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Carolina Raptor Center: Here’s Your Chance to Hang Out with Raptors!

Carolina Raptor Center is located just north of Charlotte in Huntersville, NC. The center is home to falcons, hawks, owls, eagles and vultures from all over the world. Visitors can view these magnificent raptors up close, and learn about their individual stories and unique characteristics that help them survive in the wild. The center also offers educational programming for groups. KAG contributor, Maria Bassett, shares a visit she and her children took to the Carolina Raptor Center.

What is a Raptor?

Raptors. We see them in the sky far above us, soaring and circling, their sharp eyes keenly searching out their next meal. They don’t sing, or entertain us with their bright colors at our feeders. They don’t visit our backyard feeders at all (except maybe to snack on the songbirds themselves). In fact, we rarely get the chance to see anything but their silhouettes overhead. And yet they catch our attention. What makes these birds so unique? If you want to know, you will find the drive to Carolina Raptor Center well worth it!

Raptors are meat eating birds that catch their prey with their talons (unlike other birds who may eat meat that catch their prey with their beaks- think birds and worms, or penguins and fish). They are equipped with many special features that give them the ability to accomplish this task. From sharp talons, to third eyelids and tiny bones that act as sun visors, you’ll be amazed at all you’ll learn in just a few hours at the center.

Raptor Center question and answer with an owl

How About a Field Trip?

Educational groups who plan a visit to the center can schedule a presentation from a very knowledgeable staff member. Our group was able to view and learn about three different raptors. We learned about each bird’s special features, how they train the raptors, where the birds come from, what they eat and more, all while getting an extremely close view of these magnificent creatures.

This presentation was easily the best part of our visit. The children (and adults) in attendance were so excited to see each bird as our guide brought them out. The guide kept everyone interested and engaged. Being a homeschool family that likes to school as much as we can through experiences, I have to say, this was one of the best educational presentations we’ve ever had the pleasure to view.

Fieldtrip groups also have the added benefit of a significant per person discount. The center has pre-planned programming, but will also customize for your group. Homeschoolers, you do not have to be part of an organized group to schedule these field trip programs! Gather some adventure-loving homeschool families with children of similar ages and make your own group!

The Trail

The trail at CRC is open to all paying guests. The trail area is where you will view the center’s various raptors in their habitats. It’s a mostly shaded, gravel path and easily walkable. We had a few strollers in our group who had no problem with the path. Along the trail you’ll see raptors divided by their types; a grouping of owls, a loop of falcons, a section of vultures, the eagle aviary, and lineup of hawks. This allows you to easily compare them within their raptor families.

The trail also contains an exhibit showing the center’s raptors who regularly help out in the educational presentations, as well as an exhibit showing some of the work the raptor hospital onsite does regularly. The hospital is not regularly open to the public; however, they offer a behind-the-scenes tour and the exhibit “A Day in the Life of a Raptor Hospital.”

Spending the Day at Carolina Raptor Center

If you plan to spend a large portion of your day at CRC, you should know that there is no onsite food vendor. The gift shop sells snacks, ice cream bars, and popsicles. If you plan to have lunch, you’ll need to bring it with you. (There isn’t much in the way of fast food nearby, either.)

The center has several places to picnic, one is alongside a nature play area. The play area contains teeter totters made out of sanded logs, a sand pit, sliced log blocks, a wooden play house, and a small area where children can view pictures of raptor nests and try to recreate them with nearby materials.

Getting to CRC

Carolina Raptor Center is located about 20 minutes north of Charlotte. As you approach the center, follow signs for the nature preserve. As you pass the preserve, you’ll soon approach the raptor center on your left. The first entrance is for the raptor hospital, the second entrance is the clearly marked main entrance to Carolina Raptor Center. Google Maps brought us right to the visitor center parking lot with no problem.

Address:
Carolina Raptor Center, 6000 Sample Road, Huntersville, NC 28078

Admission and Hours

Hours are 10 am to 4 pm daily. They close from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm, meaning the gift shop, ticketing and restrooms are closed from 12:30 to 1:30 pm, but guests already on the Raptor Trail do not have to leave.

