The Camp Adventure Tower in Denmark rises high above the trees and is very majestically seen from the highway going from south of Zealand to Copenhagen. I had driven past it several times and both seen it being constructed and finalised from the windows of my car. But I finally took the time to have a closer look and experience the views from the opposite perspective.
First of all I must say; it is a little pricey to visit. 150 DKK pr. person when I visited and an additional 50 DKK for parking on top of that. That is pushing it. But then again – it is their tower – hence their decision on price. If I don’t like it, then I can just stay away. Luckily I did not choose that option.
We were actually quite close to missing the climb up the camp adventure tower entirely, when we managed to arrive only 15 minutes prior to the gates closing. It was one of those spontaneous decisions to leave the hectic cramped Copenhagen streets behind for a bit of countryside and fresh air.
The time of closing is primarily relevant for getting through the gates as you are allowed to stay there until the sun has settled once you are in. If this is still the case in the summer months I do not know. We visited during January.
The experience actually starts way before the camp adventure tower itself. They have built this extremely nice boardwalk out of wood all the way from the ticket booth to the tower itself. Before the camp adventure tower was even built, the entire forest was used for various types of tree-top climbing. So you start by crossing a small stream and find yourself walking along this nice boardwalk through the forest looking at all the tree-top climbing routes. The walk was longer than expected, but really enjoyable as there is something to look at all the way through the climbing-rigged forest.
One of the really interesting aspects is how close to the tower you have to get before you can actually see it. As you walk along the boardwalk with the grippy metal surface, you are constantly scanning through the trees to look for the silhouette of it. It should not be that hard to spot a 45 meter high tower, but it is. Only within the last 100 meters does it actually start to reveal itself. And what a reveal.
Through the trees it looks almost mystical and foreign. Like you walked in on a hidden landing base for UFO’s.
Standing right in front of the structure it looks even more impressive as it towers up in front of you.
The tower itself is really a masterpiece of architecture. It is in many ways a photographers wet dream as there is an absolute abundance of angles and possibilities for great pictures.
The structure itself is impressing in its own right and when you start the ascent you take in all the brilliance of the construction, but you also walk around a big tree in the middle. Keeping this tree is pure brilliance as you slowly ascent around it and hence easily monitors how you slowly climb from the foot of the tree to the start of its high and wide branches, which you can touch and follow until you reach all the way above the big tree and the wind starts to pick up a little as you start looking down on not only the tree in the middle but also the surrounding forest.
Walking up through the structure itself you are met with constant opportunities for pictures.
View from the top – which disappointed a little bit.
One thing that surprised me is, that although you can see quite far, I had expected to see even further. I had expected that you could see all the way to the sea in the east or Næstved to the west. But when you are at the top of the tower you can see that it is situated in a lower part of the area and surrounded by higher areas from east over south to west. It is not that you cannot see anything but I had just expected a bit more given that I know the area.
In my opinion the tower itself is more impressive than the view from the top. Just walking up it and studying the tower itself was well worth it.
Looking down on the forest below from the top of the tower.
Looking down into the tower itself. It is a brilliant idea to have a tree in the middle of it as you can gauge your height a long the tree as you walk up until you get past even the height of the tree.
We were lucky to be a the top while the sun slowly descended and gave the most beautiful light.
The lighting was just perfect as we walked down the same spiralling boardwalk to the ground.
So wrapping up I would absolutely recommend people going for a visit. I would probably try to target the early morning or close to sunset if possible for the incredible lighting.