Hi. I loved climbing trees as a child, and now I'm writing a story for children in which climbing a tree in a local park is central to the story. I was hoping you folks might have some advice about what kind of tree would be appropriate. In the story, a father sees that his very young daughter is a "climber" and gets permission to plant a good climbing tree in a nearby park, in hopes that it will be big enough to climb when his daughter is old enough. That daughter then grows up and has a child--who also climbs the tree--and the story is told from this child's perspective. (I can adjust the story so that only one of the children climbs, if necessary.)

I need (if possible) a tree that will grow quickly enough to be climbable by the first child, but also one that will stay climbable for the second child--not get so big that its branches are too high for an open climb. I was hoping for a tree that would eventually have a wide spread, so that many people in the neighborhood could enjoy its shade on a hot day.

I was leaning toward the Thornless Honeylocust (grows very quickly, wide spread when mature, sources indicate that it is a good climber) but I am very, very open to suggestions! The big question on the Honeylocust is when it would be climbable, and whether it would be too big to climb by the time the second child comes along. I am trying to find this out--and again, I am totally open to suggestions for more appropriate trees.

Thanks so much for any advice you can give!

It's tough to force the long life cycle of a tree into a single human generation story form. The fast growing trees don't make the best climbing trees. The slow growing oaks probably make the best. I love climbing Honey Locust but it is not a friendly climber, even without thorns. The bark forms sharp edged plates and it can be an intimidating tree.

Any fast growing species that's allowed to grow in the open can form a low complex canopy structure that could be good for climbing for many years. Tulip Poplar and White Pine come to mind. You might think about starting with a very old oak that's a good climber and then have your character plant some new ones anticipating that the old one is getting to the end of its life. By the time the second young child comes around the old oak is gone but the young oak is grown enough for the child to climb.
-moss

Thanks for your great advice. I'll work on a re-write and see what I can do.