June 13, 2019
TreeRunner Adventure Park, which features more than 60 trails with zip lines and obstacles of varying levels of difficulty, officially opened on Friday, June 21 on the campus of Oakland University.
“Our location offers families, students and organizations an opportunity to get outside and experience adventure in a beautiful forest setting,” said Thomas Knuth, director of operations for TreeRunner Parks.
Located in the northeast quadrant of OU’s campus near the corner of Walton Boulevard and Adams Road, the new park represents a continuation of Oakland University’s ongoing efforts to enhance campus life.
“It’s a win-win situation that will benefit our students, faculty at staff at the university, but it will also be a benefit to the surrounding community,” said Greg Jordan, director of University Recreation and Well-Being. “The new park will provide a unique way to exercise and improve physical fitness and be fun at the same time. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
TreeRunner Adventure Parks do not feature just one single aerial treetop trail, but a variety of color-coded aerial trails of differing challenge level, beginner through expert. Climbers choose their trail depending on their age and/or climbing experience.
The trails consist of platforms installed in the trees, which are connected by various configurations of cable, wood and rope to form crossings of different kinds, including the ever-popular zip lines.
No prior climbing experience is necessary and children 7 years of age and older are welcome to climb. For safety, climbers wear harnesses which are doubly secured to safety cables using the park’s “always locked on” system of interlocking safety clips.
“With over 60 obstacles and zip lines, ranging from beginner to advanced difficulty, you can be assured that everyone will have a great time climbing at our park,” Knuth said.
The park will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, and by group reservation only on Monday.
“We have several events planned throughout the season,” Knuth said. “From themed Glow Nights to College Night, Carnival Day, Pirate Adventure and weekly Night Climbing, there is something for most ages, stages and ability levels to enjoy at TreeRunner at OU.”
Tickets are $48 per person for climber ages 12 and up, $43 for ages 10-11, and $38 for ages 7-9. Reservations are required for general admission and group appointments, and can be booked online at TreeRunnerOU.com. TreeRunner will also offer discounts to OU students, faculty and staff during general admission hours.
The new course was built by TreeRunner at no cost to Oakland University and no student tuition dollars will be used to fund its operation.