New zipline adventures coming to Stowe and beyond

If you can remember back to the summers when, as a kid, when you climbed hand over hand into the leafy heart of a maple and looked down at the world, you know that life in the tree tops is different.

Just how different is what the new Wild Walk at the Adirondacks’ Wild Center in Tupper Lake, N.Y. hopes to capture. The walkway, which opened on July 4, is a series of bridges 40 feet off the ground with views out across the treetops and the Adirondack State Park. The walk is made up of more than 1000 feet of bridges, connecting experiences that will downsize you to a kid again: giant bald eagle’s nest you can crawl into, a spider web the size of a trampoline, and a white pine snag with an internal spiral staircase you climb to reach the next walkway. The interpretive walk tells the story of the landscape and wildlife of the Adirondacks, including the more than 72 bird species that call these trees home. More at www.wildcenter.org

If you want to actually swing through the trees, Stowe’s TreeTop Adventure Course (www.stowe.com) opened on July 3 at the Mount Mansfield base. A combination 68 different challenges,it takes you through the treetops on walk-ways, across cable bridges and short ziplines. Like Smuggler’s Notch Arbortrek Canopy Adventures, it’s a skills and obstacle course that can be used for team building, or just letting the kids blow off some steam. More at www.smuggs.com

Remembering what it was like to be a kid in the trees is what inspired Stratton skier David Rosow to build Magic Mountain’s Timberquest with 20 ziplines and 75 challenges including cargo nets and log bridges that challenge agility and strength. More at www.timberquestparks.com

Reservations are recommended for all but the Wild Walk and prices vary depending on how many challenges you do.