Family First

ADVENTURE AWAITS

By Alecia Humphreys | Photos by Drew cusumano

RYZE Adventure Park in Maryland Heights is the metro area’s newest ultimate urban outdoor adventure that promises fun for the whole family.

“The concept is something that this area has never seen before,” says Drew Cusumano, RYZE Adventure Park’s general manager. “It’s a four-story adventure tower full of all sorts of different bridges and obstacles that people can come and try out and climb on.”

Specifically, there are 110 different obstacles at various difficulty levels, ranging from easy to daredevil difficult.

“We have everything from a bike up on a balance beam to a 200-foot zip line that goes away from the tower and comes back in to one of our most adrenaline-rushed elements, which is our free fall platform,” Cusumano says. “Up on the fourth floor, you take a step off the plank, and you have a brief free fall before the device lowers you down to the ground slowly.”

Although some of these obstacles might seem daunting for some, Cusumano says there is something for everyone – including the option to walk up the stairs to skip climbing components and enjoy an observation deck with tables and chairs.

“Every adrenaline junkie gets their fix, but every nervous novice of climbing gets to experience something, too,” Cusumano adds. “It’s tough to find somebody that doesn’t have a good time up there.”

Beyond the adventure tower, RYZE also has an 18-hole mini golf course, yard games and a little ninja course for those ages 4 to 7.

“When we have people come in, we want to make sure that the fun, the memories and the recreation that we’re able to give them is something that’s going to (a) make them remember their experience and (b) we want to push them to be better in whatever facet that is for them,” Cusumano says. “For a lot of people, they come in and say, ‘Hey, this is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this. I’m terrified of heights. I don’t know how I’m going to do this.’

“Being able to walk somebody through getting up onto the tower and seeing them push themselves to new limits and do stuff they never thought they’d be able to do is, for us, why we do what we do. It’s far more than just running a business for us. We truly want people to experience something they never have before and leave feeling like they added a little notch to their belt in what they’re able to do.” ln RYZE Adventure Park, 12420 Grace Church Road, Maryland Heights, 314-886-7993, ryzeadventure.com