What is The Forge in Lemont?
The Forge: Lemont Quarries is an outdoor adventure park with a variety of challenging activities for all ages and abilities. Their mission is to entertain, exhilarate, and educate. We found the staff to be friendly and helpful and the park to be clean and well organized. You can go to The Forge for one of the activities or spend the whole day tackling all of the thrilling adventures! It’s free to hang out on the grounds and you pay per activity, or purchase adventure passes. We recommend booking tickets in advance because time slots do sell out, but if you are not in a hurry and don’t mind waiting, you can risk it and book activities while you are there.
We put a video together of all the memorable challenges when Annie’s family took their first trip to The Forge so you can get an overview in under 2 minutes. Check it out below. Since then, they have added even more activities!
New in 2025, visitors will find mini golf, yard games, and the Kids Discovery Zone. Continue reading for details on each area, along with pricing, participation requirements, and tips for your trip.
We were invited to The Forge: Lemont Quarries to experience all of the activities and write an honest review with tips. All opinions are my own.
How to Prepare for Your Day at The Forge: Lemont Quarries
What to Wear
Wear comfortable, weather appropriate clothes. If you’re only going to play mini golf or lawn games, anything will do. If you’re planning to climb on any of the obstacle courses, especially the Climb & Zipline Adventure, you’ll need to be in athletic wear. The Forge recommends against wearing short shorts and I agree. My husband wore pants, while my daughter wore longer bike shorts. Both provided the right amount of coverage for their harnesses while climbing. The climbing areas for younger children don’t require harnesses, but it’s still a good idea for avoiding scrapes or rubbing.
Sun hats are nice to have when you’re out on the water. I wore sunglasses throughout the day and would recommend that as well. Closed-toe, athletic shoes are a must if you want to participate in the activities. While Crocs are closed, they don’t provide the support and stability you’ll need when climbing or jumping through the activities.
Bandanas or baseball hats are suggested for the activities that use head gear, like headband straps for the target in laser tag, or the helmets in the Climb & Zipline Adventure area. Please note that gloves are required for rope climbing and ziplining, but they provide basic gloves when you check in for Climb and Zipline.
What to Bring
We brought a backpack with sunscreen, bug spray, hand wipes, and reusable water bottles, which really came in handy. There are rental lockers on both sides of the park, so if you don’t want to carry everything around with you, you can rent a locker or leave it in your vehicle until needed. Throughout the park, there are a few water bottle refilling stations for all guests if you run out of water.
The Forge: Lemont Quarries has lunch and dinner options, which we will highlight in the What to Eat section, but you can also pack a cooler. I packed snacks and left it in the car until we were ready to eat. There are plenty of picnic tables with umbrellas in the grill area and also picnic tables under tents throughout the park. You are welcome to bring your own food or buy their meals, too.
Activities at The Forge: Lemont Quarries
NEW: Mini Golf, Yard Games, and Kids Discovery Zone
Don’t worry, many of your favorite activities are still at The Forge: Lemont Quarries! But first, we want to highlight the newest additions.
Mini Golf
The Forge has opened mini golf in 2025! This 18-hole mini golf course features obstacles that are great for visitors of all ages. The layout and design is easy to navigate, so even golfers as young as four years old are able to play. The designs aren’t overly complicated, but allow for just enough variety that each hole has its own unique challenge.
The cost to play a round of mini golf is $10 per person. Rental clubs and golf balls are provided. Note: the 18th hole collects the ball back once it goes in the hole, so make sure you’re ready to be done before taking a swing there.
Kids Discovery Zone
In the center of the park, the new Kid’s Discovery Zone is filled with a variety of play obstacles to explore gross motor skills. This nature-based play area features ropes, ramps, swings, and climbing features, along with additional opportunities to balance, jump, and stretch to new limits.
This area of the park is recommended for children ages 3 to 12 years old. While my oldest daughter was out exploring the Climb & Zipline Adventure, my younger two were able to challenge themselves, too. You cannot pay for the Kids Discovery Zone as its own attraction, it is only included in the Explorer Day Pass, Ultimate Adventure Pass or Kids Adventure Pass (pricing is below).
Yard Games
A variety of new yard games are located at the back of the property near the archery range. Visitors can find horseshoes, two bocci courts, cornhole, and a large-sized Connect 4. All of these, along with a gaga pit, are readily available for all visitors. If you aren’t familiar with gaga ball, it’s similar to dodgeball, but in an enclosed arena, usually octagon or hexagon-shaped.
The Yard Games are not sold separately. They are only included in the Explorer Day Pass and Ultimate Adventure Pass options (prices are below).
Climb & Zipline Adventure
Welcome to the main attraction at The Forge: Lemont Quarries. There are three “Hex Towers” with varying degrees of difficulty, interconnected by ziplines, and multiple rappelling stations. The Hex Towers are connected to two Ropes Course towers, one with a rock climbing wall and the other with rope challenges. Both culminate in their own zipline to the entrance of the park to end your adventure.
