By Mike Donahue

Moapa Valley Progress

Even as local tourism continues to suffer the devastating effects caused by low water levels in Lake Mead, a local tour company is making strides in boosting tourist’s interest back into Moapa Valley.

Jill Williams, owner/operator of Awesome Adventures, said her company offers a variety of activity tours tourists from all over the world are signing up to enjoy during Southern Nevada visits. Many of the tours, including a brand new 1,000-foot zipline; a unique and challenging ropes course, and an ATV and UTV desert track, can be found on 200 acres of private land just south of downtown Overton.

Williams said in addition to the activities available in Moapa Valley, her company also offers kayaking and versa boards on Lake Mead as well as hiking and rappelling in the Valley of Fire for groups and individuals. Awesome Adventures was just recently permitted by the Nevada Division of Parks to lead mountain biking tours through the Valley of Fire as well.

“My biggest goal is get Moapa Valley back on the map,” Williams said. “I want people out there to understand there’s more out here than just Lake Mead and Valley of Fire.”

She estimates an average of 30 tourists a day take her tours, the vast majority of which book from Las Vegas resorts.

The ATV and UTV tours that cover between 15 and 20 miles in Moapa Valley over “sand dunes, sand stone, washes and gullies with lots of twists, turns and hills,” are among the most well-liked. One day last week, a diverse group of nine tourists driving the Moapa Valley ATV course represented four states including Virginia, Mississippi, Maryland and California.

However, the newly operational zipline and ropes course are fast gaining in popularity as well.

“The ropes course includes different demanding climbs, bridges and other elements that teach participants how to overcome fears, obstacles and challenges,” Williams said. “It’s the type of course corporations and other groups use as team-building exercises.”

The course and the launch platform for the zipline are located on top of a 100-foot butte off Magnasite Road just past the St. Thomas Cemetery.

The zipline allows participants to virtually fly down a long steel cable at an exhilarating 35 to 40 mph.

“It’s all very safe,” Williams said. “Safety is our number one concern, whether on the zipline, ropes course, kayaking or rappelling in the Valley of Fire. All the guides have first aid, CPR and wilderness training, and they’ve all been trained by the ATV safety institute.”

In addition to the action tours, Williams uses a pavilion on the Moapa Valley property to host special and custom events and meetings for variety of groups including boy scouts, schools, businesses and even troubled youth.

“We can host full-blown barbecues with food catered by Twisted Catering out of Las Vegas,” she said, “and entertainment provided by the Scotty Alexander Band, which frequently headlines at a Las Vegas Strip resort. We can even do paintball events out here.”

Williams said she believes it’s important for residents to understand that while the vast majority of her business is from outside the area and state, it is extremely locally oriented.

Ronnie Williams, Jill’s husband, did all the construction on the zipline and ropes courses using Moapa Valley businesses for his materials.

“Everything about this place is local,” she said. “To put up the zipline we rented the backhoe from ACE Hardware and purchased poles from Overton Power. We buy fuel from the Overton Maverick, buy parts for the ATVs from Napa Auto and get all our food and water supplies from Lin’s Market. We have 35 employees, 11 of whom are from Moapa Valley.”

She says she owes much to Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins and County Liaison Janice Ridondo who were instrumental in getting all the required permits.

“We’d really like to be able to make Moapa Valley a tourist destination instead of a pit stop,” Williams said.