Looking for fun things to do in Charlotte, NC? At Kidding Around, we’re locals and travelers, and we love exploring Charlotte and all the fun things to do. We’re parents with toddlers, kids, and teens. We’re spouses looking for something to do on a date night. And, we have a lot to share about Charlotte gems. So, here’s a list of just a few of the fun things in the Charlotte area.
This is just some of the fun that awaits you in the Queen City! Be sure to check back as we add more first-hand accounts of adventures we have in the Charlotte area. Don’t forget to let us know your favorite things to do in the comments!
Things to Do in Charlotte: The Highlights
🌷 The Charlotte, NC Summer Guide is here!
Parks and Playgrounds Near Charlotte, NC
🆓Our free things to-do list is full of family fun on a budget.
🛝Explore Play 60 Kids Zone at Freedom Park for some obstacle-course challenging fun!
🛝Haven’t been to Stream Park in Ballantyne? GO!
Did you know we have a Guide full of places to Swim and Splash in Charlotte?
Plan your spring farm trip!
Top Things to Do in Charlotte, North Carolina
Discovery Place Science Museum
This large kid-friendly science museum in the heart of downtown Charlotte is a great way to spend a rainy day with your family. The museum offers exhibits with live animals, STEM topics, an Imax theatre, and more.
Check out our Kidding Around Review of Discovery Place Science Museum .
Purchase advance-time reserved tickets online year-round
Reedy Creek Nature Preserve
This is an amazing nature center and preserve about 6 miles northwest of downtown Charlotte, which is located inside of the larger Reedy Creek Park. The park includes a playground, a science center, hiking trails, and more.
We have a full review on Reedy Creek Park & Nature Preserve. It’s FREE to visit!
US National Whitewater Center
Check out our winter review of ice skating at the Whitewater Center.
Readers shared their love for the US National White Water Center on Facebook with us recently when we asked if they had been.
Several times and loved it! The rafting is a short loop, but it’s intense depending on where the raft guide decides to go. The zip line is the best I’ve ever been on. There are events for smaller children too, like rock climbing. It’s well worth the trip.
Tina M.Yes! Have season passes. Great for kids 6 & up, plus families. As an adult that is not crazy about being outdoors I love the white water rafting and flat water kayaking. Plenty to do for a whole day’s visit!
Virginia W.W.Many times and we’ve done it all! Mountain biking to zip line to rafting and even experienced their live music series, River Jam…. enough to spend a full day there with the fam (10yo+)
Nikki W.Purchase online activity passes in advance for 30+ recreational activities
Carolina Raptor Center
This rehabilitation and education center is home to falcons, hawks, owls, eagles, and vultures from all over the world. Guests will have the chance to learn about and meet these magnificent birds up close.
See our visit! Here’s our review of the Carolina Raptor Center.
Carowinds Amusement Park
Find out what makes this park a favorite of Upstate’s families, including how your younger children can get in for free!
Here’s everything you need to Plan Your Visit to Carowinds!
If you have small kids, they will love Camp Snoopy at Carowinds! Check out our Kidding Around® review of Camp Snoopy and everything you need to know.
Purchase online tickets in advance seasonally.
Date Night
Looking for things to do for couples in Charlotte, NC? Our list of unique date ideas has some really great options!
Stay Inside!
If you’re looking for things to do indoors, you’ll want to visit our Indoor Fun Guide.
Seriously, our list has more than 50 great ideas.
Museum of Illusions
Trick your perception with the awesome exhibits at the Museum of Illusions! We visited with a group of teens and everyone had a good time.
Check out our parent review of the Museum of Illusions.
NASCAR Hall of Fame
The NASCAR Hall of Fame is a premier museum dedicated to celebrating the history, heritage, and legends of stock car racing. The museum features interactive exhibits, historic race cars, and memorabilia honoring the sport’s drivers, crew chiefs, and contributors. Explore exhibits like the Glory Road, with iconic race cars on a banked track, and the Hall of Honor. The museum also offers racing simulators, hands-on pit crew experiences, and educational displays, making it an exciting destination for NASCAR fans and motorsports enthusiasts alike. Get more information about the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Sullenburger Aviation Museum
We had a blast checking out all the planes and simulators at the Sullenberger Aviation Museum. We’re calling this one something to do indoors, because there are two indoor hangers to explore, but there is actually a smaller outdoor area with planes as well!
Check out our whole story on the Sullenberger Aviation Museum.
