Zip Line at South Bellevue Community Center Slated for Summer Opening

Bellevue's Challenge Course expansion will take to the skies, as the city plans a zip line course that will tour the forest of Eastgate Park and the South Bellevue Community Center and Eastgate Park.

When the project is complete, participants will be able to fly through the air between the forest's trees on a series of zip lines, according to city plans. The zip lines will be between 183-feet to 458-feet long, and participants will cross a 54-foot long foot bridge, according to city plans.

The expansion was made possible after the city purchased a 14-acre parcel next to the South Bellevue Community Center and Eastgate Park in September.

The zip line course will be part of the Challenge Course, which is a set of rope-bridge challenges and a vertical playpen, at the South Bellevue Community Center. Since the course was built in 2006, it serves an average of 1,000 participants per year, including clubs, classes, organizations and workplaces that book the course for recreation and team-building exercises, according to the city.

The Challenge Course expansion is expected to be complete and open to the public by this summer, said Scott VanderHyden of the city's Parks and Community Services department. It will be a reserve and fee based activity, and the city is working out the admission fees for participants.

VanderHyden said the city expects the project construction cost to be around $125,000.

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