The Chairman of the Board Visits The Forge: Lemont Quarries

Jason Berry, Chairman of the Board for the Heritage Corridor Convention and Visitors Board, originally published this article on July 23, 2020 for LemontDowntown.com. 

The Forge: Lemont Quarries Opening Day!

It’s Here! It’s Open! “Biggest. Tallest. Longest. Largest.” says Chicago Parent. “The Biggest Adventure Park in North America” says Forbes. “Takes the genre to the next level (literally)” says Chicago Magazine. “It’s awesome” says our Lemont Downtown contributor and first time zipliner, Jason B. Here’s the rundown.

Every guest that wants to try the Eight Tower Adventure (hint: you want to try to the Eight Tower Adventure, that’s where the ziplines start!) begins with a checkin and orientation to the equipment, where you are harnessed in to your safety equipment, a two-sided locking carabiner called a Smart Snap, your zip line pulley, and given a helmet.

After additional training on how to use the Smart Snap system and attach your zip line pulley, you’re ready for your adventure! Most people are going to want to start at the Skyscraper Tower – 120 feet tall, with a zipline platform 74 feet above the ground, ready to take you 1,100 across a quarry lake at 30 MPH!

Don’t worry if you’re a total beginner. You can take the stairs!

All while safe and secure via Smart Snap.

What a view! With kayakers enjoying the scene below in The Forge Quarry.

Hey! that’s Fox 32’s Jake Hamilton getting ready for his zipline adventure on the deck of the Skyscraper Tower!

If you decide you can’t wait, you can always zipline over to the East X-Tower from the Skyscraper Tower! How cool is that?!

And away we go!

A successful FIRST ZIP! Ready for more? YOU BET!

For the more advanced climbers, the East X-Tower is 90 feet tall and has a zipline platform at 58 feet above The Forge Quarry.

With 10 acres of towers, ropes, ziplines, and rappelling alone, there’s tons to explore. I spent hours on the course  and still didn’t make it to all of the “Hex” towers that make up the Eight Tower Adventure!

The park is incredibly family friendly, and we saw lots of moms and dads out there with the kids… Here’s super dad and Forge co-founder, Jeremie Bacon, with his son. The kids are fearless!

I was ready to unwind at The Foundry, their dining and gathering space at the edge of The Forge Quarry with a great view of towers, zipliners, and boaters.

And of course, a special beer from Pollyanna, fittingly called On the Ropes!

The Forge is incredible, it’s gorgeous, and lives up their mission to Exhilarate, Eduate, and Entertain. And there’s so much more to do! I’ll be back to rent a paddleboat or bike and hit their pump track.

Safety is a key concern – I kept my mask on the entire time, and you’re asked to bring gloves and a headcover – so it’s recommended to book your adventure in advance. Visit forgeparks.com to get started!