VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Four years in the making, Owl Creek Landing had its soft opening Friday, with the more than $6 million project touted as the first of its kind in the United States and is part of Adventure Park by Virginia Aquarium.
It features a spiral tower with a steel slide, along with an expansive canopy walk and a children’s treehouse playground, all in a 38-acre scenic forested area.
The open-air Nautilus Tower stretches 65-feet tall, with an accessible walkway spiraling to the top. It connects both ends of Treetop Trails, a roughly quarter-mile walkway through the forest, suspended more than 30 feet off the ground.
“Gives you a really great feeling of walking up and seeing the natural forest floor from up there, and totally feels very different,” Outdoor Adventures CEO Bahman Azarm said.
Azarm said 1,960 rods are drilled 25 feet into the ground to keep the tower firmly planted without disrupting nature.
“Acts just like tree roots, and they hold the tower really really well, hurricane winds and so on,” he said.
The long walkway winds through the trees, going past a body of water. It includes treehouses in spots, and stairs for anyone who wants to get back on the ground.
“They also do shake a little bit, so they do give you that feeling of, well, you’re not walking on the ground,” Azarm described while shaking the bridge a little. “Of course it’s extremely stable and extremely safe, but you still feel like you are on a suspension bridge.”
Thousands of ferns are planted below, working to ensure all that is here is non-invasive. Their goal is to get visitors to see what the birds see in the thick of nature.
The 117-foot stainless steel slide is the last piece of the puzzle. It is set to open by the end of July, and that is also when Owl Creek Landing will have its grand opening.
