Salishan Resort Aerial Park

Our experience at the Salishan Resort Aerial Park was hosted by the Salishan Resort, but the thoughts and opinions are my own.

It seems like these days my kids are getting better than me at soooo many things…math, eye rolling, technology, touching their toes…you know…the basics. And now, come to find out, they are WAYYYY better at being more awesome than their scaredy-cat mom. We found THAT little tidbit out while we were visiting the Salishan Resort Aerial Park. You can read all about our fun stay at the Salishan Resort OVER HERE, but the Salishan Resort Aerial Park was sooooo amazing, that it deserved a post of its own.

Where is the Salishan Aerial Park?

The Salishan Resort is located between Lincoln City and Depoe Bay Oregon, RIGHT on the Oregon Coast. The resort has tons to offer, but even if you are just passing through, you can stop in and have a blast at the Salishan Resort Aerial Park. My favorite part of the park was the location…located right in the middle of the GORGEOUS Oregon forest, nestled next to the ocean, and with a wonderful view of the resort, golf-course, and even the ocean (if you are brave enough to climb to the crow’s nest).

What to expect at the Salishan Aerial Park?

First off, we arrived at the Scout Adventure Store at The Salishan Marketplace to check in and meet our guides. Then we headed on a nature hike through the woods up to the adventure park. After orientation and getting all geared up, we headed to GROUND SCHOOL. Ground school was great because we practiced the belay system and maneuvering the obstacles…but low to the ground.

Finally, we headed into the trees to explore. The whole adventure was about 2 hours, which was perfect. I was pretty slow going on the obstacles, but for someone more brave than me…or someone without children…it would have been plenty of time to adventure around in the trees.

Is it the same as zip-lining??

The Aerial Park does not have zip lines. Imagine more of an adult jungle gym built high up in the trees. There are 20 or so adventure elements up in the trees set up in a spiderweb-like grid. You basically choose your own adventure through suspension bridges, tightropes, obstacles, and even a 75 foot crow’s nest with a view of the ocean. I DO have to admit though, I did not attempt the crow’s nest…I was more a chicken and LESS a crow.

Un-like zip-lining, you are always standing on one of the platforms or maneuvering an element…no free falling or jumping off the ledge. Also, you get to completely choose your own path. There is no set direction, you just pick an element, conquer it, and head to the next element of choice. You can skip any of the harder elements as long as you can get back to the exit platform, so you can really just wander around at your leisure. Also, unlike zip-lining, this was more ON YOUR OWN. Once we got up into the trees, we could choose to go as quickly or as slowly as we wanted, choose which direction to head, stop and take pictures of the view, whatever we wanted. There was nobody WAITING for us to get courageous or watching to see if we got scared. The guides kept track of everyone and helped when we got stuck, but they were NOT pressuring us at all. It was all very laid back.

Is it ok for kids?

Since the minimum age is 8 (with an adult), Ethan and Emersyn BOTH got to experience the Aerial Park. Ethan was the most nervous going up, but once we got in the trees, he was basically a monkey. I honestly think that now he would TOTALLY go up into the trees even if we told him he couldn’t have a harness (just hypothetically…we would never do that). On the other hand, Emersyn, who wasn’t nervous at all, got a bit scared and timid once she started climbing. I think it really just depends on the kid and honestly we had no clue who would enjoy it until we tried.

As far as the elements go, they are doable by kids, but they MAY need a little assistance. Ethan got his belay moved around MOST of the time, but occasionally he needed a taller person to help him switch between elements. This is definitely NOT a sit back and WATCH your younger kids do it type of activity. You have to be up in the trees participating and hands on helping them maneuver. Teenagers, on the other hand, would be TOTALLY fine on their own as long as they were not afraid of heights. I am a shorty, just above 5 feet, and I could reach ALL of the belay switches. My kids however needed a taller person occasionally to help move them along. The only problem I ran into was that the footings on a few elements seemed far apart…like man sized steps. So for me and the kids, it required some jumping and leaps of faith…nothing UN-doable though. Do your kids climb on the TOP of the monkey bars or jungle gyms?? Have they gone on all of the rides at Disneyland?? If they can handle the Tower of Terror, they can handle the aerial park.

Was it fun??

If you had asked my WHILE I was up in the trees, I am not sure if I would have given you the same answer, but YES it was SUPER FUN!! We all agree that now that we know what to expect, we would TOTALLY do it again. BUT just to be fair…I better tell you ALL about my experience. First off, I was THE MOST excited and had ZERO fear of going up. I made it through orientation and ground school like a champ and climbed up the ladder into the tree with NO WORRIES. I was even pretty good as we began crossing the first suspension bridge and COMPLETELY remember looking down and enjoying the scenery and snapping some pictures. But that is where things started to get a bit shaky for me. Ethan and Emersyn both needed help and poor Emmy was SUPER nervous about a few of the elements. Then we reached a tightrope obstacle and even though my brain KNEW I was hooked to the cable, my BODY would NOT go out onto that rope. It was just a perfect storm of OUT OF CONTROLS that was too much for my CONTROL FREAK self to handle. I had tooooo many balls up in the air…like literally my kids were up in the air and I had no control over them. I had a bit of a panic attack…it was NOT my finest moment. My kids still make fun of me because they could see the tears falling down my face as I clutched the tree. BUT the Ariel Park guide was amazing!! He talked me across the tightrope step by step, got my mind onto other things, and got me back on track. After that, I was still slow moving and a bit shaky, but I was not paralyzed with fear.

Was it scary/dangerous??

I honestly think that my problem was more of a combination of being out of control of my kids and my mamma bear instincts going bonkers. It was A LOT for my mom brain to handle, having my kids off in two different directions. My mom helicopter was grounded and I DIDN’T like that…haha. Also, I am REALLY bad about losing control or doing something UNKNOWN. So just having free reign of an entire tree-top aerial park was VERY overwhelming to me. Where most people would LOVE the choose your own adventure aspect, I am more of a “give me a map and EXACT instructions on how to finish” type of a person. It was hard for me to figure out how to maneuver myself AND the kids through the elements on my own. I honestly think that if I went again without kids and only had to worry about MYSELF, I would have a TOTALLY different experience. OR if I went again with my kids, I would put their dad in charge of them and have a more relaxed time.

The silliest part is that I KNEW I was completely safe. You physically CANNOT unhook yourself from the belay system, so there is NO danger. And LOGICALLY I knew my kids were safe and sound as well. There was NOTHING dangerous. That allllll being said, I DO plan to do this again!! Even though I had a few scared moments, I also had TONS of fun. And even though my hands were kinda shaky and I was ultimately glad for our session to end, I was also sad when it was over.

So to sum ALLL that up, we had a blast. Even with the momentary crying fit, I was SOOO glad that I did it. Out of ALL of the new things we tried this year and all of the fun trips we took, the kids LOVE talking about the Salishan Resort and the excitement of the Salishan Aerial Park. They think it gives them bragging rights and honestly I feel like I have some serious STREET CRED when I talk about it. And as a 40 year old mom, I need all of the COOL points I can get these days. Check out our youtube video to see more of our exciting day at the aerial park (see if you can see my tears) and subscribe to our channel to stay up-to-date on our travels and adventures. Let’s talk soon. JESS

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