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Started By
Message
Visiting Charlotte area
Posted on 7/25/21 at 6:47 pm
Posted on 7/25/21 at 6:47 pm
Will be visiting family in Ballantyne area near Charlotte at the end of August. Wife and my 4 year old daughter. Looking for recommendations in the area. Not scared to drive 2 to 3 hours from the area for cool stuff to do.
In general we like to visit state and national parks, hike and I like to fly fish. Also don’t mind the touristy stuff if it’s interesting.
If anyone is familiar with the are and can give any good recommendations I would greatly appreciate it.
In general we like to visit state and national parks, hike and I like to fly fish. Also don’t mind the touristy stuff if it’s interesting.
If anyone is familiar with the are and can give any good recommendations I would greatly appreciate it.
11
Posted on 7/25/21 at 8:04 pm to PTBob
Crowders Mt State Park is close to Charlotte.
Chimney Rock SP is about two hours west.
There is a lot to do within 3 hours of Charlotte. That’s a big circle.
Chimney Rock SP is about two hours west.
There is a lot to do within 3 hours of Charlotte. That’s a big circle.
Posted on 7/26/21 at 7:30 am to PTBob
National White Water Center
You can get to the mountains in about 1.5 hrs from Charlotte. Grandfather mountain is fun.
You can get to the mountains in about 1.5 hrs from Charlotte. Grandfather mountain is fun.
Posted on 7/26/21 at 2:33 pm to PTBob
4 is basically too young, but Carowinds is sneaky the best roller coaster spot in the country.
Posted on 7/26/21 at 8:28 pm to PTBob
A lot of good suggestions so far
Charlotte in and of itself is loaded with breweries if you’re into that.
Discovery place is kind of like a science museum in the city.
There should still be some baseball games happening if you wanted to catch a minor league game downtown
Carowinds is a roller coaster park not far from Ballantyne
White water center is close also with various activities, but even just sitting outside, eating at the restaurant can be fun to take in the outdoors. There’s usually little concerts on Thursdays and some weekends as well.
There’s a small aquarium up in Concord. Also the great wolf lodge if you wanted a kid friendly place to stay or visit for a day or something.
Going out towards Asheville has more fly fishing like near Cherokee. Also some hikes in all those directions - Crowders mountain, Kings mountain, High Shoals Falls, etc.
Lake Wylie isn’t too far from there if you wanted to rent a boat and have a day on the water.
I know it’s not the best place in the world to visit, but there’s a decent amount of stuff to do
Charlotte in and of itself is loaded with breweries if you’re into that.
Discovery place is kind of like a science museum in the city.
There should still be some baseball games happening if you wanted to catch a minor league game downtown
Carowinds is a roller coaster park not far from Ballantyne
White water center is close also with various activities, but even just sitting outside, eating at the restaurant can be fun to take in the outdoors. There’s usually little concerts on Thursdays and some weekends as well.
There’s a small aquarium up in Concord. Also the great wolf lodge if you wanted a kid friendly place to stay or visit for a day or something.
Going out towards Asheville has more fly fishing like near Cherokee. Also some hikes in all those directions - Crowders mountain, Kings mountain, High Shoals Falls, etc.
Lake Wylie isn’t too far from there if you wanted to rent a boat and have a day on the water.
I know it’s not the best place in the world to visit, but there’s a decent amount of stuff to do
This post was edited on 7/26/21 at 8:30 pm
Posted on 7/26/21 at 9:02 pm to PTBob
Kings Mountains National Military Park and Cowpens National Battlefield are great for Revolutionary War history. They're about 40 miles apart (both in SC) so you could do both in one day.
Posted on 7/27/21 at 7:10 am to PTBob
Great suggestions I’ve got a list going. Thanks a lot.
Posted on 7/27/21 at 7:22 pm to PTBob
Charlotte in general sucks. I’d avoid downtown Charlotte unless you want to get shot. I second the Carowinds recommendation. That would be a fun day. You can see Biltmore in Asheville in a 3 hour drive. That’s great a great brewery and winery area as well. The whole Blowing Rock/Chimney Rock/Grandfather Mountain area is fun. Cherokee and Tweetsie Railroad are fun for younger kids. Raleigh sometimes has some really good traveling art exhibits.
Posted on 7/28/21 at 11:51 am to Drizzt
quote:
Charlotte in general sucks. I’d avoid downtown Charlotte unless you want to get shot.
I hate when people say this. It's a metro area of 2.6M people and there's less crime than most places comparatively - especially compared to New Orleans.
