RCI Adventure Products, a leading adventure attractions company, has designed, manufactured and installed the Orr Family Sky Trail for the YMCA of Central Texas’ Twin Lakes branch near Austin.
Set to open this spring, the 20,000-square-foot Sky Trail course features over 30 bridge, rope, and beam obstacles, as well as over 500 feet of zip rails with the Sky Tour, the company's contemporary take on the traditional zipline adventure.
RCI also installed a Sky Tykes low ropes course, designed for children aged 4 and under. This includes 11 obstacles and a 35-foot Sky Rail zip rail.
Other facilities on site will be provided at an adjacent multipurpose pavilion being built by the YMCA. This will support course operations and YMCA programmes, and provide space for large parties and events.
Serving the greater Austin community
The new course at Twin Lakes is inspired by the Twisted Trails Sky Trail course at Natural Bridge Caverns in San Antonio.
Cameran Bahr, chief operations officer for the YMCA of Central Texas, visited the attraction with his family a decade ago and had been looking to bring a similar-style course to the YMCA ever since.
The opportunity arose when the YMCA acquired a lot next to its Twin Lakes facility. In late 2022, the Association began working with RCI, which developed the course's overall concept based on the YMCA team's rough ideas.
Ronda Hulst, director of sales for RCI Adventure Products, says: "Some customers have a very specific vision of the course they want, but more often clients come to us with a blank palette and ask us to create something memorable.
"Our design team does an amazing job of creating a concept that not only meets any goals the client has outlined, but generates immediate excitement for the project."
And the Twin Lakes project has already captured public attention.
Laura Arredondo, chief marketing officer, YMCA of Central Texas, says: "We have a problem with engagement in our social media world. People look, and they like things a lot, but they don’t necessarily say anything."
The new development has changed this. When YMCA posted an update on the construction, "We had shares, it had comments, everybody was like ‘I’ve been wondering what that was!," says Arredondo.
"It blew up. Everybody was talking about it."
The facility will be open to both the general public and YMCA members, and will offer opportunities to host schools, special events, summer camps, and teams. It also has the potential to serve families attending the nearby youth sports complex, among other local facilities.
"It’s been a blessing to work with the team at the YMCA of Central Texas and we’re so appreciative of the time we had together throughout the various stages of this project," says Hulst.
"As the grand opening date draws near, we’re getting excited for the YMCA team, its members, the surrounding communities and all the visitors. Thousands upon thousands will get to experience this thrilling attraction for years to come."
The attraction has a capacity of 78 participants and will be open year-round. Staff training is underway, and the YMCA team aims for a soft-launch mid May before a Memorial Day grand opening.
RCI recently exhibited at IAAPA Expo 2025. In the 12 months prior, it had completed almost two dozen projects at locations such as Great Wolf Lodge in Connecticut, Shark Wake Park in West Palm Beach, the Fun Station in Cedar Rapids, Riverbanks Zoo & Garden in Columbia, SC, and Allegan Event.
