New zip line park planned for Pasco

DADE CITY -- Zip lining -- the popular aerial attraction where people suspended by cables and pulleys take advantage of gravity -- is adding yet another Gulf Coast offering beginning in August, this time in Pasco County.

White River Zip Lines of Indiana plans to open TreeHoppers on a 60-acre wooded tract on St. Joe Road in Dade City. It will feature zip lines, rope bridges and aerial climbing, including eight courses and 100 aerial features for both children and adults.

The land is in a rural part of northeastern Pasco, just south of the Hernando County line. Saint Joe Ranch LLC, a Florida corporation with White River CEO Benjamin Nagengast as its director, purchased the grazing land in March for $750,000, or $12,500 per acre. Saint Joe bought the land from Walter Jr. and Vicki Lamb, who picked up the property in 2008 for $1.2 million, according to property records.

County officials previously approved the land to be subdivided into six single-family homesites, according to a listing for the property. They also granted a conditional use for zip lining, like what TreeHoppers is offering.

The concept for TreeHoppers was brought from Switzerland to the United States six years ago, according to a release, following increasing popularity in Europe.

Zip lining has found its own burgeoning success in Florida, especially on the Gulf Coast. Natures Boot Camp on North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa offers a 14-stage obstacle course that offers zip lining, among other features. The Museum of Science & Industry near the University of South Florida in Tampa features a 700-foot zip line that carries people 65 feet above the ground.

And TreeUmph Adventure Course has expanded its offerings in Bradenton north to Brooksville in Hernando, with plans to open a 50-acre park in November 2016.