Climbers prepare to embark on a course at the Fun Forest adventure park in Kandel on July 5, 2025. The adventure park offers 16 climbing routes of varying difficulty, featuring bridges, ziplines and rope swings.  (Lara Korte/Stars and Stripes)

For those looking to take their summer fun to new heights, the Fun Forest Adventure Park in Kandel, Germany, offers a mix of risk-taking and relaxation.

The park, located just outside Karlsruhe and about an hour’s drive from Kaiserslautern, has 17 acres of climbing, rope courses and ziplining with varying degrees of difficulty.

I have a rudimentary knowledge of climbing basics. Aside from all the trees I climbed as a child, I’ve dabbled a bit in rock climbing as an adult and I’m familiar with the ways of ropes and carabiners. I figured, how hard could a “fun forest” be?

But as I stood there in the briefing room, fully geared up in harnesses and a helmet and trying to make sense of an instructional video, I feared I might be in over my head.

I reserved three hours of climbing time online in advance. I was reassured by Google reviews that said the staff spoke English. When I arrived, however, the teenage front desk worker, who helped me into my harness, told me the briefing would be in German.

Climbers traverse a shaky rope bridge and scale a ladder at the Fun Forest in Kandel. (Lara Korte/Stars and Stripes)

Families can relax on the sprawling deck in the adventure park, which also features a small cafe offering food, coffee and beer. (Lara Korte/Stars and Stripes)

The 10-minute video included the basics of climbing and what I can only assume were jokes, based on the light chuckles of the other climbers. The staff then led us out to a small training course, where we put our learned skills to the test.

Here is where, I will say, the English-speaking staff did swoop in to save the day. They politely helped me figure out the system of carabiners and pulleys hanging from my harness, and were patient as I fumbled through my first attempts at latching on to the safety wires affixed to the trees.

I found, after a few minutes, that the system was actually simple. The carabiners have a locking mechanism that ensures climbers are attached to some kind of safety wire as they move through the courses.

The park offers 16 courses of varying difficulties. The first levels, open to kids as young as 3, are colorful, low-to-the-ground obstacle courses that allow children to move through with assistance. They resemble a typical playground.

The higher levels, for 14 and above, are suspended about 20 feet off the ground.

For most courses, I started at the bottom of a tree. After clipping into the safety wire, I climbed a ladder and traveled between platforms by using ropes, bridges and swings.

One course might require you to gingerly balance on a suspended log, while another involved precarious stepping between wooden blocks.

There was another with a kind of skateboard rigged with pulleys and rope where climbers could glide between trees, like some kind of Tony Hawk/Tarzan hybrid. All of the courses ended with a zipline to the ground.

I went on a Saturday and found little waiting on the courses. There were a lot of families, but I did spot several groups of adults on the advanced courses.

Some courses took 10 minutes while others took up to an hour, based on the signs marking each start. For a few more euros, you can sign up for the profipaket (professional packet), which buys you four hours in the park and access to the most advanced courses. Those are suspended at roughly 40-50 feet up in the treetops. I was satisfied with my climbing experience after two hours. The thick forest had shielded me from the bright July sun, keeping me pleasantly cool. I did worry about the famous German ticks, but the spray I applied kept them away.

For height-averse folks or parents who prefer to observe, there’s a sprawling deck where patrons can sit and enjoy a cider or currywurst. I capped off my day with some french fries and a “cola lite” before heading home.

Fun Forest Adventure Park Kandel

Address: Badallee, 76870 Kandel, Germany

Cost: 27 euros for adults, 24 euros for 14 years and older, 21 euros for ages 7-13 and 11 euros for ages 3-7.

Hours: Daily during the summer 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Information: Online: kandel.funforest.de