A Great Thing To Have for Your Summer Camp At Home- A Zipline!

A few years ago we decided that it would be a lot of fun to have a zipline in our backyard for the kids to use.  We certainly have plenty of large, solid, tall trees, and we spotted a potential “run” of around 150 feet in length with no obstructions blocking our path.  So Steve started his research and found out that there are kits that you can order online for backyard ziplines. For less than $250 you can install your own zipline and provide your summer camp at home with hours of fun!

This website, Backyard Play Places, has put together some great kits, and gives you a great overview of what is involved in installing a backyard zipline.

Here’s what our set up looks like where the zipline attaches to the anchor tree:

My hubby will tell you that the hardest part of installing your zipline is getting the cable up high enough in the (starting point) tree so as to create a fun ride for the kids.  Some people build a ladder to climb up the tree and also a small platform for the rider to stand on and “launch from”, but that would mean that an adult would need to be up on that platform too in order to make sure that the kids are securely in the harness and the harness is clipped on to the zipline before allowing them to zip down.  Plus another adult would need to be at the bottom to help the rider unclip from the cable.  We wanted to be able to play with the kids with only one adult around….

So we decided to “load” the kids from the bottom of the zip line, and then using a leader rope, we pull them up the line to the top.  We can then use the rope to give a running start to their trip, or to control their speed (for a less daring rider).

There is a tire is at the bottom of the zipline to stop the rider from hitting the anchor tree!  The trolley kind of crashes into the tire, which delights the kids and  slows them down before they get near to the anchor tree.

Want to go for a ride?