Aerial Adventure course to open near Chicago
Lemont Quarries Adventure Park, a 300-acre outdoor playground and soon-to-be home of the tallest and largest aerial adventure course in North America, has broken ground in the southwestern Chicago suburb of Lemont.
The Lemont Quarries is set to open Summer 2020, 22-miles outside of downtown Chicago. It will feature a 260-element aerial adventure course, the biggest in North America, the longest spanning zipline at 1,050 feet (320 m), which is the longest in the Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana tristate area, a mountain bike pump track built in collaboration with the International Mountain Bicycling Association, running, hiking and mountain biking trails, flat water paddling for kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding, an Amphitheater and Kids Zone, and a restaurant, beer garden, and concessions.
“The highlight of this outdoor playground at the Lemont Quarries Adventure Park is the aerial adventure course,” said Chris Gladwin, co-founder of the Lemont Quarries Adventure Park. “Three free-standing towers, including a 12-story tower designed to look like the iconic Sears Tower splitting apart, will provide more than 260 elements for climbing and navigating.”
The park is also one of the only fully-accessible aerial adventure courses in the country, designed for use by visitors of any age, experience level, or physical ability.
“This is is one of the only aerial adventure courses that does not require climbers to follow a linear path, and instead, lets them chart their own course,” said Jeremie Bacon, co-founder of The Lemont Quarries Adventure Park. “The design of our aerial adventure course prevents bottlenecks and slow-downs so that no matter what your skill level, you can navigate the course at your own leisure and speed.”
Lemont Quarries is the brainchild of two Chicago-tech entrepreneurs, Chris Gladwin and Jeremie Bacon – close friends who share a passion for outdoor recreation. The adventure park is being developed as a public-private partnership between The Village of Lemont, Lemont Township, and The Forge, the company behind The Lemont Quarries Adventure Park.
“By partnering with Lemont to develop this adventure park, we’ve also created the opportunity to reinvest in a piece of Chicago’s history,” said Gladwin. “We’re combining our resources not only to improve the conservation of this green space, but also bring new recreation opportunities to Chicagoans and visitors.”
“No other aerial ropes course or adventure park in the country competes with the scale of Lemont Quarries,” said Bacon. “We’re thrilled to provide a community-focused outdoor experience – for everyone from elite athletes to young families – right in Chicago’s backyard.”
