Ready to trade your daily grind for treetop adventures? Set in the towering canopies of Raleigh’s Blue Jay Point County Park, Go Ape Zipline & Adventure Park isn’t just a walk in the woods, but an outdoor experience you’ll never forget..
Both our kids are adventurous, so for our 9 year old’s birthday, we decided to take the family to Go Ape Raleigh NC as her birthday activity!
We’ve previously done treetop adventures and ziplines in several places in the USA and Australia, and we always have a ton of fun, so we kind of knew we would enjoy this aerial adventure in Raleigh.
If you’ve never been before, and not sure what to expect, then this guide is for you.
This is everything you need to know about Go Ape in Raleigh, what to bring and wear, and about our experience, so you can decide if it’s the right activity for you.
What is Go Ape?
If you’ve never been to a Go Ape before, and not entirely sure what it is, allow me to briefly explain.
Go Ape is an obstacle course set high in the canopies of the trees. You are strapped into a harness, and have to climb up to a treetop platform to begin the course.
Every Go Ape is different, and there are 16 of them across the USA, but the obstacles are usually very similar.
You may have to walk across rickety wooden platforms, traverse across suspension bridges, conquer high-rope crossings, and more. At the end of each obstacle, there is a zip line which takes you to the start of the next one.
It’s not an activity for those with a fear of heights, but for those with brave legs, it’s an amazing thrill.
How to get to Go Ape Zipline and Adventure Park,
Go Ape is located near Falls Lake, just a 25 minute drive from downtown Raleigh.
The best route to get there is to drive along E Six Forks Road to Pleasant Union Church Road, and then you will see the signs for it.
There is parking at the entrance.
Experiences at Go Ape Raleigh
There are two courses at Go Ape in Raleigh. One is smaller, with less obstacles, and has a lower platform, and the other is the more challenging one.
Let’s take a look at each.
Treetop Journey
Because she was turning 9, our daughter just missed the 10 year minimum age cut-off limit for the Treetop Adventure course (see details down below), so we took on the Treetop Journey course!
The Treetop Journey course takes about an hour to complete, and has lower platforms than the TreeTop Adventure.
Featuring 18 obstacles and two zip lines, although the smaller of the two, we thoroughly enjoyed navigating suspended bridges, obstacles and zip lines.
The longest zipline was 200 foot, and the highest platform was 25 foot (half the height of the Treetop Adventure).
Our time was filled with laughter and adventure as we immersed ourselves in the trees and nature.
This high-ropes course turned out to be perfect for what she was looking for, and if your kids haven’t done ziplining before or treetops adventure courses, this is a great introduction level.
Before starting, the safety instructors fitted us out in our harnesses and reviewed the equipment.
Don’t worry, you are connected to the safety line the whole time you are on the course in the trees and there is no way of falling to the ground!
The Treetop Journey course is split in 2-3 loops that increase in difficulty, and you access the loops by climbing a set of stairs up into the trees.
It didn’t take us long to get the hang of it and have fun navigating the aerial bridges, nets and planks.
The loops end with a zip line that takes you back to the forest floor. How cool are ziplines? Like flying for us humans, it’s so exhilarating.
Then you can repeat any loops you want within your 1-hour time limit.
Once we went through our first round, our instructors suggested we make it more challenging by closing our eyes or going backwards – our kids loved that excitement and challenge!
- Min Age: None
- Min Height: 3 ft 3 in
- Max Weight: 285 lbs
Treetop Adventure
The Treetop Adventure course is the original treetop adventure and is the bigger course of the two.
It’s higher up in the canopy with super long zip lines and Tarzan swings – so the minimum age for this is 10 years old!
Allow 2-3 hours for this adventure course.
It starts with a safety briefing, then a rope ladder or stairs up into the trees where you connect to the course!
On the Treetop Adventure course you navigate wobbly bridges, traverse tricky crossings and take on their unique free drop Tarzan swings.
