Disney California Adventure · Grizzly Peak
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
A free-range climbing, sliding and zip-lining play trail under real trees — the best hour in the park for kids aged 5 to 12.
Ride facts
- Type
- Play area
- Height
- 42in (107cm)The 42in figure applies to the zip line, which also has a 63in maximum height and is limited to guests under 13. The rest of the trail has no height requirement.
- Intensity
- Gentle
- Motion sickness
- No motion risk
- Getting wet
- Stay dry
- Indoor / outdoor
- Outdoor
- Air conditioned
- No
- Rider Switch
- Not offered
Last verified July 2026
What it is
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail opened with the park in 2001 and is the single most underused piece of real estate at the Disneyland Resort. It is a genuine adventure playground: rope bridges, a climbing net, cargo nets, log slides, a rock wall, a cave to crawl through, and two short zip lines, all laid out along a wooded trail on the slope of Grizzly Peak.
The theming is Wilderness Explorer, tied to the 2009 film Up, with a badge-earning framework and a small trail-guide element. There is also an animatronic show tucked at the top of the trail that most guests never find.
The reason to care is what it does for a family's day. A seven-year-old who has spent four hours in queues can be turned loose here for an hour while the adults sit on a bench in real shade. Nothing else in the park offers that, and it is completely free of charge and of waits.
What riding it is actually like
The trail is a loop with multiple entry points and no set route. Kids run it in whatever order they like; adults follow the lower path, which is level and shaded, and intercept them at the exits.
The zip lines are the headline element and the only part with a height requirement — riders must be at least 42 inches, no more than 63 inches, and under 13 years old. They are short and slow, more of a controlled glide than an actual zip, but children treat them as the main event and the line for them is the only queue on the trail.
The cave is the other thing worth knowing about. It is properly dark for a stretch of about twenty feet and it surprises a lot of small kids. There is an easy bypass, and it is signposted, but not obviously.
Is Redwood Creek Challenge Trail scary?
A climbing and exploring trail. The one element that unsettles kids is the cave section, which is genuinely dark for about twenty feet, and the rope bridges, which sway. Neither is dangerous and both can be walked around.
Scores are editorial, on a 1–5 scale, judged against what frightens a typical four- to seven-year-old rather than an adult.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair
- Stay in your wheelchair or ECV
- Audio description
- Not offered
- Handheld captioning
- Not offered
- Assistive listening
- Not offered
- Sign language
- Not offered
- Service animals
- Permitted on board
The main trail loop is largely accessible with some grade, but the climbing net, rope bridges, cave and zip line are not. A companion can follow the accessible path and meet a child at each exit point. This is the most shaded area in the park, which matters for heat-sensitive guests.
Tips that actually help
- This is the best shade in the park by a wide margin — real trees, not sail cloth. Use it as your midday base and let the kids burn off two hours of queue frustration.
- The zip line has both a minimum and a maximum: 42 to 63 inches, and riders must be under 13. Tall 11-year-olds get turned away and it is worth warning them in advance.
- The trail closes before park closing, often well before, and it does not always reopen after a weather closure. Do it in the afternoon rather than saving it for the evening.
- Adults can walk the whole trail too, and the upper path gives the best ground-level views of Grizzly Peak's rockwork that exist anywhere in the park.
- Repeat visitors: there is a small animatronic show at the top of the trail that runs on a loop and has essentially no audience. It is a legitimate hidden corner of the park and takes five minutes.
Timing
- Best time to ride
- Early afternoon, as a shaded reset between morning rides and the evening.
- Typical wait
- No wait to enter; the zip line runs 10 to 25 minutes.
- Lightning Lane
- Standby only
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail: common questions
What is the height requirement at Redwood Creek Challenge Trail?
Only the zip line has one: riders must be between 42 and 63 inches tall and under 13 years old. Everything else on the trail — the nets, bridges, slides, cave and rock wall — has no height requirement at all.
Can adults go on the trail?
Yes. Adults can walk the whole loop and use most of the climbing elements, though the zip line is restricted to children under 13. The upper path also gives the best close views of the Grizzly Peak rockwork in the park.
Is the cave too dark for small children?
It is genuinely dark for about twenty feet, and it does catch kids out. There is a marked bypass, but the signage is easy to miss. Walk the entrance with a nervous child the first time rather than sending them in.
How long should we allow?
An hour is typical for a child who is enjoying it, and two is common. There is no queue for the trail itself, so you leave when you decide to leave rather than when the ride ends.
Does it close early?
Yes. The trail typically closes before the park does, sometimes well before, and it can shut in bad weather without reopening. Do not save it for the last hour of your day.