. It required 2x single rider ATV; one for each adult and a side by side UTV for one adult to ride the minor child under the age of 16. Total cost with Military Discounts, which Patricia offered to apply to help us out, came to $690.50. Like I said pricey. For those doing the 2 hour ATV ride, be aware that the 1st hour cost is not refundable. We were driving up from Stafford, VA to Luray and did not anticipate the delays caused by the unexpected rain, small town speed limits, and driving speed limiting mountain curved roads, and so, we arrived about 30 minutes late. Patricia did what she could to support us at a cost of having to refund some money back to the other participants that were forced to wait for us to arrive. A stressful situation made more stressful by having to go through the required policy review, drivers license and credit card photo registration, and finally the signing of accidental damages and health waiver consent form. I have to say that Patricia handled it very well. She explained why it was important to go over the policies, accidentals, and safety. Great customer service! Tim (ATV Guide) was great. He explained the operating procedures of the ATV and UTV, tips for riding, safety concerns, and before getting on the trails, he provided everyone familiarization ride time around the staging area to make sure everyone was comfortable and familiar with their assigned ATV. He is very funny, and very patient and supportive with novice riders to make sure they have a safe, memorable and joyful experience, which my wife mentioned she did. He rides at a speed that makes you feel safe and comfortable for everyone. Tim will answer all your questions about what Appalachian Adventures has to offer and even helps with questions of the surrounding areas, and even life experiences. Like I said, he is a great guide and I highly recommend him for those customers who are novice ATV riders. The trails provide a little of eveything; rocky areas, incline and decline hills, streams and creek crossings, tight turns, and ruts and wet slippery areas. It started to rain during our ride, which made it more interesting, memorable, and a bit uncomfortable due to the cool weather. We got soaked and the clouds prevented us from having the awesome views seen on the Appalachian Adventures website. But the views were there and still beautiful with the cloud haze. Due to our lateness and progressive heavy rainfall, we were only able to ride for 1 hr and 23 minutes, but still got charged for the two hours. So be mindful of the importance of arriving on time and checking the weather in the area for these types of adventures. Overall great but pricey ATV adventure that I highly recommend for beginners to experienced ATV riders. The only Con that I have is regarding the smelly riding helmets. They were sweaty and stinky from multiple use without cleaning and I had to convince the wife that they were ok to wear. These helmets need to be cycled out with clean ones after each riding event or at a minimum of every two riding events or rained riding event. Besides that, Appalachian Adventures provides a great ATV experience and customer service. We are planning on coming back with more family members to Appalachian Adventures to do a full two hours ATV...

I normally don't leave reviews... but Patricia made a point of soliciting reviews, so here we go: First the good: The highlight of this "adventure" was the beauty of the trails in peak fall glory. We couldn't have timed the weather and changing leaves better. The trails were fun and we loved experiencing fall as we are from the desert. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that the "adventure" was going to be dealing with Patricia and the contract signing process. Our check-in and safety briefing turned into a 1-hour lecture on her Christian faith, horrible people that dared to copy their business and use the name "Appalachian", and multiple experiences of other guests that did not follow their rules and how they dealt with them. We get it... we have all signed contracts before. We are responsible. Let's sign the contract and move on... I was ready to walk away half way through this briefing... Debbie Downer for sure. Not the way to hype a group that just paid $1400 for a morning of fun. It wasn't a safety briefing... it was a negative soapbox of all the disservice ever done to her or her company. My group of 6 adults visit national parks every year to hike and adventure... via ferratas, rapelling, sky diving, off-roading, etc. We were excited to get out and have a great day, but this initial meeting (where she made us leave our phones in the car and not have them in the room when she spoke), set a very negative tone. I went through a 20-minute contract signing process over the phone and was shocked we had another 1-hour process at their office, and then were asked to sign another waiver at the actual drive site!!! More time was spent on the contract than on anything else! Funny thing is, they didn't even have enough small helmets for our group. I had to wear a thick beanie under mine to make it "fit"... They didn't care about safety - they only cared about their own liability. I specifically asked when I booked over the phone if this was going to be a thrilling adventure or a "driving miss daisy" follow the leader... I was told it was just our group of 6 and the guide would be able to modify it to our ability and interests. When we showed up, there was another couple put into our group. The lady had never ridden an ATV before. Our "tour" was going 7-9 MPH with the guide turning backwards the entire time watching to make sure she was keeping up. She had a coffee mug in one hand the entire ride! At one point I questioned and asked if the entire 2 hours was going to be like this and they suggested that if I wasn't happy, they can take me back to my car. (No refunds though)... my group made the most of the experience but it was not at all what we hoped or expected for the amount of money we paid. If it wasn't such a beautiful fall day, it would have been a total bust. I would highly recommend using anyone other than...