When a living being leaves and then comes back again, it’s usually a runaway kitten, a zombie, or both. Curl up in the lap of the undead with today’s Groupon: for $49, you get one VIP ticket to Forest of the Living Dead at Camp Dakota in Scotts Mills (a $100 value). Each VIP ticket includes a special tour of the haunted forest, equipment and instructions for a zombie battle, a nighttime zipline ride, one ticket to the high ropes challenge course, one ticket to the rock climbing wall, and access to the VIP refreshment tent. Choose from the following dates:
- October 28
- October 29
- October 30
At Forest of the Living Dead, guests at Camp Dakota wander warily down walking trails and use paintball guns to shoot at persistent zombies. Between 5:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m., slayers-in-waiting arrive at Camp Dakota and are guided through a zombie-plagued expanse before hopping aboard a military transport vehicle to be taken to a special containment area. Equipped with weapons, visitors do battle with the undead, with an optional zipline providing a means of escape out of the combat area, though soldiers can opt to walk. After doing battle, visitors can relax and stare wistfully into the middle distance beside a nightly bonfire. A survey of snacks in the VIP refreshment tent—possibly including hot dogs, cookies, and hot coffee—refuels any warriors emotionally depleted by the exhausting conflict on the future of humanity.
Camp Dakota
Tucked away in the foothills of the Western Cascade Mountains, Camp Dakota flouts the constraints of gravity with high-flying adventures that test participants' skills, stamina, and propensity to scream at high altitudes. Suspended steel ziplines whiz above the forest canopy as squirrels wave from nearby branches and passing meadowlarks pause for fist bumps. Teamwork trumps individual heroics on the high-ropes course, whose elevated, threaded obstacles sway precariously above the distant ground.
The aerial odyssey doesn't stop there. Instructors supply safety harnesses and words of encouragement before leading the way to a vertical rock-climbing wall. Replete with slim footholds and perturbed mountain goats, the wall poses a challenge to climbers of all abilities, who take solace in the added safety of fully automated belays.