Articles & Stories

Here, we’ll talk about awesome locations in New York that you can visit. Before we get to our second Amazing Place, I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone who read the first issue. Your support motivates me to bring more interesting content in future issues, and I’m always thinking of new places to show you. Now, without further ado, let’s go 18 miles north of New York City, to West Nyack, NY.

With the weather being so bitterly cold and windy this February, it can be hard to have fun outdoors without getting chilled to your core. Enter the Palisades Center Mall, in West Nyack, NY. Located beside a highway, this mall is huge, and looms over the passing cars. But once you head inside, you’ll find that there is nothing too special about the mall. Inside, it’s near deserted, as no one seems to be around here, and the mall has definitely seen better days. But slowly, as you head towards the mall’s atrium, more crowds start to converge. Want to know what makes the Palisades Center Mall so special? Just look up.

High above you, you see people balancing on beams, navigating rickety bridges, and zooming down a massive zip line. This is the Palisades Climb Adventure Ropes Course. Holding the record for the world’s tallest indoor ropes course at 85 feet tall, this experience will let you traverse various obstacles across five different floors of the mall, and will certainly take your breath away. I hope you’re not afraid of heights. Are you brave enough? If you are, strap into a harness and get moving!

The Palisades Climb Adventure course has over 75 different obstacle elements for you to conquer, and is separated into five different difficulties, with the courses getting easier the higher up you go. You start the course on the fourth level. From there, you can either take a staircase up or down to another level, or start challenging the obstacles there. The fourth and fifth level courses consist of relatively solid platform elements, so if it’s your first time on one of these ropes courses, you definitely shouldn’t fear falling off of these (the same should be said for the entire course, because you’re safely strapped into a harness.)

On the second level, you may come across a peculiar sight: what looks like a surfboard seemingly dangling over the edge of the course into the air. Take a step onto it, but watch your footing as the entire thing tips forward! Weren’t expecting that, were you? I still remember my first time walking on to that board, it genuinely shocked me a lot! Although it may be tempting for you thrill-seekers, for your own safety, please don’t try to jump off! 

If you’re really sure you can handle it, go ahead and try the first floor course, which is the hardest of the five courses. But be careful! Most of the obstacles here consist of extremely rickety and shaky tightrope like elements, so I hope you have a good sense of balance– you’ll need it! A tip to conquering these challenging ropes is to keep a firm grip on the cable above your harness. This gives you something to hold on to, which can help you keep balance. Also, if you’re feeling unstable, try to walk along the ropes in a diagonal facing position, which can help you maintain your footing so you don’t trip. 

You may notice that the fifth level is one of the most crowded parts of the course. That’s because it’s where you’ll find its massive zipline that stretches the entire length of the course! When you reach the zipline, you’ll be greeted by staff, who will help you attach your harness cable to the zipline railing. Once you’re attached to the railing, you can hop off the platform straight into the air, and freely soar all the way to the other side! It truly is a breathtaking experience. 

That was great! We’ve had quite a lot of fun today, haven't we? Once you’re ready to leave the course, you have to choose your way to exit. There are two exits in the course: you can leave the way you came by the fourth floor, or take the “challenge” exit via the first floor. The first floor route has you make your way to a platform that looks similar to the one you stand on before you start the zipline. But, there isn’t any zipline here– it’s just a sheer drop! You’ll need to build up some speed by running, and then take a leap of faith in order to reach the exit on the other side! (Again, don’t worry, you won’t fall.) After detaching your cable and taking off your harness, you should enjoy your newfound sense of triumph and fearlessness, knowing that you have just successfully conquered the world’s tallest indoor ropes course! I certainly enjoyed the rush of adrenaline I experienced when I came here. I hope you’ll visit sometime and experience the thrill of balancing on a narrow tightrope and zooming down a zipline from 85 feet in the air too! Thanks for coming with me to this Amazing Place, and I’ll see you next time!