Red Mountain Park offers new Segway tours

It’s like a human joystick, Liz Aldrich tells me. You learn forward, it moves forward. You lean back, it moves back.

You don’t simply jump on a Segway and go, I learned at Red Mountain Park as they let me try out their new Schaeffer Seg Tours that open July 2. You first have to figure out how to put pressure on the front of your feet to move forward, and how to get off the back without moving the vehicle on top of you.

But no worries, after a training session with Aldrich, I was ready to hit the trail without hesitation. Each seg comes equipped with large all terrain tires, and tours have no more than four people so a guide like Aldrich makes sure you get either the leisurely — or adventurous — pace you are looking for.

“Why pay the money to Seg instead of hike?” I asked Aldrich. On a seg, you can get places faster, take on a bit of thrill and get an overview of the park to give you a better idea of what else you want to explore, she told me.

We topped out about 9 mph, but Aldrich said some people cruise around 3-4 mph. She just gets a feel what kind of tour people are looking for, fast or slow, lots of history or little history, covering lots of terrain or little terrain, and goes from there.

Our first stop was the Redding Hoist House, the only full mining structure that remains on the park’s property. Rick Woodward (as in Rickwood Field) was CEO of Woodward Iron Company, which built the Spanish Revival style structure that pulled cars out of the 300-foot vertical mine from 1917-1927. After that the hoist house tour, Aldrich picks the next stop based on participants’ interest.

You can a preview a meadow area in the park that has not yet opened to the public. In the future it will serve as a picnic area that also features an amphitheatre and possibly a Frisbee golf course with its own entrance off Venice Road.

You can also make your way up to the shade around Mine No. 13 and learn a little more history of the area, including that of recent visits from goats brought in to clear the property, from your guide along the way.

If you are considering the tour, here are a few details to know: Each tour lasts about 90 minutes. You must be 12 years old and weigh 100-250 pounds to participate.

Red Mountain Park also recently opened the Hugh Kaul Adventure Tower and Kaul Mega Zip. You can rappel, rock climb or climb leaves on the side of the 80-foot beanstalk, or walk up the stairs inside to launch onto a Mega Zip that can take you up to 30 MPH.

Schaeffer Seg Tours are available Monday-Friday at noon or 3 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday at 9 a.m., noon or 3 p.m. The cost is $40 per person for a tour of two, $35 per person for a tour of three and $25 per person for a tour of four. To book a tour, visit redmountainreservations.org.