Zipping Into The Night - Adventure Park Climbing Innovation Debuts -

The Outdoor Venture Group – the USA's leading designer, builder and operator of "aerial forest parks" (Adventure Parks) – has introduced a new feature to their parks, which offers the public more hours of climbing time, and an exciting new experience, by ever-so-gently turning night into "perpetual twilight."

Illuminated Night Climbs have been introduced to the Company's Adventure Parks in Frankenmuth, Michigan; Storrs, Connecticut; Bridgeport, Connecticut; and Sandy Spring, Maryland. Future parks from the company are also expected to have this illuminated climbing feature. These include The Adventure Park at West Bloomfield, Michigan and The Adventure Park at the Virginia Aquarium (located at Virginia Beach), both expected to open in 2014.

The Adventure Parks had formerly been primarily a daytime activity. But the company found its occasional novelty "night climbs"-illuminated by campfires, glow sticks and flashlights, while popular with many, were a little too scary for some to consider. So the challenge was to keep the natural, woodland feel of the Parks (which typically use no motors, engines or electricity) and add enough soft lighting so customers could see just enough to confidently climb into the night, while still maintaining the feel of the night. The answer was thousands of tiny LED lights strung strategically in the trees, parallel to the courses. LED technology uses very low levels of electricity.

The reaction from customers has been a uniform, "Awesome!" Even for veteran daytime climbers the look and feel of the park after dark presents a new sensory experience. A twinkling, nighttime world of adventure in the trees.

Depending on the location, the Outdoor Venture Group's Adventure Parks feature anywhere from 60 to 160 or more platforms constructed at different levels in the trees. Different types of bridges, that represent obstacles, connect these platforms. The climbers, wearing safety harnesses, maneuver from platform to platform. There are multiple courses to choose from, introductory through advanced, so there is something for practically everyone. The courses also all include zip lines to add to the fun.

The Outdoor Venture Group is the leading authority in the United States on aerial forest parks and largely responsible for bringing this increasingly popular activity to the United States from Europe, where it originated. The Group designed, built and operates The Adventure Park at The Discovery Museum in Bridgeport, Connecticut, The Adventure Park at Storrs, Connecticut, The Adventure Park at Frankenmuth, Michigan and The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring Friends School in Maryland (the largest aerial forest park in the United States.) Additionally it has designed and built numerous other Adventure Parks throughout the United States for its clients at ski resorts and other venues.

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