WALLOWA — Residents and visitors to Wallowa now have an outlet for any angst they may be feeling after struggling through Sweden’s Secret Escape Room and move on to Wallowa Woodsmen Axe Throwing.

Angela Swedin opened the new entertainment venue Sunday, June 2, alongside the Swedin’s Secret Escape Room in downtown Wallowa. The Escape Room opened in April 2023 and has become a popular place for local entertainment over the past year.

“It’s been going great,” she said. “I have a lot of repeat customers, as well as tourists.”

The Escape Room also has become popular with local schools for field trips. She said Owen Fuller brought his Joseph Charter School eight-graders out for a field trip and Silvies Charter School brought their home-schoolers there twice, once during Christmas break and once as an end-of-the-school year event.

“Between the two schools, it was seven groups who came through in two days,” she said. “It was awesome.”

Added attraction

And now, for something a little more, Swedin and her husband, Shea, have added the Wallowa Woodsmen Axe Throwing.

“It’s just part of the Escape Room,” she said. “The theme of Wallowa Woodsmen is logging. It’s very fitting with the logging in the area. A lot of owners of escape rooms have added axe-throwing as part of the (entertainment) industry.”

The venue also is adding food service and eventually alcohol, although there will be limits on alcohol consumption for those wielding an axe.

The targets for the axes are projected with equipment provided by Axecitement, a company that provides the projectors and targets. The company also taught Swedin how to coach customers.

“I’m the axe-throwing coach,” Swedin said, admitting she’s still learning about it. “Anybody who comes, I will give them a lesson, but I’m still a beginner. I can get it to the target and make it stick.”

Swedin said customers can reserve an axe-throwing lane or drop in in hopes of finding one free.

“Come check out the new space, reserve an axe-throwing lane, grab some delicious food and have an awesome time,” she said.