The 1,200 foot zipline from the Skyscraper Tower carries you at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour. There are also ziplines coming off the East X Tower that are 900 feet long, which is a nice prize after rock climbing up the 70 foot tower.
Climb & Zipline Adventure is $80 per participant ages 14+, and $75 per participant ages 13 and under. All guest climbing passes include unlimited climbing, gear, and the safety orientation. Please note that there are minimum height and weight requirements instead of an age cutoff. When you check in, they measure you against the minimum height as well as have you step on a scale. Your weight is only visible to the staff member at the window. You must be between 70-250 lbs with a height of 52 inches up to 6’6″.
Guests 13 years old and younger need to be accompanied by an adult chaperone who is up on the course and actively participating. Kids 14-15 years old need to have a chaperone on-site, but the chaperone doesn’t need to be participating. Gloves are required for Climb & Zipline Adventure and are provided at check-in.
Paddlesports: Pedal Boats, Kayaks and Canoes
There are seven quarry lakes in the Heritage Quarries Recreation Area and The Forge rents out boats to use on the lake within the activity area. You are welcome to bring your paddle, oar, or electronic trolling motor boats to use in the surrounding lakes.
All-day rentals are included, and the prices are as follows: canoe rental is $30, single kayak rental is $25 and double kayak rental is $30. Paddlesports at The Forge is for all ages, but children 8 years old and under must be accompanied by a supervising chaperone who is at least 18 years old.
Kids Jump Zone
Just past The Foundry, the Kids Jump Zone is a large inflatable jump pad, alongside two inflatable obstacle course and slides. If your children have any energy left after exploring all there is to offer at The Forge, they’re welcome to slide or jump across the 50-foot-long pad, which overlooks the lake in the center of the park.
4-Seater Dino Karts
Dino Karts, which are 4-seater bicycles, are available to rent for 1 hour. Visitors can cruise the grounds of The Forge as part of the Explorer Day Pass. Children ages 16 and under need an adult riding with them, and must be over 10 to drive the vehicle. With four people riding in it, it’s best to have two adults, or an adult and a teenager who is strong enough to pedal. Going farther distances around the park proved to be quite the workout. When picking up the dino kart, the adult must leave a credit card, license or other valuable as collateral that will be returned when the vehicle is brought back.
Tactical Laser Tag
Laser tag is in a wooded area with many different types of structures and hills to hide behind. The replica guns made the game play more realistic with gun shots, kill announcements, and a distraught sound when you get hit.
You play with whoever else signs up for the same time slot and there are more than 30 different game modes that you can choose from as a group. We played two rounds, one with every person for themselves, and the other on teams. Your number of kills and respawns are tracked on the display on the side of your gun and the laser tag leader from The Forge also announces the winner of each game.
Laser tag is $30 for 3 games, which is approximately 60 minutes of gameplay including setup and instructions.
There is a minimum age of 5 years old to play. The sensor is wrapped around your forehead, similar to a headlamp, so you can wear a bandana or hat underneath if you would like. While the laser tag gun is bigger, my 6-year old was able to easily run around the space and aim.
Archery Range
There’s an archery range right next to Laser Tag Arena. After a 5-10 minute orientation, you can shoot arrows and improve your accuracy. It’s a fun sport to master by yourself or with friends and family! The archery range is only available with the Explorer Day Pass, it cannot be purchased a la carte. You are able to access the range all day, and outside equipment is not allowed.
BMX and Mountain Biking: Pump Track
Annie’s family tested out the BMX track when they first visited; there is a practice course so you can get used to tackling hills and turns on the track. The staff was also very helpful with giving them tips, including standing up on the bike at all times and leveling out the pedals when going over hills so they didn’t touch the pavement and cause a wipe out. They started by doing laps on the practice course, then moved on to the pump track and another course with curved wooden walls.
Please note, The Forge does not rent out bikes. You are welcome to bring your own bike and helmet and purchase a mountain biking pass for $10 per person per day to use the track and courses. There isn’t a minimum age for this activity, but bikes with training wheels are not allowed. Also, kids under age 12 years old must be accompanied by a supervising chaperone who is at least 14 years old.
Kids Adventure Zone
This is the spot for younger kids to climb and zipline! There are more than 12 vertical feet of safety-netted structures and 30 elements, such as balance beams, rope ladders, tunnels, and ziplines.
Passes are $20 per person for all-day access and supervising adults do not need a pass to enter. Kids Adventure Zone is for ages 3 to 13 years old and a supervising chaperone who is at least 18 years old. Supervising chaperones are permitted in the netted structures, but should not traverse the challenge elements on the course (zip lines, rope crossings, etc.), as they are intended for children ages 3 to 13. This area is fenced in and does not require harnesses or helmets.