This post was edited on 7/28/21 at 5:26 pm
Posted on 7/28/21 at 7:39 pm to lilsnappa
Nothing you said makes Charlotte fun. New Orleans is dangerous…but it’s fun as hell. I grew up very close to Charlotte and go there regularly. It’s not a fun town. Not a bad town but just not fun. Plus the traffic is horrible. Most of Charlotte is fairly safe but don’t act like nothing bad happens downtown. They also have multiple robberies and car jacking every holiday season at South Park and that’s one of the wealthiest areas of Charlotte.
This post was edited on 7/28/21 at 7:42 pm
Posted on 7/29/21 at 11:29 am to PTBob
Carowinds, Whitewater center, and Discovery Place are all great spots for the kids.
Charlotte has a super underrated brewery scene that's worth checking out. The Rail Trail in Southend is worth taking a stroll on.
Charlotte has a super underrated brewery scene that's worth checking out. The Rail Trail in Southend is worth taking a stroll on.
Posted on 7/29/21 at 5:04 pm to Drizzt
quote:
Plus the traffic is horrible
Posted on 7/30/21 at 9:29 pm to Drizzt
quote:
Nothing you said makes Charlotte fun. New Orleans is dangerous…but it’s fun as hell. I grew up very close to Charlotte and go there regularly. It’s not a fun town. Not a bad town but just not fun. Plus the traffic is horrible. Most of Charlotte is fairly safe but don’t act like nothing bad happens downtown. They also have multiple robberies and car jacking every holiday season at South Park and that’s one of the wealthiest areas of Charlotte.
These opinions have nothing to do with the OP.
I lived in CLT for 3 years and enjoyed it alot. Theres plenty to do.
Posted on 7/31/21 at 12:03 pm to PTBob
Honestly with a 4 year old, Crowders mountain for an early morning hike, and hit downtown Belmont for lunch and walk to Stowe Park for the playground.
Carowinds has a nice kiddie section.
OMB is the most kid-friendly brewery with good but not adventurous beers
Carowinds has a nice kiddie section.
OMB is the most kid-friendly brewery with good but not adventurous beers
Posted on 7/31/21 at 12:17 pm to PTBob
Not far from Ballantyne is Waxhaw, where they have a place where you can watch the trains go by and some ice cream shops. Just trying to think about what a 4 year old would like.
Posted on 7/31/21 at 12:28 pm to TheZaba
quote:this is a solid list of stuff
A lot of good suggestions so far
Charlotte in and of itself is loaded with breweries if you’re into that.
Discovery place is kind of like a science museum in the city.
There should still be some baseball games happening if you wanted to catch a minor league game downtown
Carowinds is a roller coaster park not far from Ballantyne
White water center is close also with various activities, but even just sitting outside, eating at the restaurant can be fun to take in the outdoors. There’s usually little concerts on Thursdays and some weekends as well.
There’s a small aquarium up in Concord. Also the great wolf lodge if you wanted a kid friendly place to stay or visit for a day or something.
Going out towards Asheville has more fly fishing like near Cherokee. Also some hikes in all those directions - Crowders mountain, Kings mountain, High Shoals Falls, etc.
Lake Wylie isn’t too far from there if you wanted to rent a boat and have a day on the water.
I know it’s not the best place in the world to visit, but there’s a decent amount of stuff to do
The brewery scene here is fantastic imo
Posted on 8/1/21 at 9:53 am to Drizzt
quote:
I’d avoid downtown Charlotte unless you want to get shot.
Lol
Don’t got into a downtown with real crime problems then.
To answer OP question…Stone Mountain state park, about a couple of hours north of where you’ll be, is my favorite hike in that area. The hike is reasonable and kid friendly and you gave Stone Mountain, a waterfall, and some old homesteads to see on the loop
In fact, I’d suggest spending some time north of Charlotte. Lots to do in concord and lake Norman is fun. Also have the whitewater center, which someone previously mentioned
Posted on 8/1/21 at 11:24 am to brg0320
quote:
Stone Mountain
There's a natural slide at Stone Mountain that my daughter loves. It's right off the road and just below a waterfall. It's not "THE" sliding rock in NC but it also doesn't have the 8-foot pool at the bottom of the slide so young kids can go on their own. It's at Widow's Creek Falls at the top of this map. Small parking lot right there at the road can fill up, so we go early, right when the gates open. Last time we went (August 2020), we had the falls/slides to ourselves for 3 hours before anyone else showed up.
Charlotte gets a bad rap. It's not someplace I would choose as a family summer vacation destination, but if you find yourself there anyway, there is a ton of stuff to do in Charlotte and the surrounding areas.
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