It has a 500 foot zipline, 41 obstacles, and the highest platform is 50 feet in the air!
If you’re looking for zipline Raleigh experiences, this is the course for you!
- Min Age: 10 years
- Min Height: 4 ft 7 in
- Max Weight: 285 lbs
Is Go Ape in Raleigh safe?
We felt safe the whole time we were on the courses, and even if you fear heights like us, just know that Go Ape is safe and a fun way to overcome those fears!
It’s also a nice little upper body workout. You might be a touch sore the next day, but I wish I could do a nature workout like this weekly – I much prefer outdoor activities than indoor!
There is plenty of staff walking around the different stations if you need help or feel stuck.
The staff are skilled, friendly, attentive and helpful.
Video: Watch us play at Go Ape Raleigh
Press play below to watch this short video of our experience at Go Ape Raleigh.
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Axe Throwing
Go Ape is not just about the high flying adventure treetop courses, there are other experiences you can do there.
You can also do some axe throwing. This is a fun activity that doesn’t have height restrictions.
Axe throwing experiences are for one hour.
Forest Escape (Outdoor Escape Room)
We didn’t do the Escape Room, but now our daughters are a bit older, we’ve come to enjoy them as a family activity.
The Outdoor Escape Room at Go Ape is a fun, one hour experience that has no height or age limit, so is perfect for those who don’t want to brave the courses.
I’ve not come across many escape rooms where you have to escape from a room in the heart of nature.
I won’t spoil the story for you, but if you’ve not done an escape room before, you have to work with your team to solve puzzles, answer clues, and find a way out of the “room.”
Tips for visiting Go Ape Raleigh
- Do check the weather before you book. Go Ape courses are designed to be resilient and can withstand the rain, so they do stay open on rainy days, but do they do close during a thunderstorm and high winds.
- Wear comfortable clothes that you don’t mind getting a bit dirty.
- Wear closed toe, closed heel, and flat shoes that don’t fall off your feet.
- Tie long hair back, preferably low.
- Remove jewelry, accessories, and body piercings. If they cannot be removed, tape over them.
- Full finger gloves are required to provide better grip and protect your hands – they sell them or you can bring your own.
- Arrive 15 minutes early to complete any necessary paperwork and visit the restroom.
- You may take cameras, phones, or any other device on the course as long as they are secured.
- Water is available on the course, but you may also bring a water bottle if it can be attached with a carabiner to your harness.
Opening hours and fees
Go Ape is open from 10:00am – 7:00pm Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. It’s open from 9:00am – 7:00pm on Saturdays and Sundays, and 11:15am – 4:15pm on Tuesdays.
The price for the Treetop Adventure is $49.95 for adults over 16+, and $44.95 for ages 10-15.
The price for Treetop Journey is $39.95 for all ages.
The Forest EscAPE experience is $19.95 per person.
Would we recommend Go Ape, Raleigh?
Getting out in nature is one family activity we love most, and even though visiting Go Ape in Raleigh was our 9 year old’s choice, we all jumped at the chance to get among the trees!
At Go Ape is where you can take on various tree top obstacle courses and ziplines, depending upon your age and height, as well as your comfort level for adventure – so it’s well worth doing even if you have a fear of heights as you can do a lower course if you’re scared.
Their courses are created to deliver adventure, fun, and a sense of accomplishment and perfect for families, groups of friends, and companies looking for team building!
These types of adventure courses make for a great family building experience, and of course we can all do with more nature in our lives.
If you go in the warmer months like us, the other cool thing is it’s shaded the whole time!
These courses are such a fun way to explore nature and the tree canopy from a unique perspective.
If you and your kids love nature, put Go Ape Raleigh on your list of family things to do in Raleigh!
- Address: 3200 Pleasant Union Church Rd, Raleigh
- Website: GoApe.com
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tree top adventure is great. the oaks are amazing. It is a real pleasure to play like monkeys in the lap of nature.
Yes, we love ziplining among the trees. Lots of family fun!