Looking up at the aerial challenge course at the Mount Sunapee Adventure Park, the first loop doesn’t seem all that high off the ground, but being up there is another story – depending on how comfortable you are with heights.
You are of course, fitted with a harness, which is attached by carabiners to a cable system above you, so if you do happen to fall off one of the obstacles, you don’t go too far.
The obstacles are all a little different. There’s a net bridge and long boards with rope handrails.
There are these giant wooden feet spaced a good distance apart with only one rope to hang on to, then these wobbly square boards (see right) that require just the right positioning to keep them flat. You must make it across what amounts to a slightly high wire, but don’t worry there is a net to hold on to.
And once you’ve crossed over the gap between two long boards with nothing to hold on to, you can zip line your way back to the starting platform. Then it’s off to the second of four loops, which get a little harder and harder.
“But really pretty much anyone can do it,” said Megan Burch, director of marketing. “It’s a lot of fun.”
The aerial challenge course is just one piece of the adventure park landscape at Mount Sunapee.
You can take a two and half hour canopy zip line tour that brings you from the summit to the bottom on a series of eight zip lines that showcase the natural surroundings. There’s even an option to take the full moon twilight canopy tour once a month (the next ones are July 7 and 8).
“The zip line is a great way to see the beauty of the mountain,” Burch said.
There are 18-hole mini and disc golf courses if you don’t feel like swinging your real clubs around.
You can take a cruise around the Evolution Bike Park and its more than four miles of trails for all levels of mountain biking ability. And if you don’t feel like flying down a mountain trail or aren’t comfortable with that, you can hit up the brand new pump track that will give you a glimpse as to what it’s like on the bike.
Ever climbed a rock wall? How about jumped from the top of said wall into a huge airbag? Well, here’s your chance.
There’s the option to take an aerial sky ride to the summit or hop on the clipper ship chairlift for some spectacular views and a little hike at the top.
All new this year is yoga at the summit, where you can either hike your way to the top (or down) or take the chairlift, and experience what it’s like to do the cobra pose, downward facing dog and warrior pose while on top of a pretty big mountain.
“We’ve tried to make it so there’s something for everybody,” Burch said.
For the experienced archer, check out the soon to be opened archery course and test your skills.
And for the little ones, get a bag of mining material and look for gemstones and fossils.
There’s also a brand new kids mountain adventure camp, where you can sign up for a day, week or the rest of the summer.
“Anything you can imagine for a kid,” Burch said.
The park is now open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Prices vary for each adventure, but you can also buy a play all day package for $59 that includes lots of the stuff we just talked about.
“It’s a great deal,” Burch said.
For more information, visit mountsunapee.com/ mtsunapeewinter/adventurepark/welcome.asp.
