When Thaddeus Shrader’s wife and brother founded Bonsai Design in the early aughts, they asked if he could help out, drum up some blueprints perhaps, and spearhead the construction side of things at the design-and-build startup, which specialized in challenge courses and outdoor aerial programs.
“I thought it would last a couple years at best,” says Shrader, a former aerobatic flight instructor and airline captain who grew up in the trades and put himself through Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University by building houses in his spare time. “That was 20 years ago.”
Today, Bonsai Design is an industry leader and elder statesman in the Aerial Adventure Course Industry, having designed, built, and installed more than 100 projects around the world, from Canada to Mexico, the Middle East to the South Pacific. The Grand Junction, Colorado-headquartered company has developed courses at upscale resorts like The Lodge at Primland in Virginia and Blackberry Farm in Tennessee, among others. Whether it’s a zip line, adventure tower, challenge course, sky trail, or suspension bridge, you name it, Bonsai builds it.
As multigenerational travel and immersive, nature-driven group and family recreation and ecotourism continue to rise, Reynolds Lake Oconee, aligning with a fast-growing trend and the community’s already-active, outdoorsy ethos, tapped Bonsai to dream up and construct their new aerial adventure course, which debuted last March at Sandy Creek Sporting Grounds. Nestled along a knoll on a nearly four-acre wood site, the course weaves its way in, through, and around a stately patch of Georgia hardwoods. For Members and guests, it’s been a smash hit.
“Every course’s design wants to be found and the (Oconee) forest was ideal for a tree-based challenge course,” says Shrader, now-CEO and co-owner of Bonsai alongside his wife, Sarah, who launched the business from her basement in 2004. “The gentle slope of the terrain offered an ideal opportunity for elevation gain throughout.”
From the entry deck, Members and guests have four routes to choose from, separated by level of difficulty: green, blue, orange, and red, which mix and match a variety of elements such as boat bumpers and wine barrels, ziplines (five in total, including a thrilling zip-to-ground finish), a series of Tyrolean traverses that
skirt participants through a grove of mature white oak trees, and a 64 foot sky bridge that oozes Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom vibes. In total, there are 24 different challenges and some 6,300 feet of cable. Designed around a loop, routes return all comers back to the activity deck, perched 15 feet above the forest floor.
Unlike some large-scale projects aimed at a higher throughput, Bonsai steered their Reynolds vision towards a more intimate group experience: families, couples, and small corporate groups on teambuilding retreats. What better way to grow and build confidence over a couple of hours than on a challenge course in the middle of the woods?
Andrew Ashworth, the general manager of Reynolds’ Outfitters, has seen people of all ages and backgrounds on the course. One such group was an adult son and his mid-eighties father, who managed to complete three of the four routes. “Everyone on the course was impressed,” says Ashworth. “It made us all think about the little excuses we make for ourselves each day.”
Another memorable anecdote came from a mother and daughter duo, who were both nervous and excited for the challenge. But when they started, the young girl froze in fear and got stuck. Ashworth geared up and prepped to assist, but he didn’t need to. After talking it through, the girl was encouraged to keep going and completed the entire course, reminding Ashworth why he loves his job. “Watching someone push through fear and come out stronger on the other side is incredibly rewarding.”
While bonding over the physicality of an aerial adventure course is a big part of Bonsai’s design process, they have noticed a shift in the intention of their clientele
over the years, subtly moving away from the essence of ‘challenge’ and ‘accomplishment’ towards a more holistic experience and desire to take in and explore the natural world. Taking this to heart, Shrader and his team are sure to emphasize large communal platforms throughout Bonsai’s projects
“This kind of ‘stop-and-smell the-roses’ design allows for time to reflect, connect, and hopefully grow as an individual and as part of a community.”
