There’s nothing like a ropes course to change your mood and confidence level while giving you a good workout. I recently spent a few hours at TreeRush Adventures, a ropes course near Omaha, where you climb, swing, and zipline. Read on to learn about it!
Disclosure: I received complimentary passes to TreeRush Adventures in order to write about my experience. This post contains affiliate links. All thoughts, opinions, and typos are my own.
2020 Update: TreeRush Adventures has adopted some additional operational guidelines in response to these unprecedented times.
What you need to know:
- Bring a mask, even for kids. They’ll provide a mask if you don’t have one. Wear it when you’re on the ground. Some people continue to wear it on the course, but that is optional since social distancing is pretty easy up high. If you don’t have a reusable homemade one, buy a bulk supply of disposable face masks ahead of time.
- Bring your own protective gloves. They will not provide the “community gloves” like before. The kids and I used Mud Gloves, which were purchased originally for gardening, but they worked well on the course.
- Bring your own water. There is a cooler of bottled water for free, but I’d just recommend bringing your own.
- A lot of the TreeRush’s safety measures already create social distancing. They require one person on an element or obstacle and only three people on a platform (and all three must be in the same group, not strangers).
You can read more details about TreeRush’s cleaning and safety procedures here.
Where is this ropes course in Omaha?
TreeRush Adventures is located at Fontenelle Forest, which isn’t actually in Omaha (we like to refer to it as “Omaha area”). It’s located at 1111 Bellevue Blvd. N, in Bellevue, Neb.
For those unfamiliar with the Omaha metro area, Bellevue is just south of Omaha. For those of you familiar with Omaha, it’s close enough, right?
The entrance to TreeRush Adventures is separate from Fontenelle Forest’s entrance.
Who can go to TreeRush Adventure?
Here’s the cool part: I was there with my two kids, ages 10 and 8. At the same time, I spotted a couple on a date, a group of women together, and a solo man.
So, pretty much everyone goes to TreeRush Adventures: Families, friends, couples, solo explorers.
For kids ages 4-6, there’s KidRush Adventure Park, a low-to-the-ground ropes course that’s just challenging enough for kiddos to feel a part of the action.
TreeRush Adventure Park is for ages 7 and older. We started on the easiest course with my kids, the Meadowlark yellow course, which was still challenging for my youngest.
By the time we finished that course, she was eager to try the next skill level up. It was the most incredible experience watching her confidence level increase as we went along that green course.
How long does it take?
Your reservation allows for two hours on the course, whether it is TreeRush Adventure or KidRush.
The whole experience is longer, though, since you’ll be fitted for a harness and go through safety training, and practice. In all, it’s about three hours.
Tip: Regulars at TreeRush can test out of the safety training.
You go at your own pace, so you can take as many breaks as you need to just keep plowing through the courses. Most courses take less than 30 minutes.
I liked TreeRush Adventures because of the variety. We’ve been on other courses that were one long series of challenges, not divided by skill level, and those were exhausting.
TreeRush’s design eases you into things and motivates you to return to try harder courses. My 8-year-old has already requested we return when she’s 10 so she can do the blue courses. (Right now, she’s only allowed on yellow and green courses, the least challenging ones).
Two hours was long enough for me and my 10-year-old. My youngest probably could’ve gone another hour, she was loving it so much.
Hours are seasonal, naturally. Who wants to zipline in sub-zero temperatures?
What should you bring or wear for a ropes course?
You want to be comfortable out there, so dress for the weather. However, if it’s hot, short shorts are not advisable because…harnesses, man.
Make sure your shirt is long because moving and climbing with those harnesses on make shirts ride up easily.
Wear close-toed shoes. You’ll climb a lot and sandals just aren’t practical or safe.
Other key things to bring:
- Bug spray. Lots and lots of bug spray.
- Sunscreen.
- Your own gloves.
- Water. You can wear a Camelback backpack. Otherwise, you’ll have to leave your water bottles on the ground.
What’s the staff like?
They’re incredibly helpful and great with kids, for the most part (isn’t that the case everywhere?). Everyone was alert and attentive, so I felt pretty safe the entire time.
The staff doing the harness fitting and safety training were incredible with my kids. They were patient and funny.
Kenny, who taught our practice course, was one of the summer camp teachers my daughter had last year. I rank summer camp teachers up with my kids’ regular teachers. They’re heroes. How they have the patience, energy, and kindness to be with so many kids all day is beyond me.
Another super friendly staff was Christy, who invited my family to TreeRush Adventures. She went around the course with us, offering tips and encouragement. While my experience wasn’t the norm, you can just yell “Staff!” when you’re stuck, and they’ll come over and talk you through things (or climb up and rescue you).
How much does it cost?
General admission is $46 for ages 12 and older, $39 for ages 7 to 11, and $12 for ages 4 to 6.
You do not have to pay if you’re just going to watch your friends or family.
There are some discounts.
- 10% off for military (active or retired), seniors, and Fontenelle Forest members.
Do you get into Fontenelle Forest if you have a ticket for TreeRush Adventures?
The short answer is no. TreeRush Adventure is separate from Fontenelle Forest (same parking lot, though).
You are fully immersed in the forest, though, as you’re climbing, crawling, and zipping around. We had one of the last reservations of the day, and the peaceful calm of dusk at the forest was awe-inspiring.
I had to pause to take it all in. I highly recommend that evening experience.
Right now, only members have access to Fontenelle Forest trails, so if you are a member, you can tack on time on the trails before or after your zipline, operating hours permitting.
Tip: If you are a Fontenelle Forest member, you get a 10% off discount on TreeRush Adventure general admission tickets!
We arrived at Fontenelle Forest about an hour before our TreeRush reservation to get a little trail time in. I really wanted to check out Fontenelle’s new nature backpack (I’ll be writing about that soon!).
One hour at Fontenelle wasn’t enough time, though.
Next time, I won’t try to do both in one outing. The forest and ropes course are both worthy of an individual trip.
Tip: If you only have a limited number of days in Omaha, and want to do both, I’d allow one to two hours for a hike. You’ll be sore the next day because that’s a lot of activity.
While you’re in Bellevue
Hungry? You can grab a meal at one of these great restaurants in Bellevue, Neb.
