Your legs tremble and knees feel unsteady. Your heart thumps hard and fast. You have no control over any of this, which is perfectly normal. You are, after all, standing on a platform 20 feet above the ground about to walk across a teetering plank bridge at Tree to Tree Adventure Park.
You wipe your sweaty palms on your shirt, swipe your forehead with the back of your arm and inhale and exhale deeply. You whisper to yourself, “I can do this.” The safety harness feels secure around your waist; its loops snug around your upper thighs. You trust this gear and your training.
But your brain interprets the situation, the earth missing beneath your feet. No matter how much you will your brain to tell your body to relax, you can’t stop quivering.
The guide far below you, now miniature, calls out words of encouragement: “You’ve got this!” The person ahead of you, having already crossed the bridge, smiles wide and tells you, “Just do it!”
So you do. With each step, your confidence grows. Your shakiness subsides. And you realize: this adrenaline rush feels good.
This feeling can be yours, sweaty palms and all. Located within Farragut State Park in Athol, Idaho, Tree to Tree Adventure Park is a new thrill-adventure opportunity, with aerial obstacles along self-guided courses. Physical challenges include climbing ladders and walls, walking
The course is built for any and every skill level. There is nothing on the course that the average person cannot conquer.
across suspended logs, tight ropes and wobbly bridges, and ziplining between trees.
This Idaho location is one of only two in the western United States – the other is near Portland – and there are a few in the Northeast. While on a road trip, scouting land for a new park location, park manager Dan Sullivan came through the Inland Northwest.
“I absolutely fell in love with this part of the country,” he says. After obtaining approval from Farragut State Park management, the plan unfolded.
Among the sturdy Ponderosas and other pines, Tree to Tree Adventure Park is a series of aerial courses with tree-attached platforms. Completing them requires a tolerance of heights, but it’s easier than you may think.
“The course is built for any and every skill level – there is nothing on the course that the average person cannot conquer,” Sullivan says. “This is an extremely fun family activity for all ages.”
With two courses designed specifically for children ages 6-9, and four courses for adults and youth age 10 and older, families can experience the park together. The kids’ courses range from 10 to 25 feet high and take about 1.5-2 hours to complete. There is no height requirement, and trained guides help as needed while parents watch.
Adult courses require 2.5-3 hours to complete all four courses, and to participate you must be able to reach, with arms extended, at least 5 feet 11 inches tall. There is no age limit, which means, bonded by shared courage – and perhaps a little fear – everyone will earn bragging rights. Even Grandma can say, “Remember when we did all that fun stuff in the trees?”
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Tree to Tree Adventure Park’s most unique feature is the moving skateboard, says Sullivan. “You stand on it, while clipped in, and glide to the next platform.” Another of his favorite elements is the Tarzan swing, where you hold onto a rope and jump off a platform to swing and land into a cargo net. And the longest zipline is about 280 feet.
“Each course gets a little more difficult as you progress,” he says. The first adult course, Green, begins at a height of 10 feet and includes easy elements. The next two, Blue and Red, though progressively higher, are “still doable for nearly everybody,” Sullivan says.
The last course, Black, which is an optional add-on, is 40 feet high and the most intimidating.
Its final element is “a device called TruBlue, which is a magnetic braking system that engages once you are safely locked into it and then jump off the platform, about 50 feet in the air,”
Sullivan says. “It’s a great rush but can take some customers a little while to understand how safe it actually is, and how slowly the device actually lowers them to the ground” after jumping.
While you’re maneuvering through the course, friendly guides on the ground can assist you as much as you’d like. They will explain how each aerial element works and the best way to complete it. Guides also ensure all park rules are followed.
But what if, after completing the training but before you begin the course, you change your mind? Refund granted. And what if, after beginning the course and getting higher and higher among the trees, you start freaking out and want down? That’s okay, too. You’re not stuck up there. After each course is an exit, so you can complete as many as you want and be assisted down by a guide. Sullivan says, “95 percent of the customers do at least two courses, while the rest usually finish everything.”
So is this all safe? Everyone must complete a 20-minute orientation and training session, where guides show you how to correctly operate gear and transfer through the course, says Sullivan. You then practice on a small, 3-foot high course while guides observe you from the ground, making sure everyone uses their gear correctly and understands the process.
“You cannot fully unclip yourself from the safety cable until you are back down on the ground,” he says. “Safety is the most important thing we do at Tree to Tree, and we take it extremely seriously.”
In fact, the intensive four-day training for guides is so rigorous only 60 percent of them pass the first time.
Are you ready to try it? Tree to Tree Adventure Park operates rain or shine, and will remain open until early November (weather dependent). Add this outdoor activity to your bucket-list. A visit can be included with a camping vacation or weekend stay at Farragut State Park. Or, because it’s only a short drive away from both Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene, locals and tourists to either of these beautiful lakeside cities can easily experience Tree to Tree as a day outing.
Overcoming Tree to Tree Adventure Park’s challenges will feel tiring, even stressful, but in a good way. And isn’t that part of the fun? Isn’t that what makes an adventure epic? Because after all those rickety bridges and ladders, after all that striving and conquering, you will surely feel epic levels of exhilaration. N
By Amy Mccaffree
Photography By Tree to Tree Adventure Park
As Featured In: 2018 Summer/Fall CDA Edition