Charlotte is fun for everyone! But sometimes it's hard to know what activities are kid-sanctioned. Here's a list of kid-approved activities for your little ones!
Free, every warm Friday
Dirt track racing action almost every Friday! (Bring earplugs/muffs, camp chairs, and clothes you don't care about getting a fine crust of red dirt on)
My favorite #1 thing to do near Charlotte, especially with out-of-town friends. Pet and feed exotic animals from inside your own car! It's a hoot! (Buy at least one feed bucket! Take your crappiest car, it WILL get animal slobber all over the outside and millions of tiny food pellets on the inside. Note: cash only)
Bring a blanket, sit on a bench, or just watch from your car. Depending on airplane schedules, you can either watch airplanes take off or landing (bonus points if you get to witness the giant Lufthansa flight arrive in the afternoon!). Sometimes you have to wait an hour before you get any action. Open 'til 10:30pm!)
Fun, even for non-racers with zero clue (*me*.) They have plenty of kid-themed activities (decorating a car with magnets, obstacle courses) throughout the museum. Older kids? Make sure you pay for the unlimited simulator rides! More expensive, but 100% worth it. (You'll be there ALL DAY.)
April-August. You can always find cheap tickets on Groupon, and kids can play in the Rookie Play Zone with inflatables and slides.
October-April. You can usually find tickets under $20 on Groupon.
October-April. You can usually find tickets under $20.
Hands-on museum just for kids!
Take a hike, go mountain biking, paddleboard on the river, watch kayakers go down the rapids, take your dog on a walk around the river, rock climb, zipline, do ropes courses. (Parking $5) There is always something going on at the Whitewater Center: festivals, free films most Fridays, RiverJam Thursdays and Saturdays in the summer (bring a blanket or camp chair).
The house tour (though small) is pretty interesting, and sometimes they have historical actors in-costume around the house gardening, chopping wood, etc. (Kids under 5 free!)
See predatory birds up close and personal. (Just a few minutes from Latta Plantation, if you want to spend a Saturday.)
There's always fun events during weekends at Rural Hill (Scottish games festival, hummingbird festival, sheepdog festival, music festival, etc.)
Take a self-guided tour through a mine shaft, walk through a museum, and in the warm season pan for gold for $2 extra! (Probably best for older kids.)
Get up close and personal with every big cat you can imagine. (Make sure to call ahead and ask when feeding time is (it's different based on the season) because what's more fun than watching lions attack giant hunks of meat launched over a chain link fence?)
Who doesn't love roller coasters?
Remember the Miracle on the Hudson? That plane is here!
On the first Saturday of every month, car-lovers gather, walk around, and gawk at each other's cars. Also - free donuts and coffee supplied by the local car dealerships.
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