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Escape Into The Trees

We recently traversed through the trees in a new adventure for us at Mountain Creek’s TreEscape Aerial Adventure Park, and it was so fun! If you are on the east coast and looking for a fabulous way to get outdoors with the family and have some (sometimes scary) fun, check it out here. TreEscape Aerial Adventure Park is in Vernon, NJ and features almost a dozen rope courses that are suspended up high through the trees, a couple stories (or more) high, and anyone ages 7 and up can take on the challenge of climbing across without losing their courage. A series of platforms, ropes, and “bridges” (that swing freely around attached to nothing but a rope or two) make up the very fun rope courses, and the thrill of being high up in the treetops made a fun activity more exciting- my youngest son was a little superhero!

See that photo? Only two of us ended up continuing on after the initial test (we had to be able to use the safety harnesses and equipment and climb up a steep platfowm, and a couple of people lost their nerve- you can guess who via the photos below)

It’s hard to describe the feeling of being so high up, precariously walking between very tall trees via suspended planks of wood and rope, enjoying the beauty of the area while trying to hang on! My youngest son was terrified at first, because these rope courses are not a simple, steady walk between trees. You literally have to balance on slender planks, long ribbons that bounced up and down with each step, or just a web of ropes. Of course, the TreEscape Aerial Adventure Park is very safe and you a double hooked in, but that only comes into play if you actually fall. Otherwise, with a loose cable and only your agility and strength to get you across, you are basically freely walking among the trees with little to support you as you swing back and forth, trying to make your way to the other side. There are obstacles, various climbing elements and more that make it challenging, and at the end of each course is a zip line down to the final landing platform (first time for us both).

I was very proud of my son, because I found myself scared too (and only knowing that the safety harness would kick in if I fell gave me courage). The butterflies in the stomach feeling of dropping was ever-present during the rope courses, making it electrifying as we moved from course to course. At night, the lights went on and gave the entire TreEscape Aerial Adventure Park a beautiful dreamy glow. It was easy to spend hours here going from course to course, and it was so much fun (and would have been more fun if my husband and older son didn’t discover a sudden fear of heights). Next time I plan to make sure my older son joins me up high, because the Swiss Family Robinson feel of the entire day was a blast! My younger son felt like Spider-Man!

We went with our boys’ cousins, who are very adventurous girls (and who managed to zip through several courses during our time there), and we have to return soon. The TreEscape Aerial Adventure runs until the end of November, and opens up again in May. Find out more here.