Climbing 90 metre trees in Oregon, a unique US experience

Tree Climbing at Silver Falls is the only tour operator in the United States with government permitted access to guide participants up some of the largest and rarest trees in the world in Oregon

Tree Climbing at Silver Falls in Oregon was started in 2021 and now offers a unique experience of climbing 60m to 90m trees on the west coast of the US.  The climbing adventure lets visitors explore beautiful ancient forests, in a fun and educational eco-tour type experience.

It took around two years of working with the Oregon State Parks before the programme could get started. This is because the company had to conduct environmental reviews and work with local park management to make sure operations run smoothly inside the park.

The company must also ensure trees are healthy with no wildlife inhabiting them. Above all, Tree Climbing at Silver Falls did not want to have a negative impact on the local wildlife.

Tree Climbing at Silver Falls has more than 50 years of combined experience among its team. Its guides have been managing recreational tree climbing programmes that have taken around 500 people a year climbing. The company claims this is more than any other recreational tree climbing programme, not only in Oregon but also in the entire US.

The project aims to give people the experience of recreational tree climbing in old-growth trees, and also provide education about the unique ecology of these ecosystems while having fun. People not only get to experience the unique climbing adventure but also understand the benefits of a tree climbing industry. When done properly, it has effectively no harm to the trees and shows that older trees can be used in ways that does not mean cutting them down for logging.

Less than 4% of the US‘ original forests remain in existence. According to the World Resources Institute, less than 1% of “Frontier Forests”-large, contiguous virgin forests with all the species intact- still exist in the lower 48 states. Tree Climbing at Silver Falls teaches people about the importance of protecting and preserving the forest so it can turn into old-growth forest for future generations and wildlife.

The company offers four tree climbing adventures at Oregon’s Silver Falls State Park as well as customised team building programmes, a more classic multi-day tree climbing course, and kids tree climbing camps for children aged seven and above.

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