Want to see more museums? See all your options in this guide to Charlotte NC Museums.
PINS Mechanical Company
Great for a date night or a place for the family during the day, PINS Mechanical offers totally free arcade games, and a lot more! Purchase a game of Duckpin bowling for the family and enjoy tasty beverages from the bar including soft drinks and mocktails!
Want more arcade options?
We have a guide for that!
Here’s our guide to the best arcades in Charlotte, NC.
Ninja Nation
Check out Ninja Nation or one of the many camps and classes at Ninja Nation in Huntersville. Kids (and parents) will get to live out their Ninja Warrior dreams.
14120 Statesville Road, Huntersville, NC
See Animals! Zoos Near Charlotte, NC
Looking for a petting zoo?
You can pet some adorable animals at these petting zoos near Charlotte, NC.
The NC Zoo in Asheboro is Awesome!
Check out our Kidding Around Review of our visit to the NC Zoo.
Explore the Outdoors
Go see something beautiful! Charlotte has a lot!
Check out the most beautiful waterfalls near Charlotte, NC!
- Trails in Cabarrus County– Hiking, biking, and paved for walking.
Hike Crowders Mountain for Amazing Charlotte views!
Check out a park!
NEW! Our guide to Parks and Playgrounds in Charlotte, NC has some of our favorite park options!
We had so much fun at Play 60 Kids Zone at Freedom Park.
Don’t miss the totally awesome park at the CLT Airport Overlook!
We visited and have a full Kidding Around review of the CLT Airport Overlook.
And, Ballantyne’s Stream Park is so pretty with a really unique play space.
Find something beautiful at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. Open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, this garden offers trails and many gardens to explore, including some specifically for children to explore. Admission is $16.95 for adults and $9.95 for children (kids under age 2 are free).
For Teens
We have a guide full of things to do specifically for the teens. It’s full of ideas our teens approved! Here’s our guide to Things for Teens to Do in Charlotte, NC.
Things to do in Cabarrus County, North Carolina
Plan an entire day in Concord, NC with our guide to the area
Visit Charlotte Motorspeedway
Whether you’re attending a race at the speedway, an event at ZMAX Dragway, an event at the dirt track or stopping by for a tour, there’s always a lot to see at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Look for family-friendly deals like free kids’ tickets at select events, take advantage of activities and music in the fan zone outside the track, and enjoy a race at one of the iconic tracks that make up the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Great Wolf Lodge – Concord
Great Wolf Lodge is a great one-stop destination for families, and your stay includes an indoor waterpark that’s nice and warm even in the winter. The activities provided at the Lodge mean that no extra planning has to be done to make this a fun-filled trip.
iFLY in Concord
iFLY is an indoor skydiving simulator where you enter a wind tunnel that is strong enough to allow you to float in the air.
We got a chance to visit with kids and teens and everyone enjoyed their flight experience.
Escape Game: Concord Mills
We visited Escape Game to try out one of their new escape room games. It’s a great place to bring the family or a group of older kids and test yourselves with the puzzles needed to escape the room.
Here’s our review of the Escape Game.
8111 Concord Mills Boulevard #129b, Concord
Visit Reed Gold Mine
Explore the site of the first gold discovered in the United States, learn to pan for gold, walk through the mine and much more! This site is totally free to visit and panning for gold costs just $3.
See how our visit went in our review of Reed Gold Mine.
Seasonal Fun in The Charlotte, NC Area
Don’t miss these annual events and things to do happening seasonally in the Charlotte, NC area.
Spring
Warmer weather arrived?
- Easter Egg Hunts and Events in Charlotte, NC
- Pick Strawberries in Charlotte!
- Pick flowers in Charlotte, NC
Summer
Fall in Charlotte, NC
All the best Fall Activities in Charlotte, NC
Pick Apples! Here are all the best apple orchards near Charlotte, NC.
Carolina Renaissance Festival
Fall: Purchase advance tickets online
Fans of a time long forgotten can weave their way through huge roasted “turkey legs”, unique handcrafted item vendors, mermaids, fairies, sword jugglers, falconry demonstrations, and a jousting tournament. Your child can even be knighted by Queen Isabella while you are there!
Halloween
We are kind of the Halloween experts at Kidding Around. Our guides are always jam-packed with trick or treat, trunk or treat, and Halloween events. Find it all right here! The Charlotte, NC Guide to Halloween Events
Winter
Love Winter?
