Designed by architect St. Louis – based Charles P Reay, The Wild Walk features several bridges and paths supported by 27 towers made from pre-rusted still tubes, creating a walkway suspended 40 feet above ground level. Located within The Wild Center, a natural history center established in 2006 located in Tupper Lake, N.Y., the gives visitors an alternative perspective of the 80-acre nature preserve.
By using pre-weathered steel posts and galvanized steel, the architect reduced the total cost of the project. The cylindrical posts are intended to evoke the trunks of the white pine trees seen throughout the preserve, and the rusted steel helps blend the structure into the natural surroundings.
As visitors wander along the walkways, they encounter several platforms providing different ways to experience the forest. One contains a four-story tree house with shingle-clad roofs. Another circular example features a hole in its center, with a rope web to create a nest for visitors to lie on or walk across. The highest point of Wild Walk is a replica of a bald eagle’s nest that serves as a resting place.
The Wild Center, also designed by Reay, is operated by a non-profit organization in the heart of the 6.1 million acre Adirondack Park. The Wild Center aims to encourage exploration and understanding of the natural environment of the Adirondacks through science-based experiences, exhibits, and events.
Construction of Wild Walk was overseen by New York City studio Linearscape and opened July 4.
