How many zip lines are there in the United States?

Data on the total number of zip lines in the United States would be very challenging to collect. Zip lines can be found at many summer camps, schools, and outdoor education programs. Further, sales for backyard zip lines have grown significantly in the past few years. Based on informal conversations with other builders and backyard zip-line vendors, I would conservatively estimate that there are more than 13,000 zip lines in the United States (note: regulators beware). Backyard or amateur zip lines constitute a bulk of the total.  Note:  This does not include the inexpensive Fun Ride zip kits.

It is a much easier task to collect data on the number of commercial zip line tours, canopy tours, and zip rides that are available as these operations generally rely heavily on web marketing.

The following data includes commercial tours and amusement-style zip rides located in the United States and Canada. Excluded from these counts are camps, schools, operations that offer the zip line primarily as an attraction to their own clients and not to the general public, most tours in Quebec (Sorry Québécois, I do not speak French), and the incredible commercial courses built by Jim Liggett and crew at RCI as they are in a class all their own.