Exercise is fun at indoor trampoline park

Jumping is something that my young children love to do. They jump on their beds. They jump on the couch. And, sometimes, they even jump on me.

So the idea of taking them somewhere where they could jump to their little hearts’ content appealed to me.

I heard of a place called the Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park in Lewis Center, 20 minutes north of Columbus. It’s basically a warehouse-like facility containing a super big trampoline. It has slanted walls that also are trampolines, so you can literally bounce off the walls.

No reservations are required, and jump sessions start every half hour. The activity is appropriate for any age. “If you can walk, you can jump,” said Sky Zone General Manager Elizabeth Foy.

I also learned that Sky Zone can create a special area for toddlers to jump, which made me happy. The idea of my 2-year-old and 4-year-old getting bounced around by bigger kids didn’t sound safe.

Still, participants under the age of 18 must have a waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian. The form is available online and can be downloaded and signed beforehand. The form also is good for one year.

Rosie, Max and I arrived at noon on a Friday and signed up for 90 minutes of jumping. We wore comfortable clothes and socks that covered our ankles. Guests are required to wear special lightweight footwear called “Spider Man shoes.” They come in many sizes, from a child’s size 10 to men’s size 13. Since my children’s feet were smaller than the offered shoes, they went barefoot.

I put my “mom” shoes and purse in a locker, which cost just 25 cents, for safekeeping.

The big trampoline is actually a quilt of smaller trampolines. This makes it possible for two people to jump on neighboring sections and not affect the other’s bounce. Maybe you’ve been on a trampoline before with someone bigger who nearly bounces you off the contraption when they jump up and down. This can’t happen here, as long as you’re on separate squares. There’s also a safety net below, just in case the trampoline rips.

We shared the trampoline with a half dozen others for the first hour, during which we were sometimes separated because of the crowd. But for remaining 30 minutes, we had it all to ourselves, which was awesome.

My advice is that if you want to jump along with your children, have two adults accompany them. This way one adult can watch the kids, while the other jumps. However, when nobody else is on the trampoline, you’re able to jump closer to your children. We were lucky to have 30 minutes of alone time, which was just by chance.

Foy said that if you’re looking for quiet times to bring toddlers, try visiting before older children get out of school, such as at 3 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and noon to 3 p.m. on Fridays.

All that jumping also made us hungry. We ordered two slices of deep-dish pizza, chips and a drink for $6.

Sky Zone is located at 459 Orange Point Dr., Suite E, in Lewis Center, Ohio. Hours are 3-8 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday; noon-9 p.m. (and 9-11 p.m. for ages 11-15), Friday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (and 10 a.m. to midnight for those ages 16 and up), Saturday; and noon -8 p.m. on Sunday.

Pricing starts at $6 for 30 minutes of jumping on weekdays ($8 weekends) and goes up to $18 for 120 minutes of jumping on weekends. Group rates are available as are birthday party packages.

For more information, visit www.skyzone.com/columbus.