The Adventure Group’s Aerial Obstacle Course is a ropes course facility on Cougar Mountain in Whistler. It has ropes course elements and ziplines in the forest.

At the venue they have a Beginner Course and a more Advanced Course. You can go on one or the other, or both. Basecamp for The Adventure Group (TAG) is also home to Superfly Ziplines and Vallea Lumina, and where you can go on RZR four-wheel-terrain vehicle tours and Whitewater Rafting Tours in warmer months and Snowmobiling in winter.

To learn about the ropes courses in Whistler, continue reading. For information about other activities offered by the same organization, see our articles about Superfly Ziplines, Vallea Lumina and Whistler RZR Tours.

For reservations and full details about all of these activities see The Adventure Group website.

TAG Whistler’s Aerial Obstacle Course

The Adventure Group offers four different ropes course options. They have a Kids’ Course, Beginner Course, Advanced Course and Full Course. All are exceptional and highly recommended. From what we saw, they are well maintained. They also have a wide ranging of different elements, from ziplines to Tarzan-like swings, wobbly bridges, tight-rope cables and other fun obstacles.

All the courses are in the middle of nature in a beautiful forest. Participants get fitted out with harnesses, attach themselves to safety cables, climb up ladders and then make their way through a series of ropes course-style obstacles from tree to tree. The adventures are fun, challenging, good exercise and something you’ll remember for a long time. They are popular with families and groups of friends. They also offer great team-building opportunities for staff retreats.

Whistler’s Aerial Obstacle Course is located at Cougar Mountain which is just a 10 to 15-minute drive north of Whistler Village. From the north end of Green Lake you take a left and go a short way up Cougar Mountain Road. It’s pretty easy to find. Just ask your phone or GPS to take you to Superfly Ziplines or the Aerial Obstacle Course in Whistler.

Ropes Course and Superfly Ziplines at Basecamp

The Kids’ Course

As its name suggests, the Kids’ Course is designed for children. It’s great for kids ages 7 to 13.

Obstacles on the Kids’ Course include a climbing wall, fisherman’s net, wobbly rope bridges and other things you have to climb and make your way across. The elements are similar to what you’ll find on the Beginner Course, but easier and lower to the ground. It’s designed more for fun than to be challenging.

It takes between about 90 and 120 minutes to complete the course from start to finish, including time for instructions and getting into the safety gear. The course is ideal for more timid children and ones who have never done a ropes course before. After doing this one, participants will likely be ready for something more advanced.

To do this course children have to be at least 7 years of age and be able to reach a height of 140 cm (or 4 feet and 7 inches) with arms stretched and feet flat on the ground. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult, with a maximum of 10 kids per adult. The chaperone can either be a paying customer, and join the kids up in the trees, or supervise from the ground (for which there is no charge).

As of January, 2022, the cost for the Kids’ Course is about $55.

To book your adventure see the TAG Whistler website.

The Beginner Course

A step up from the Kids’ Course, the Beginner Course takes about an hour and a half to complete (plus or minus). As of January, 2022, it costs about $60.

Participants on this course must be at least 7 years of age and able to stretch up and reach a height of 180 cm (or 5 feet and 11 inches). Anyone shorter than that won’t be able to reach some important things. Participants also have to be able to fit into a harness that’s 110 cm (or 43 inches) in circumference.

The same as with the Kids’ Course, children under the age of 16 have to be supervised by an adult who can be responsible for up to 10 kids at a time from either the ground or up in the trees on the ropes course.

The Beginner Course is great for children, timid adults and folk who have never been on a ropes course before. It’s challenging, but not overly challenging. It’s also higher up in the trees than the Kids’ Course, but not as high as most sections of the Advanced Course.

Participants on this course have to make their way from start to finish via a series of ziplines, wobbly bridges, balancing beams and other fun apparatus. From start to finish it takes about 90 minutes to complete. At its highest points you’ll find yourself 60 feet off the ground.

For full details and to book your ropes course adventure see the TAG Whistler website.

The Advanced Course

The Advanced Course is similar to the Beginner Course, but higher, more challenging, more exciting and more fun all around (except for people who don’t like heights). It also requires more physical strength, but not more than the average person can manage. The height, age and width requirements are the same as with the Beginner Course (i.e., 7 years of age, able to reach a height of 180 cm and slim enough to fit into a harness that’s 110 cm around).

When we checked out the Aerial Ropes Course at TAG Whistler this is the course we did, and we loved it! We’ve been to lots of different ropes course places, and this one is exceptional!