Axe Throwing
Annie’s family enjoyed their time axe throwing on their first visit to The Forge. They liked trying to hit the bullseye and got better with every throw. There are two trailers, each with two targets and fans blowing inside for maximum air flow. Anyone not throwing an axe needs to wait outside the trailer for safety reasons.
Head to the main entrance and check in at the hut for this activity since staff is not regularly stationed in the area. The cost is $20 per person for 60 minutes of axe throwing. Guests 10-16 years old must have a supervising adult chaperone with them for the duration of the game. Please note that you will not be throwing full-sized axes and they do not require two hands.
Other Activities and Entertainment at The Forge
The Forge: Lemont Quarries also has live music, adventure races, summer camps, film screenings, yoga classes, and many other events throughout the year.
Where to Eat at The Forge
The Forge restaurant is called The Foundry and is located between the lake and entertainment stage. It has a two-level rooftop deck with tables and umbrellas or you can eat along the lake where there are also fire pits and Adirondack chairs scattered among the tables. It was a nice break to sit under an umbrella and look out over the serene water. We purchased food, as well as ice cream from The Creamery to cool off during an afternoon break.
They offer Forgefire dinner from the grill on the summer weekends and globe dining in the winter.
You are also welcome to bring your own food and eat at one of the many picnic tables with shade tents around the park.
Bathrooms
There are banks of port-o-potties close to the entrance by the Kids Adventure Zone and also by Climb and Zipline on the other side of the park. However, if you would like to use the permanent restrooms with sinks, head to the biking area and you will find a large container labeled “Restrooms.” At first glance, they don’t look wheelchair accessible, however there is a ramp all the way to the right, next to the mountain biking check-in.
Special Needs Accommodations
Since opening, The Forge: Lemont Quarries has made accessibility a priority. The paddlesports dock is ADA compliant and includes adaptive equipment so people of all ages and abilities can access the activities. Private play sessions can be booked in the Kids Adventure Zone for sensory-sensitive play.
They also expanded accessibility options that are really exciting. The first level of Hex Tower 5 has a unique system of cantilever arms that allow differently abled guests to interact with the same course elements as able-bodied guests. In addition, the East X Tower allows for guests to be elevated to the top of the 54’ tower and transferred to the tall zipline, where they can then soar over the Forge Quarry.
Peg Chaidez’s son, Owen (remember Owen’s Playground?), was able to zipline for the first time because of this new technology and had an amazing time. That makes us so happy!
The Forge: Lemont Quarries Prices
We outlined all the individual activity prices above, but what if you want to do multiple activities? The Forge offers the Explorer Day Pass! You can play an unlimited number of activities in one day pass for $50 per person (10 years old and over) during the week and $55 per person (10 and over) on the weekends! Children ages 9 and under will pay $10 less per Explorer Day Pass. The Pass operates like a regular amusement park pass and all activities are on a first come, first served basis. Please note that the Climb and Zipline Adventure is not available with the Explorer Day Pass.
If you are also interested in the Climb & Zipline Adventure, The Forge offers Ultimate Adventure Pass, which includes the climbing areas, along with all the attractions in the Explorer Day Pass. Pricing is $99 per person. Please note: you will need to select a date and time when reserving Climb & Zipline Adventure passes. Select weekdays are not available for booking, so make sure to check availibility if you’re interested in the Climb & Zipline Adventure.
The Kids Adventure Pass allows children ages 3 to 13 years old to explore three main play zones: Kids Adventure Zone, Kids Jump Zone and Kids Discovery Zone. The price for these three play spaces only is $20 per child.
Don’t forget to check their Deals & Packages page to see about discounts or special pricing.
The Forge: Lemont Quarries Hours
Hours change seasonally, so your best bet is to head to their Hours & Directions page for the most up to date hours.
Where to Park
Parking is free at The Forge. As you head down the gravel road, you will see Parking Lot 1 first. That parking lot is closest to Climb and Zipline. A little further down is Parking Lot 2, which is where we parked. That parking lot is closer to the rest of the activities and the seating area for meals and/or snacks. You can’t go wrong with either parking lot, but it depends on what activities you plan to do.
Free Things to Do on the Grounds
Besides all of the thrilling adventure activities at The Forge: Lemont Quarries, you can also enjoy the surrounding nature areas for free. There are hiking trails through the woods and along the lake.
You can also enjoy fishing, kayaking, canoeing, and birdwatching at the surrounding lakes. The lake pictured below is connected to the adjacent lake so there is plenty to explore if you bring your own boat.
The Forge: Lemont Quarries
227 Heritage Quarries Dr
Lemont, IL 60439
Looking for more outdoor fun? Check out our Guide to Outdoor Activities! We also have a calendar full of local events for the whole family.
