Heron Lake Challenge Ropes Course

This place is awesome!

Went to Heron Lake for my company’s team retreat. It was fantastic!
Anne, the course’s coordinator, is wonderful to work with. Very patient with the zillion questions we asked in the weeks leading up to our adventure. She was also very patient with our unruly group of engineers.
When reading about the course, we were concerned that it was a little too kid-​oriented. But it’s not! Anne is clearly great at adjusting the activities so that they’re suitable for whatever age group is there that day. We had a lot of fun with the large group activities in the beginning, the small group activities, and of course the high elements.
This course is about a half mile away from civilization. There isn’t running water or flush toilets. They aren’t kidding. Bring water with you, and be prepared to use a port-​o-​potty. As long as you read the «What to Expect» section of the website and take heed, you’ll be fine.

Come back for your birthday, they said. As I looked at my unprotected hands, scratched, bleeding and covered with rope burns. By chance, do you have ice or any first aid, while I stand here in pain with my first degree burn. Nope.…we don’t.
So you would think, Rope Course, high heights of up to 40 feet, safety helmets, and a lot of inexperienced people, you should have a few additional things available for your students. GLOVES and FIRST AID.
Oh, and perhaps one more thing. Check if the pegs are solid in the wood structure. Go to the wire course and try grabbing the last peg up top. See if it comes off. Whatever happened to Safety First. I say, go at your own risk.

Came here with a livingsocial deal and it was TOTALLY worth it! Did some Ropes Course from 1:30−4pm on a Sunday and it was hooooooot. The Lake was also pretty dried up and ugly looking, but I’m sure it would be prettier in the Spring!
Some tips:
1. They have no first aid kit and rope burns are common for ropes courses so perhaps bring some burn ointment in your backpack
2. Pack lots of water because there are no drinking fountains here!
3. Bring hand sanitizer/​toilet paper because there is no restroom, just 1 port-​a-​potty near the course
4. Try not to go when it’s really busy because the lines are long and it’s a good 30−45min wait per challenge because each person takes ~5min
5. If you want to do lots of upside down tricks, wear pants or capris to avoid rope burn on your legs — maybe some workout gloves might help for your hands as well
6. Wear comfy shoes with a good grip!
Pros:
–they give you all the equipment
–the staff is SUPER friendly
–the challenges are NOT easy, but the staff is very encouraging and accommodating
–the course has challenges that vary in levels of difficulty so you can work your way up to the hardest ones :)
I hope I’ll get the chance to go back! A fun day of ropes course challenges + wine tasting in Napa afterwards is always a success!

First, keep in mind. I have done flying the helicopter and airplane… etc. so I am a into adventure but the challenges of this Ropes Course is completely different. It is really something you need to be there to feel it.
This is a top notch activity for any age group. I just organized a 22-​person group rope challenge event with them. Our group consist of 25 – 40 years olds. It was everything I expected and more. My group is a mixture of coworkers and friends and friend’s friends. But we felt like anyone can enjoy this.
It is really an Exciting experience. Trust those guys with your life and you just might learn something new about yourself. I did. Concoring fear of height fear of failing or just falling. After the course, we all felt like we accomplished more than we expected. Some of us almost decided to not come to the Challege all together cuz going to the Winery sounds so much better than… climbing rops?
The people there are super friendly. I never felled unsafe for a second because of the professionalism of the staff there. We as a group all felt like it was worth the 2 hour drive from the south bay. We had to get of the road after 7am so we can be there at 9am.
The briefed us on safety which was very clear. And, the dangers of poise oak wildlife and rattle snake, in which we actual encountered one. It was small but they quickly caught the snake and released it elsewhere. Nobody got hurt because of the rope Period. Some of my friends got hurt because they were having too much fun on the side. It was small scratches. Nothing major.
The only negative was I wish there are more challenges to sign up for in the future.
Though, they did mention that next year they will build a zipline course across the lake. By that time, I’d love to go back and try it again.

Recently visited the Heron Lake Challenge Ropes Course and had a blast! I went along as a «chaperone» (whatever that means), and laughed my way throughout the day as giddy as a fifth grader. Maybe this had to do with the fact that I ripped my pants on a log while sitting down and realized the magnitude of the hole as I was «catwalking» across beams 30 feet in the air, giving everyone below on ground a less than entertaining peep shoe of my Hello Kitty underwear.
Started at the day doing «low element» activites, role playing as Indiana Jones and MacGyver (kinky!), and falling into lava pits (aka tall grass and/​or mud). I screamed during every activity like I was a cuckoo clock, every hour on the hour. There were some medieval times men in the area, and I think I might have scared their horses with my magnificent replications of a cacophonous hyena.
All of my injuries were non-​life threatening to the average joe, but were considered «death defying» in my doe-​eyes. For an official count, I rolled down the hill, fell off of a log that was on the ground, slipped on some tall grass, bottomed out on a tight-​rope, and have strained my abs from something called, «laughter.» As I write this a few days later, I have to add that I look like a snow leopard (purr) because of the cool war scars (aka bruises) that I received that Saturday.
Ron and David were extremely helpful, funny, and accomodating. They didn’t ONCE ask me to «face» my challenges or talk about my feelings (THANK GOD), and spent the day catering to the needs of our very small and tired group. I’ve gone to ropes courses in the past that make me cry because of my feelings and such, but this isn’t like that ropes course. Overall had a great day at HLC Ropes Course.
In brief:
–Parking is scarce, so plan to carpool
–Bring your own lunch, and enough to share with your fearless ropes leaders!
–Wear comfortable shoes that have good grip on the Earth (Tom’s Shoes will not work here, period)
–Wear comfy clothes. I would suggest wearing jeans if you are sensitive like me, but remember: my jeans ripped!
–Take a mighty dose of Claritan
–Leave your valubles at home because you will be so wrapped up with the FUNtivities that you won’t keep track of your belongings (but there weren’t many people around to commit theft or whatever)
–Wear sunscreen (I still got burnt during an overcast day. Just another one of impossible traits made possible.)
–Don’t look at other’s camel toes while in the harness
–Visit the National Monument
–Enjoy