Tucked away on the outskirts of Granlibakken Resort in Tahoe City lies the Tree Top Adventure Park. A series of courses high in the pines and firs includes zip lines and a variety of high altitude challenges, like walking across shaking boards, climbing up ladders attached to the side of trees, or swinging across the sky while hanging on to a rope-all while safely attached to a cable.
Recently my family ventured to Costa Rica, where I worked on overcoming a fear of heights by zip lining for a half mile high above a waterfall and a canopy of trees. By the time I’d reached the second zip line, the screams of terror had turned to joy. With that experience firmly in my pocket, and my daughter in town, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to deal with this height issue again by making my second trip to the Tree Top Adventure Park.
We arrived at 5 pm, and the place was still hopping. Happy kids were zip lining over our heads upside down, or quickly maneuvering their smiling faces through the Flying Squirrel Courses designed for adventurous kids. We got harnessed and helmeted, and went through a quick ground school and were ready to hit the adult courses. We started with The Twins, which is dominated by two large cedar trees. It begins with a climb up a ladder followed by a long walk between the cedars on a swinging bridge, and then a combination of ladders and walking bridges leading to an ending zipline. It was a combination of incredible fun, and a few “Oh my God what have I gotten myself into” moments of fear. Next up was the Spiral Course, with a series of shorter, but very intriguing bridges, ladders and leaps winding around a series of trees.
When you sign up for a $50 session you are given a two hour time window. If you move right along, you might be able to make it through all five courses in that time, but it’s actually quite a workout for the upper body, and my arms and shoulders were exhausted after two. The park is a fun and safe way to take on both a physical and mental challenge, and well worth your time. For information or to make a reservation go to www.northtahoeadventures.com or call 530-581-7563