No one could blame you and the kids for wanting to get out of the house, feel the wind in your hair and maybe let out a primal scream or two. Good news: as businesses are slowly re-opening, there are places you can go ziplining with the kids.
LessThe Bronx Zoo's Treetop Adventure and Nature Trek, which is home to a couple of ziplines, reopened August 7. Tickets must be reserved and purchased online in advance, masks are required at all times, and you must practice social distancing. Spanning more than 400 feet in each direction, the pair of ziplines travel 50 feet above the Bronx River, with the platform for the zip back even higher than the initial launch pad. The zipline is outfitted with dual, side-by-side lines for double fun.
The Adventure Park at Long Island's "Aerial Forest Adventure Park" is an elevated obstacle course of sorts made up of 15 ziplines and 140 challenge bridges. (Its newest one, "Grand Rapids", has nine ziplines.) Spread out over seven acres of woodland, the park features five different color-coded trails (similar to those found at ski resorts) so each member of the family can pick their own degree of difficulty. Reserve tickets online for three hours of fun.
Just 90 minutes away from New York City in the Pocono Mountains, Camelback Mountain Adventures is home to the longest twin Zip-Flyers in North America (that's 4000 feet!), as well as 1000-foot dual zip lines, a TreeTops adventure course, and Pennsylvania's only Mountain Coaster. The 1000’ dual zip lines are $15 for one ride, $19.99 for two rides (for one person), Twin Zip Flyer rides are $39.00, and packages are available when bundling with other activities.
Not for the faint of heart, Skytop's 3000-foot Treetop Adventure Course includes seven zip-lines, plus obstacles like elevated bridge-ways, logs hanging from ropes to walk across, ladders, and a cargo net. Reservations for the three-hour, year-round experience must be made in advance, and if one high-octane journey isn't enough, you can opt to stay the night at Skytop's historic mountain lodge and do it all again the next day. Paintball, rock climbing, and more await the adventurous.
While the zoo may be closed, the zipline across the street is open. If you’re feeling up to it, the zipline also has an attached junior and adult adventure courses featuring world class aerial obstacles. Get ready for an awesome day, and be prepared for your kids will sleep the whole way home!
Yes, you can zipline indoors this winter, thanks to the new exhibit at the New York Hall of Science! Survival: The Exhibition is the world’s first and only traveling exhibition that provides practical, real-world, and science-based techniques to prepare visitors of all ages for survival situations, from finding food and water in the wilderness to facing off with a bear. The interactive exhibition features nine zones with immersive scenic and theatrical elements that simulate extreme scenarios.
If you're dreaming of an American Gladiator sort of zipline experience for the family, get ready to pinch yourself, because that exact scenario exists in Queens. Created as a team-building exercise for groups, the Adventure Course at Alley Pond Park tests a participant's courage, strength, and endurance for free on Sundays — and it's within city limits! The free Sunday programs are held May 8-November 6 at 9:30am-1:00pm. Individuals are welcome, just make sure to get there early.
If you want to start off a little less extreme, check out either location of indoor playground and kids fitness center Kids 'N Shape, where in addition to lots of other diversions (bounce houses, slides, ball pits, tumbling mats, and oversized blocks and balls) there are indoor ziplines. Both locations (Staten Island or Howard Beach) hold Open Play sessions throughout the week, and the ziplines are opened periodically throughout these times.