Admission: $12 adults, $10 seniors, teachers, military, $8 Students ages 4 and up, Free for children ages 3 and under.

Bring the Learning Home

Here are some great books you can find on Amazon or at the library about raptors:

Birds of Prey (Peterson Field Guide)- J 598.9L
Discovering Birds of Prey by M.J. Thomas- J 598.9 T
Animal Lives: The Barn Owl- J 598.97
Eyewitness Book: Eagle and Birds of Prey- J 598.9

Your family might also enjoy reading My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George, as well as the sequels. The main character in these stories trains a peregrine falcon to help him hunt as he tries to live on his own, off of the land.

Consider having students bring a sketchbook and sketch a few of the raptors they see. Clearly label the sketches. When you get home, have students look up information about the raptors they drew. Consider a writing assignment, creative poster, flyer, brochure, or some other type of assignment that incorporates the sketches. Similarly, families could take photographs of the birds and complete a family project, like a bulletin board or scrapbook, about what they learned.

Love Raptors?

Enjoy your visit to CRC? Looking for a little more? Consider visiting Caesar’s Head State Park this fall to observe the migration of thousands of raptors as they pass above the cliff on their way to their winter homes. Check out the Kidding Around Greenville story on Hawk Watch. You are likely to only see them from the sky, but they are still quite impressive.

For a Beach Vacation With Smaller Crowds Visit the Outer Banks, NC

Have you visited the beaches on North Carolina’s Outer Banks? Many of the Upstate’s favorite beaches are just a few hours away on the South Carolina coast, but many of those beaches have large hotels and a big entertainment scene making those beaches more crowded. The Outer Banks of North Carolina have a very different feel with mainly vacation rental homes for lodging plus long skinny islands with huge lengths of beautiful beaches. Here are some of our favorite things to do and places to eat in the Outer Banks.

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Educational Travel: Vacations and Day Trips Where You’ll Have Fun and Learn Something New

Thinking about turning a vacation into an educational adventure? The Kidding Around team loves to learn on the road. From our nation’s capital to national parks, to coastal ecology tours and science and history adventures close to home, there is so much to see, memories to make, and things to learn. Here are some of the places we’ve traveled to where your family can learn something new!

This article includes:
Educational Vacations
Educational Day Trips from Upstate, SC

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Learn How to Help Kids Prepare School Readiness Skills With the Adventure Squad

The Adventure Squad is here, highlighting each of The Palmetto Basics with tips and things to do you can use with your own family throughout the day! Learn how to:

Read and Discuss Stories
Explore Through Movement and Play
Talk, Sing and Point
Count, Group and Compare
Maximize Love, Minimize Stress

For more ways to incorporate these basics into your family’s day, visit The Basics Palmetto website.

Thanks to Palmetto Basics for sponsoring Kidding Around Greenville.

Read and Discuss Stories With the Adventure Squad

“The more we read with young children, the more prepared they become to enjoy reading and to do well in school. It is never too early to begin reading!”

The Adventure Squad Shows Us How to Explore Through Movement and Play

“Movement and play are good for children’s bodies—their coordination, strength, and overall health. They are also ways that children explore and learn about the world.”

The Adventure Squad Maximizes Love & Manages Stress!

“Infants thrive when their world seems loving, safe, and predictable. When you express love and respond to their needs, you teach them that they can count on you.”

Talk, Sing and Point With the Adventure Squad

“As your child develops, talking with them and answering their questions is a way to teach them about the world. By talking with them, you will also get to know the fascinating person they are becoming!”

The Adventure Squad Shows Us How to Count, Group and Compare!

“You don’t need to be a math teacher to start preparing your child to be a problem solver. There are fun and simple activities that you can do now to build math and thinking skills.”

