After back-to-back #2 finishes in 2024 and 2025, the Adventure Park at Sandy Spring takes the top spot for the first time.
The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring, America’s Largest Aerial Forest Park, won USA Today 10Best’s 2026 Readers’ Choice award for Best Aerial Adventure Park in the United States. The Montgomery County park placed first ahead of nine other finalists in a four-week public vote — its first outright national #1 after consecutive #2 finishes in 2024 and 2025.
The park runs 16 aerial courses spanning more than 200 climbing elements across 8 difficulty
levels, plus over 4,000 feet of zipline through the canopy on five wooded acres of the Sandy
Spring Friends School grounds. It opened in 2010 as one of the first Swiss-style adventure parks in the U.S., 16 miles north of Washington, D.C.
“This award belongs to our staff. They create an environment where every guest can find their
own challenge – and their own sense of achievement. And it belongs to our guests, who show
up ready to embrace that challenge and make it their own. To our team and everyone who
climbed with us: thank you,” said John Hines, Owner of The Adventure Park.
About the Award
USA Today 10Best runs annual Readers’ Choice awards in dozens of travel categories. A panel of expert nominators selects 20 finalists per category; the public then votes for four weeks to determine the top 10. The Best Aerial Adventure Park category recognizes operators of treetop obstacle, zip-line, and challenge-course facilities open to the public. Sandy Spring’s three-year run — #2 in 2024 (ranked first on the U.S. mainland), #2 in 2025 (again first on the mainland), and #1 in 2026 — is unmatched in the category’s history.
The park’s diverse, all-ages offerings broaden the audience. Glow in the Park runs nightly climbs
for ages six and up, lighting the canopy for a different kind of trip up the trees; Keep it Lit is an 18+ adults-only night climb for vertically-inclined grownups! Adventure Axes brings axe-throwing
excitement for groups, parties, and corporate bookings. Both extend the season and the day and are part of what readers were voting on.
“Congratulations to the Adventure Park at Sandy Spring on taking the top spot in this year’s
Readers’ Choice Awards,” said Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Harry Coker, Jr.
“As the largest aerial forest park in America, Maryland’s Office of Tourism frequently points
residents and visitors to this impressive destination—and now, with help from USA Today, we
hope to attract even more travelers to one of Maryland’s exciting outdoor spaces.”
About The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring
The Adventure Park at Sandy Spring — America’s Largest Aerial Forest Park — opened in 2010 on
the grounds of the Sandy Spring Friends School in Montgomery County, Maryland. The park runs 16 aerial obstacle courses, 200+ climbing elements, 8 difficulty levels, and more than 4,000 feet of zipline across five wooded acres.
Book your aerial adventure today!
