Bronx Zoo to Add Zip Line and Nature Trek Adventure Course

If your child loves adventure, they will love the new attractions coming to the Bronx Zoo in July.

The Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo is adding a zip line, seven aerial climbing courses, and a kid-friendly adventure course called Nature Trek, according to a WCS press release.

The zip line and aerial climbing courses will both be part of the Bronx Zoo Treetop Adventure. The zip line will be more than 400-feet long and run across the Bronx River. Riders will glide from a tower on the west bank of the Bronx River to a tower on the east side and back. While riding along the wires, visitors will pass the trees in the zoo's 265-acre forest and see the river’s wetlands from 50 feet in the air. To safely enjoy the zoo from such heights, zip line riders will be strapped into a harness.
 

The Bronx Zoo Treetop Adventure will be ticketed separately from the Bronx Zoo and also include seven aerial adventure courses of varying skill levels from beginner to expert. Each course will feature eight or more elements or challenge obstacles such as rope bridges, wobbly bridges, tight rope walks, rolling and swinging elements, and more, according to the press release. The Bronx Zoo Treetop Adventure will open Friday, July 7 and use harnesses and other measures to keep participants safe. The attraction is located near the Bronx River Parking entrance to the Bronx Zoo. The experience will be available for adults and children ages 7 and older. For participant restrictions and to purchase tickets visit bronxzootreetop.com.
 

Nature Trek, inside the Bronx Zoo, will include a netted bridge-and-tower course with wiggling surfaces and plenty to explore. The climbing course towers will be two stories above ground and connected by 12 different bridges spanning up to 30 feet. This netted climbing course will be for children ages 3 and older. Nature Trek will also include a "nature play" zone for children of all ages to learn more about the environment around them and engage in unstructured play with natural elements like sand and water (seasonal). 
 

Julie Larsen Maher

Nature Trek will open on Saturday, July 1. The attraction will be included with the purchase of a Bronx Zoo Total Experience Ticket, according to the press release. It will be an extended-season attraction running daily from April-October and as weather permits from November-March.

“It’s really about engaging the younger kids in activities that focus them on nature and how to look at nature differently,” Sue Chin, vice president of planning and design and the chief architect at the Wildlife Conservation Society—the organization that oversees the zoo—told DNAinfo.

For more information, visit the Bronx Zoo's website.

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Main image: The zip line and aerial climbing courses at the Bronx Zoo
Julie Larsen Maher