Here’s our Kidding Around Winter Guide to Charlotte!
Go Ice Skating at the Whitewater Center from mid-November to mid-February each year. We went with our family of 6, including those hard-to-please teens, and we all had such a great time! You can see our full review of skating at the Whitewater Center.
Here’s where you can go snow tubing near Charlotte, NC
Christmas
Christmas Town USA – McAdenville, NC
This tiny town of just under 700 people takes the Christmas season very seriously. It all started with nine trees being decorated by the Men’s Club. The following year they did a few more, and that continued every year. By 2004 nearly 400 trees were decorated, and the town residents all decided to join in the fun. The joint effort resulted in almost half a million lights adorning the 1.3 mile stretch of road that visitors see as they pass through the town.
Christmas Lights at The Charlotte Motor Speedway
Purchase advance tickets online
Speedway Christmas is unique in that you get to drive your own car on the racetrack that is normally driven on by professional NASCAR drivers. Unfortunately your mini-van will be going at a snail’s pace, but it’s still pretty cool in my opinion. On the 3.75 mile drive-thru course visitors get to view displays consisting of over four million lights!
Kannapolis Village Park
Enjoy the totally free Christmas light display you can walk through at Kannapolis Park. Or, hop aboard the Winter Express train for just $2 and view the lights from the rails. The park’s double-decker carousel also operates during the lights events.
Valentine’s Day in Charlotte, NC
Time to plan your Valentine’s Day? No problem! Here’s our big Charlotte Valentine’s Day Guide!
York County, SC: Fun Just Across The Border from Charlotte in South Carolina
Charlotte is so close to the state border that several popular attractions straddle both states. For example, did you know that Carowinds is in both North Carolina and South Carolina? In addition, visitors to the area often zip back and forth across state lines, so we decided to include some of our favorite things in the Charlotte area, across the state line in South Carolina.
Plan an entire day in York County, SC with our guide to the area.
Kings Mountain State Park
The Kings Mountain State Park and the Kings Mountain National Military Park are right next to each other and visible from I85. You will cross into North Carolina and then back into South Carolina to get to the park, that’s how close this historical state park is to Charlotte.
The Sunflowers of Draper Wildlife Area
If you are looking for a magical place to take family photos or just a place to visit for fresh air and a change of scenery, we found a place just south of Rock Hill that won’t cost you a dime to enjoy. The Sunflower Fields of Draper Wildlife Area are only in bloom for few weeks over the summer, but if you plan correctly you can see them in full bloom in July.
Anne Springs Close Greenway
The Greenway is a 2,100 nature preserve that is a continuation of the Springs’ family tradition of providing recreation options to the workers of the Springmaid Brand Mill workers. The park is a little more than a third of the land that the Springs family purchased from the Catawba Indians. The preserve includes hiking trails, lakes, creeks, wildflower gardens, and so many other things for your family to enjoy.
Day Trips from Charlotte
We have a HUGE Guide to Day Trips from Charlotte, NC.
But if that’s a little much, check out the favorites below!
Just an hour and a half drive from Charlotte, the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, NC is a super day trip for families!
Things to Do in Gastonia, NC
Plan an entire day in Gastonia, NC with our guide to the area.
Schiele Museum of Natural History
Purchase online tickets in advance year-round
This museum makes a great day trip. We had a lot of fun visiting the museum and enjoyed exhibits on dinosaurs, minerals, animals, critters, nature, and so much more! If you haven’t been yet, you should add it to your museum bucket list.
Hickory, NC
Head up to the Catawba Science Center for lots of fun learning opportunities. We love their hands-on exhibits and aquarium space.
Things to Do in Greenville, SC
We know a thing or two about Greenville, SC! Our sister-site, Kidding Around Greenville is the top family- fun resource in Greenville. Check out these awesome things to do in Greenville, SC.
Things to Do in Columbia, SC
We’re also covering all the family fun things to do in Columbia on our Kidding Around Columbia sister-site. Check out our huge list of things to do in Columbia for a super-fun day trip.
Places To Eat In The Charlotte Area
Finding a spot to eat in the big city can be daunting, but luckily there’s good food to be found with a little bit of guidance.
Find it all in our Charlotte, NC Restaurant Guide.
Looking for kids’ meal deals? Visit our list of restaurants in Charlotte, NC where kids eat free (or cheap).
We’re on Pinterest With Fun Charlotte Things to Do
We’re posting fun things to do all the time on our Pinterest board.
