Alley Pond Park Adventure Course

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Looking for a bit of outdoor adventure but don't want to leave the city? Head to the in Little Neck, Queens, where you can work up the courage to go on a zip-line forty feet in the air, jump from great heights, rock climb and more.

A relatively unknown ropes course deep into Queens, Alley Pond Adventure Course features activities that promote teambuilding, as well as physical and intellectual challenges, through a series of obstacles - swings, nets and balance platforms - that teams work together to solve.

If you thought you graduated from school to leave this type of stuff behind you (indeed, there is the popular orientation game "trust fall," where you close your eyes, lean back and rely on another person to catch you, among the tasks), reconsider; the challenges are more fun, challenging and exhilarating than you might think, while also working on key words like "problem solving," "trust" and "self-confidence."

For starters, there's the aforementioned zip-line, a popular element of the course where you zip through the air along two cables. There's other high elements such as the Cat Walk, where you walk across a telephone pole suspended horizontally 40 feet above the ground (all while properly harnessed), the Climbing Wall, where you challenge yourself vertically and rock climb up walls 30-35 feet high, and the Dangle Quad (we like to call this one the Dennis Quaid), where you work together to climb a giant ladder-like contraption, and many others that ask you to get over that fear of heights.

Not all of the course takes place hgih above the ground. Low-level elements have groups working together to balance themselves on pivoting platforms and work to move across different cables, ropes and planks suspended a foot or so above the ground. It's all in the name of building confidence, trust and communication.

If this sounds right up your "Alley," the course is open to individuals and groups Sundays, from May 2 to November, for free (directions here). No sandals, flip flops or open-toed shoes are allowed, so dress appropriately and leave your cynicism at the door.

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