You lock your harness onto the belt strapped tightly around your waist and look 20 feet down at the leaves covering the park’s surface. You take a deep breath, close your eyes and jump off.

Go Ape, the first “highly interactive” treetop adventure course in Maryland, opened at Rock Creek Regional Park in Rockville May 8. Costing around 55 dollars per person, the park features Tarzan swings, ziplines and rope ladders.

Go Ape is aimed at young adults who enjoy the outdoors, but haven’t had the opportunity to experience adventure at sky level.

“We’ve never had anything dealing with adventure sports or that specifically targeted teenagers in the park system before,” said Mary Bradford, director of the Montgomery Country Department of Parks.

Co-owners and managers of the U.S. Go Ape park, Dan and Jenny D’Agostino, said a visit to a course near London inspired them to bring the adventure course to the U.S.

“We saw people coming down the zipline, everyone with that same cheesy grin on their face, like they were having a fabulous time,” D’Agostino said. “I had a eureka moment and knew this was something I wanted to be a part of.”

D’Agostino partnered with Montgomery County parks in 2008, but struggled over the location and construction of the course.

Montgomery County’s lack of previous experience in building the course style made the construction process difficult, said Terry Brooks, chief of the Montgomery County parks departments special program division.

“Usually we’re making tennis facilities or other attractions on the ground,” Brooks said. “However, this obstacle course is among trees, so it was a completely different experience.”

Montgomery Park officials considered both Cabin John and Wheaton Park before eventually deciding to build the course in Rock Creek Park. Park officials chose Rock Creek Park because of its serene atmosphere, and the fact that the course wouldn’t damage the park’s natural surroundings.

D’Agostino grew up only a few miles from Rock Creek, and was thrilled to find a location so close.

“I was estatic that I could build the Go Ape adventure course in my childhood park, where I spent hours fishing and hiking when I was in high school,” D’Agostino said.

In order to promote park safety, Go Ape employees give visitors a 30 to 40 minute safety tutorial before letting them explore the park on their own.

“At most amusement parks around the country, the only thing you have the power to do is push and pull. You’re basically treated like a piece of meat,” D’Agostino said. “Here at Go Ape, you’re completely in control of your own adventure.”

Visitors can choose to spend several hours on the same ride, go through every obstacle in park or simply sit and enjoy the calm atmosphere. Although visitors can choose from over 10 rides, D’Agostino said he was especially excited about visitors’ reaction to the Tarzan swing.

“In the Tarzan swing, you clip your harness onto a strong cable and then swing into a huge net,” D’Agostino said. “It’s like you are Tarzan himself for those brief seconds.”

Though the swing may be intimidating at first, many visitors called it a thrilling experience.

“It’s like you’re flying in mid-air,” said visitor Deborah James. “As you get closer to the net, it feels like you’re going to crash but once you get there, it’s a relief.”

The course also provides students with alternative weekend plans, an option many found pleasant.

“After going to Bethesda almost every weekend to hang out with friends, it’s exciting to know that there are new places close by where one can spend a Saturday afternoon,” sophomore Hanna Schweitzer said.

Go Ape impressed many visitors, some of who forgot they were even in Rock Creek Park.

“This really looks like a scene from a Star Wars movie,” a man walking past the ziplines noted.