Adventure awaits in heart of Winona
WINONA, Miss. (WCBI) – Nestled away in the heart of Winona lies Old Mountain Outdoor Adventures.
Owner Russell Durham said this seven-year-old park all started with a passion for the outdoors and a dream for adventure.
“I was in healthcare for a while, was trying to reconnect and spend more time with family, and we had some land,” Durham said. “I really felt kind of called for our area to provide something outdoors, draw people back into Mississippi outdoors, and the beauty of the environment here and we always had a passion for adventure. We felt central Mississippi was kind of losing out on that.”
So the family decided to throw caution to the wind and provide an opportunity for families to experience adventure at new heights.
“We love to get people in who are new to the outdoors or new to ziplining,” Durham said. “We’ve had a lot that this is the first time they’ve ever been up in trees or the first time they’ve ever gone across a zipline. I think those moments and those memories of being able to expand beyond pre-conceived limits, or barriers or boundaries, whether it’s fear of heights, or other stuff, seeing the backside of that where people can experience the joy in the trees is phenomenal.”
The Durhams like to think of Old Mountain as a staycation hotspot for those in the surrounding areas.
“It’s a quick drive for anyone to get to us, and you don’t have to travel too far to get to do some very exciting, some adrenaline, be able to experience zip lines and the treetops in a new and unique way,” Durham said.
As friends and family travel to the park, it ultimately helps the city of Winona economically.
“Typically we’re pulling people from a three-hour radius,” Durham said. “They’ll come in, stop for gas, eat in our local restaurants, visit shops downtown while they’re here. We try to push it all the time every time we have groups that are coming in, were providing information about Winona…we feel like Winona is a hidden gem.”
Not only is there adventure, but they provide educational opportunities too.
“With field trips and a lot of school groups coming in, We developed the Old Mountain Arboretum,” Durham said. “It’s a 501C3 that allows us to do conservation, lots of educational stuff, and lots of free resources on the arboretum’s website for teachers to use in the classroom or lesson plans, or educational materials, free of charge that anyone can use. We just wanted to be able to have a place for people to come out and reconnect to nature.”
Overall, Durham said this experience means everything to them and they love helping others make memories.
“We want to have that sense of family with all of our customers. We really feel like we’re wanting to build a community,” Durham said. “So, when you come to the park, we want to treat you like family….We want you to leave with many memories and things that you can hold dear as a family to take with you. Memories to last a lifetime.”
Old Mountain Outdoor Adventures is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
For pricing information, you can visit omoams.com
You can also give them a call to plan a special event.