Including the time getting fitted out with harnesses and having a practice session on a couple of starter elements, this course takes up to a couple of hours to complete. It begins with a fisherman’s net you have to climb up high into the trees and it finishes with a controlled jump at the end (where the belay rope system glides you down to the ground). In between there are multiple ziplines, cables you have to walk across and various kinds of rope bridges. There are also a couple of places where you get to swing on a rope from a tree to a net. It’s all so much fun!

The cost for the Advanced Course as of January, 2022, is about $60, so the same as the Beginner Course. If you’ve done ropes courses before, and like them, then this is the course you’ll want to do!

Option to Skip the Difficult Stuff!

A nice thing about the Advanced Course is that you can avoid the most difficult elements if you want to. The most physically and mentally challenging elements are in their own little section. You can choose to do them, or you can skip them by taking a short cut. There is also a place, just before and after the really difficult section, where you can simply climb down to the ground and finish early if you want to.

Ropes Course 360 Photo

For an idea of what the view is like from a platform on the Advanced Course check out the 360-degree photo below. As you’ll see, the platforms are way up high and surrounded by a beautiful forest.

With the photo below, so long as your device supports the technology, you should be able to swipe the photo from side to side to see in all directions. If using a desktop computer or tablet, you can also likely zoom in and out.

The scene in the photo is near the end of the course, just after a section where you have to walk across a series of small hanging logs and just before a really long zipline.

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The Full Course

The Full Course costs about $85 and includes both the Beginner and Advanced Courses. It takes between 3 and 4 hours to complete. You have up to 2 hours to complete the Beginner Course and then another 2 hours to do the Advanced one. In total, there are close to 6 dozen different obstacle-course style elements to get through.

This combined course is great for people who want to spend a good part of the day in the trees. It lets you start out easy, get used to how things work, and slowly build up to the hard stuff. This is also ideal for people who have never done a ropes course before but are confident it’s something they can do and will enjoy (which is the case with most people, or at least ones in good health and not too “elderly”).

Ropes Course Video

For a really good idea of what to expect at Whistler’s Aerial Obstacle Course check out the video below. It shows scenes of people doing the Advanced Course. As you’ll see in the video, there is a wide range of obstacles you have to make your way across. There are thrilling ziplines, wobbly bridges and fishermen’s nets to climb and swing onto.

Things to Know

Below are a number of useful things to know about the Aerial Obstacle Course in Whistler.

You need to wear closed-toed shoes. You can’t wear flip flops or sandals.
People with long hair need to tie it back.
Some people like to wear fingerless gloves, but they aren’t necessary.
The Beginner Course is fun and a bit challenging, but pretty easy overall. Even most younger grandparents will have no problem.
At certain times of the year there can be mosquitos. Take bug repellant just in case.
The Adventure Group offers all kinds of fun and amazing activities. If you pay for more than one activity at a time you can usually save a few dollars.
We’ve done Vallea Lumina, the Superfly Ziplines, Aerial Obstacle Course and the RZR Tours (in all-terrain vehicles). We can’t recommend all those activities enough! They are all a blast!
You (or the parent of a child) have to sign a waiver before doing the ropes course. If taking someone else’s child, make sure their parent or legal guardian fills out the form online in advance.

To learn more about The Adventure Group and all of its various activities, click tagwhistler.com.

Other TAG Whistler Adventures

In addition to the different ropes courses, the same venue is home to a number of different activities. During the day you can go ziplining with Superfly Ziplines or racing around the backcountry in a RZR vehicle. They also have Whitewater Rafting in the spring and summer, and snowmobiling in winter. Year-round there is also Vallea Lumina which involves a night-time walk through the forest.

With the above activities, it’s usually less expensive to bundle your adventures as opposed to purchasing each of them separately. For example, if you pay for the Full Course with the Aerial Obstacle Course instead of the Beginner and Advanced courses separately, you’ll save yourself about $35 per person. Similarly, as of January, 2022, the Fly & Climb Combo allows you to spend between three and four hours on the Aerial Obstacle Course and then do the Superfly Ziplines for just $190.

Also as of January, 2022, for $350, you can do all four of the following (either all in one day or spread out over a number of days): the Aerial Obstacle Course, Whitewater Rafting Tour, Superfly Ziplines or Wilderness RZR Tour. Adults also have the option of substituting one of these options for a trip to Whistler’s world-famous Scandinave Spa.

To learn more about these other activities see the official TAG Whistler website or check out the following articles:

Whistler Ropes Courses and Ziplines