Adventure Park at Harpers Ferry New for 2012!

The Adventure Park at Harpers Ferry is our newest attraction for 2012.  The 60 element self guided challenge course has 5 trails rated from easy to expert.  Follow the progress on Facebook or check out the website www.harpersferryadventurepark.com.

Tacy visits with our business partners for the holidays

Hi all,

I had a great time last week visiting with our business partners to wish them all a wonderful holiday season. 



The Clarion in Shepherdstown



My first stop was The Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Shepherdstown. I spoke with our sales rep Jennifer and members of the friendly front desk staff. Jennifer is excited that we have the Canopy Tour and she can't wait to get out there and try it.





The Lobby @ The Holiday Inn Express



I headed to Holiday Inn Express in Ranson next. The front desk staff was nice as always and the lobby is beautifully decorated for Christmas. I then went down the street to Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, one of our newest partners. A big part of our local economy Hollywood Casino brings people from all over the east coast to enjoy table games and to watch the horses run. I stopped by Marcus enterprises who run The Quality Hotel Conference Center. The Quality Hotel is right next door to River Riders and has been a partner for quite a while. We offer a Stay and Play package with The Quality Hotel in which our guests benefit by receiving a great rate for booking a trip with us and staying with Quality Hotel.

Becky and smiling staff @ Brothers Pizza



My next stop was Brothers Pizza. A locally owned business with delicious pizza and italian choices. I met up with Becky the manager who is very welcoming and will always make sure your meal with them is a good one.  




Debbie, Jessie, and Tacy @ The KOA



Our Assistant General Manager Amanda and I then stopped by the Harpers Ferry KOA. The KOA has a brand new General Manager and we were excited to meet her. Jessie just resently came here from up north although she is originally from this area. We are thrilled to work with her. Welcome back Jessie!  



Ashley @ The Anvil Restaurant

 

I ran over to The Anvil Restuarant in Harpers Ferry. This family owned restuarant has been in business since 1985. A quaint casual family atmosphere surrounds you as you enjoy lunch and dinner options as well as offerings from the bar. The owner Danny was in and we had a nice conversation before I headed into the historic district.


Ron @ The Outfitter at Harpers Ferry

 I next stopped at The Outfitters at Harpers Ferry and was lucky to run into one of the owners Ron. The Outfitters offers anything you might need for an outdoor hiking adventure. There is still time to stop by and find that perfect gift.






Potomac St in Historic Harpers Ferry



 

We love our community and being partners with other local businesses lets us share with you all that we have to offer in Jefferson County.

Matt and Amanda go to the ARVC Conference

Matt and Amanda drove down to Savannah Georgia November 27th through December 2nd to join in on the ARVC annual conference and expo! We were excited to gain as much knowledge as possible in order to make improvements to our river side campground, Harpers Ferry Campground, for the upcoming season. We were specifically looking for information on developing electric and sewer for our RV sites, improving amenities, site assignment and check in, as well as campground landscaping. The conference put us in touch with a number of professionals who own campgrounds throughout the US, Canada, and even China!


After a long drive, we checked into the Mulberry Inn in the beautiful historic district for a good nights rest. Early the next morning we packed out bags again in preparation for the Spot Tour, which took us to a series of campgrounds between Savannah and just north of Myrtle Beach. We saw a recently purchased campground, a state run facility, 2 mega campgrounds, and a recently constructed campground with an abundance of amenities. They even had hot tubs at their RV sites!


A long bus ride returned us to Savannah where we promptly got down to business at the conference center. Once we got the ferry schedule down, we took several seminars on project management, campground ownership, emergency prevention and preparation, and more! We also looked at rustic cabins, yurts, family bikes, WiFi internet, and merchandise for the retail shop.

The classes were very informative, but lets not forget that the food was amazing! We enjoyed a guest speaker for lunch on Wednesday and an exciting auction on Thursday. Amanda appreciated the vegetarian options, and Matt attended a Low Country Boil with some of our new friends from Wisconsin.

We headed back to West Virginia Friday morning. Amanda owed Matt some driving time, so she took the wheel while he defined the details for a new vacation rental River Riders is working on. We made it home safely with several new ideas to bring back to Harpers Ferry Campground for the summer of 2012.


www.arvc.org

Professional Development in Orlando at the IAAPA Conference

This past week Matt, Amanda M, Amanda G, Alex, Christy, Jessica, and Sheryl flew down to Orlando FL for the annual IAAPA convention. After meeting up at 3:30 am to catch our flight, our sleepy eyed crew headed to BWI to catch a plane to the sunshine state. Once we arrived in Orlando, we rented a car, turned up the air conditioning, and headed to the Orange County Convention Center.

