As part of Nevada Sports Net’s “Exploring Our Backyard” series, NSN personalities with share their excursions in Northern Nevada and Northern California this spring, summer and fall. Today, we look at Shannon Kelly's excursion to the Tahoe Treetop Adventure Parks. This series is present in sponsorship with LT Automotive and Michael Hohl RV.
The excursion
Tahoe Treetop Adventure Parks is an aerial adventure park filled with zip-lines and bridges in North Tahoe. We visited the Tahoe Vista Course, which opened in 2015 and consists of 87 tree platforms, 54 bridges and 39 ziplines with two beginner, five intermediate and two advanced courses. Participants ages five and six or less than 49-inches tall have seven courses to choose from. Participants 49 inches and taller can use all nine courses. The original course at Olympic Valley opened in 1998 and is more of a traditional challenge course with some aerial trekking and the course in Tahoe City which is in more of a forest-setting opened in 2011.
The location
Tahoe Treetop Adventure Park's Tahoe Vista course is located within the 125-acre North Tahoe Regional Park. The original course is located at Olympic Valley, and the course in Tahoe City is located at the Granlibakken Resort.
How to get there
To get to the Tahoe Vista course, plug in "Tahoe Treetop Adventure Parks" into your GPS and select the location at 6600 Donner Road in Tahoe Vista.
Our adventure in short
We suited up in the proper safety gear and completed ground school to learn the safety features and ins and outs of the continuous belay system we'd be on for the duration of each course. We started our day on "bananas" which is one of the two beginner rated courses, so it was a nice little warmup to get the day going with a mix of obstacles and ziplines. Next, we made our way to "lakeview" which is one of the intermediate rated courses with two long bridges and the most ziplines out of any of the nine Tahoe Vista courses. Then, we made our way to "pyramids" which is one of the two most difficult courses and it lived up to the challenge, making our from tree-to-tree with various obstacles and a few ziplines was pretty difficult, but rewarding after I finished the course. We finished our day on "paddleboard" which was an intermediate course with some scenic lake views, a suspended paddle board in the air and more ziplines.
We spoke with Operations Manager, Michael Drumm, about the park and he explained the continuous belay system is very unique to the aerial adventure park industry. The trolley system allows people to connect their safety gear initially and then they don't really have to worry about it for the duration of the courses as it slides right along and there's no clipping or unclipping until they come all the way down. While the staff can come up and get you at any point, it allows you to go freely without worrying about unhooking. Drumm added most people can get through all nine courses in the 2.5 hour time slot. Tahoe Treetop Adventure Park Owner, Jesse Desens, has been in the arial adventure industry since the 1990s and it's been an idea in Europe for a long time and is slowly making its way to the United States and the West Coast.
My favorite part
My favorite part was seeing the scenic views of Lake Tahoe from the "paddleboard" course and flying through the Tahoe National Forest on all of the different ziplines. It was a unique and fun activity that challenged me to step out of my comfort zone. I felt fearless flying through the forest and it reminded me of my other ziplining adventure on a family vacation to Puerto Vallarta in high school. It was a perfect day exploring the great outdoors and why our backyard is truly one-of-a-kind.
Rating
5/5 – I had a great time and would 100 percent go back again to the Tahoe Vista course. I'm looking forward to checking out Tahoe Treetop's other two courses in the area as it's an activity the entire family can enjoy. So whether you're on vacation in the North Tahoe region or looking for activity in the area to take the kids for a few hours, this is the perfect event.
Tahoe Treetop Adventure Parks' Olmypic Valley course is closed for the rest of the season, but the Tahoe Vista and Tahoe City courses are open throughout the Fall through Thanksgiving weekend.
Exploring Our Backyard is a summer feature on Nevada Sports Net that gives locals insight into some of the coolest places to visit in and around Reno.