Hiking Through History: Musgrove Mill State Historic Site

Looking for a fun outing where you can enjoy the great outdoors and take in some history too? We’ve got just the place! Local mom Maria took her kids to Musgrove Mill Historic Site and is sharing her experience with us. This beautiful outdoor destination includes lots of territory to explore plus American history to share with your family.

This park is new to the free incentive program to get kids exploring the outdoors! Learn all about it in our review of the Kids in Parks Program

On a hot, humid August day in 1780, 200 Patriot militia defeated over 500 Loyalist troops at the Battle of Musgrove Mill. Today you can visit the beautiful Musgrove Mill State Historic Site to walk the steps of those soldiers and militiamen. If you do, you’ll also enjoy a beautiful, wooded hike alongside a clear, clean creek and waterfall.

A Day at Musgrove Mill State Historic Site

You’ll want to begin your visit at the Visitor’s Center, where park rangers will play a short audio presentation about the battle, accompanied by a map with lighted markers, which will give your family a birds-eye view of the movement of both patriot and loyalist troops. Then you’ll need to choose to hike one of Musgrove Mill’s two trails. Will it be the one-mile hike to the loyalist camp along the Enoree River? Or will it be the 1.3-mile battlefield trail beginning at Horseshoe Falls along Cedar Shoals Creek? My family is studying the Revolutionary War this fall and have visited several Southern Campaign battlefields, so we decided to follow the battlefield trail. We were not disappointed!

Hikers will find the camp trail at the end of the Visitor Center parking lot, but if your family decides to visit the falls and the battlefield trail, you’ll need to get back in your car and drive about three miles to cross the Enoree River and get to the park’s other parking lot. The ranger at the Visitor Center will provide you with a map! You can also follow the road signs for Horseshoe Falls. When you arrive at the trailhead, you will find a gravel parking lot and sign, just before the metal bridge that crosses the creek.

The battlefield at Musgrove Mill

The battlefield trail begins with a couple of hundred yards of concrete, wheelchair-accessible trail that takes you to Horseshoe Falls. Hikers of the battlefield trail will continue on past the falls, where the trail is no longer paved. The battlefield trail is a 1.3-mile loop, with frequent signage that describes the backcountry’s roll in the Revolutionary War, the key players in the Battle of Musgrove Mill, and takes you to step by step through the battle. You’ll walk the soldiers’ path to the ridge where the outnumbered patriot militia waited to attack the loyalists. Of the Revolutionary War sites my family has visited, these signs were the easiest for my children to understand. My 8-year-old was able to read the majority of them aloud to the rest of us, and the pictures were clear and helpful. It was wonderful to gain a clear understanding and appreciation for what happened that day on the exact ridge upon which we stood.

The battlefield hike does have some hills, but our little group didn’t find it too difficult. My 5-year-old was able to hike it without any difficulty, and my 3-year-old needed a piggyback ride for just the last bit of the loop. For young children, a carrier backpack would be helpful.

On our hike back to the car, we stopped at Horseshoe Falls to enjoy the waterfall and have a snack before heading for home. The nature-loving, rock skipping, critter hunting little ones among you will love exploring the edge of the sandy pool at the bottom of the falls.

Musgrove Mill State Historic Site is located at 398 State Park Road in Clinton. The Horseshoe Falls and battlefield trail is open sunrise to sunset daily, and the gate to the visitor center and the camp trail is open 9 am – 6 pm daily. The visitor center is open 10 am – 5 pm Friday through Sunday, and other times depending on staff availability. (We went on a Monday morning and there were two very helpful staff members at the Visitor’s Center.) There is a small fee for admission since it is part of the SC State Park system (if you have an SC State Park pass, it’s free). You can find more information and directions here.

Curious to learn about the battle before you go? Check out this site, which gives an overview of the battle.

We hope you love your hike through a bit of American history. If you enjoy the trip, you’ll be happy to know that there are many state and national parks at the site of revolutionary war battles in the upstate and throughout South Carolina. You’ll find an excellent overview of the war in South Carolina, and links to sites you can visit today here.

Would your kids enjoy a historical field trip to Musgrove Mill State Historic Site?