Throughout the week we took several seminars that were geared specifically toward the theme park and attractions industry. Matt focused on learning more about water park development. Amanda M made sure to take plenty of seminars on marketing and social media. Sheryl and Christy learned more about group sales and management. Amanda G and Jessica studied safety regulations, employee development, and government compliance. Alex developed her knowledge of food and beverage trends and human resources.

We had a blast talking to vendors and trying out new products at the trade show. Amanda G tried out 2 zip lines and plenty of slushies! Jessica, Sheryl, and Christy got water proof glitter tattoos, checked out some cool new locking key carabiners, and tried out several midway games. Amanda and Alex spoke with international exchange student programs for staffing, researched rock wall modifications and food items, and look into ordering water proof watches, and floating water proof cell phone carriers for smart phones.

While we were in Orlando we ate delicious food, courtesy of Matt! We scarfed down some tasty Thia food on Tuesday night. On Wednesday we hit up the House of Blues in Downtown Disney, and on Thursday we ate at Margarita-ville with our silly hats from our favorite balloon girl! We also went to Pat O'Briens at City Walk and sang along with the awesome piano players (even though they didn't get to our request! Sorry Jess!).

Luckily we had to opportunity to work off all those extra calories at the Give Kids the World 5k. Matt and Amanda G finished with fantastic times. Alex learned that running isn't all the bad, as this was her first 5k. She did great! While running, Amanda M made a friend with a family visiting the park, and Jessica stopped to pet the neighborhood cat!

After an action packed week we landed in Baltimore and quickly realized we weren't in Orlando anymore. With record highs in the 80's all week, it took us a bit to acclimate to the chilly evening temperature.

We are beginning to type up and organize all of our notes from the conference, and are super inspired to bring positive change to River Riders with all of our new knowledge. We all feel as though next summer will be our most successful season ever with the help of all the experienced speakers from the IAAPA convention.

For more information on IAAPA or Give Kids the World, check out:
www.iaapa.org
www.gktw.org

Local river cleanup considered a success - journal-news.net | News, sports, jobs, community information for Martinsburg - The Journal

Local river cleanup considered a success - journal-news.net | News, sports, jobs, community information for Martinsburg - The Journal

October Memories

Wow, I can't believe it's November already! October went by way too fast but what fun. October brought us alittle of everything.

We met our brochure printers on a trip to Roanoke,Va just a few hours south of Harpers Ferry and had a wonderful afternoon touring the facility and meeting the staff. Thanks Chocklett Press we had a blast!

Our canopy tour and our NEW Halloween Haunting trip has been just thrilling. We had alot of guests go out on it Saturdays in October with the last weekend being exciting with the surprise winter weather we recently got. The Halloween Haunting trip left River Riders offices for the canopy tour in the evening so everyone that went out enjoyed the thrill of completing the course in the dark. With the moon light, headlamps, and a few rope lights on the course supplying the only light. This new trip gave guests a chance to experience our canopy tour and our local area while in a completely new environment.

Rafting has been beautiful this Fall with the trees all the colors of the rainbow. Some days were fabulously weather warm and sunny, other days were definitely wetsuit days but the nice water levels have made every trip great!

Our campground has been very popular this fall with weekends in October filling up with people ready to enjoy all that our beautiful area has to offer.

Team River Riders at Freedoms Run

Crossing the Burma Bridge
on the Canopy Tour

Staff all ready for Halloween

Nolan as Mario

Beth and Rob from Chocklett Press

Riverfront Fall camping at
Harpers Ferry Campground



Getting ready to head out on the Doah
for a Fall Faloiage Trip







Climbing the rockwall at
Jefferson Parks and Rec





Thanks for sharing your time with us here in Harpers Ferry and while we were out on the road at local events. Good Times!

Peak Fall Colors will soon be in Harpers Ferry WV

This weekend is going to start our peak week for fall colors in the Harpers Ferry area. As leaves begin to loose green chlorophyll, the bright green color of the summer begins to fade into yellow and orange colors. As more time passes, you'll begin to see bright reds and purples in trees like maples. Sunlight combined with cooler autumn nights cause the leaves to change the glucose inside of them into a red color. You'll notice more of a brown color in oaks is due to waste that is left in the leaves.

The best view by far of the foliage in Harpers Ferry is from the fall canopy itself! The picture above was taken from the Harpers Ferry Canopy Tour on October 13, 2011.
For more information on peak colors in WV, check out
www.wvstateparks.com/fallmap.html

For a better view of all the color, call River Riders today to book your canopy tour!