Best Outdoor Water Adventures for Kids
Charlotte North Carolina Summers
Hey summer is full on here. In my mind it’s time for water play. Check out my favorite adventures around CLT.
In order from the closest (to center city) to the furthest away we have:
Romare Bearden (uptown)
Directions: 300 S Church Street, Charlotte, NC
Parking can be tricky here. However if you go during the week like me, you can usually find street parking for a small fee. There are also parking garages and flat lots all around the park. Another option I frequently use is the city bus or lightrail and then a walk to the park.
Who this is best for: Everyone. Kids under 10 are likely to enjoy the waterfall spray ground and music playground. All ages like the big field for soccer and tag games. This park is lovely and has increasing shade every year as the trees grow up in this newer uptown park. There are big rocks for climbing that older kids will love. Teens love to pop over to one of the restaurants surrounding the park.
Things to Know: We spread a blanket in the shade under the trees just across from the waterfall. Have kids wearing bathing suits. Bring a ball or other yard games, suncreen or hats if needed for your skin. I do take care in accompanying children to the bathrooms, which are close by the waterfall but just around a corner.
The Fish Fountains at The Green (uptown)
Directions: The Green is located at 425 S Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC. The Green Parking Garage is at 435 S Tryon Street and is directly under the park. You can sometimes find street parking. You can definitely access this spot easily with the city bus or light rail.
Who this is best for: Children under 8 years old and the literary minded
Things to Know: This is a small sweet sprayground in uptown Charlotte. Water spouts from the mouths of giant fish. We often have the park to ourselves. The Green itself is small but full of little whimsical secrets, including many literary quotes. Bathrooms are located in the public access building just across from the sprayground There are surrounding coffee shops and restaurants. I often pair this outing with a trip to the Family Art Room at the Mint Museum right across the street. We usually do that first in the morning and then head over to green for lunch and water play! Children under 18 are free in the museum. On Wednesday evenings everyone is free, so you could also flop it with an afternoon sprayground visit, then head to the museum in dry clothes!
All the creeks (around Charlotte)
See my full post here with ALL the details!
Cordelia Pool (NODA)
Directions: 2100 N Davidson Street, Charlotte, NC
Parking here is free and easy.
Who this is best for: Everyone. There is an adjoining free splash pad that works great for the youngest children and boasts some shade sails. The pool has a deep end and a slide making it great for all ages.
Things to Know: There is not a lot of shade at the pool itself, but there are many wonderful shady trees just up the hill in the park. Cordelia Park connects to the Little Sugar Creek Greenway. My oldest loves to bike the greenway then head to the pool. The pool is $2 each person for county residents and $3 for non county residents. It can be crowded, but it’s always a fun vibe!
Latta Park (Dilworth)
Directions: 601 E Park Avenue, Charlotte, NC
Who this is best for: Children under 8 will do best at this small sprayground, however there is an excellent basketball court, a volleyball court and trails that older kids may enjoy.
Things to Know: There are picnic tables and shade. It can get really busy when groups come since the sprayground is small, but it usually all works out! We like this park year round.
Nevin Park and Sprayground (North Charlotte)
Directions: 6000 Statesville Road, Charlotte, NC
Who this is best for: Children under 10.
Things to Know: We like to start at the playgrounds which are in a different area than the sprayground. When everyone is plenty hot from playing, we take a trek on the nature trail to the sprayground. You can, of course, drive there! Sometimes we have one adult drive so that our car is at the sprayground, and then we do not need to walk back. The sprayground is covered! There is also a covered shelter and shady tree area. There are bathrooms both at the playground and the sprayground. This tends to be a less busy park.
The Quarry at Carrigan Farms (Mooresville: 40 minute drive from city center)
Directions: 1213 Oakridge Farm Hwy, Mooresville, NC
For swimming, you are looking for the west entrance, which is the address above. Plenty of parking available
Who this is best for: Older kids, teens, adults, younger children who are confident in the water Life jackets are required for everyone under 12. Even over 12 you have to pass a swim test to not wear one. Still it’s a big body of water and can be overwhelming. There is a shallow entry area that is wonderful for young children. If your group is mixed age this can definitely work!
Things to Know: This is a pricey place, but so worth it for a beautiful, natural swimming spot so close to Charlotte. As mentioned above, people 12 and over can take a swim test to qualify for swimming without a life jacket. There are so many jumping spots and rope swings! The water is deep and cool. There are shady surrounding spots to hang, and depending on the time of day the water may be shaded as well. There is a fishing pond on the property we haven’t made it to yet, but visitors also have access to this. You can bring your own chair and a small float (no huge ones). You need to get reservations ahead of time and pay a deposit online. You pay the remainder of the fee in cash when you get there. More details here.
The Bull Hole (Woodleaf: 1 hour 3 minute drive)
Directions: Officially known as Riverpark at Cooleemee Falls; 645 Erwin Temple Church Road, Woodleaf, NC; Google Maps can lead you astray. Make sure it is taking your to Erwin Temple Church Road. Plenty of parking.
Who this is best for: All ages. There is a big sliding rock that is fun to tube down, open water for swimming, a sandy shore, fish and wildlife to see, shady spots to hang.
Things to Know: There is a small fee for entrance. It is more on the weekends. When I went on a weekday it was $5 for the car. Details are updated on this website. The rocks are slippery in areas! Shoes can help. Water shoes or old tennis shoes work. But my kids usually just feel it out. They have been to so many sliding rocks that they know what’s up. For myself I need every precaution! Inevitably someone does fall. The fish come right up to you in the swimming area. We think it’s fun, but at least one kid did not like that at all! It is a little walk from the parking area down to the shore. We used a wagon. It worked but did take some effort to get it back up to the parking lot after!
Lake Wateree State Park (Winnsoboro, SC: 1 hour 15 min drive from center city)
Directions: 881 State Park Road, Winnesboro, SC
Plenty of parking
Who this is best for: Everyone
Things to Know: This is my favorite summer swimming spot near Charlotte! There is a small entry fee. Usually there is no one at the entrance and it is an an honor system. You can in an envelope or online. There are bathrooms. This is my kind of swimming: shady trees, open lake, no life guards or swim areas. We always park beside the playground and head down to the shore. In the last few years they have even added the cutest bench swings down by the water. There is even some shady water areas in the late afternoon. We set up a picnic table with our items. We bring the paddle board, floats and life jackets for those that need. This is open water swimming, so use your judgement for safety for your family. There can be pesky horseflies around so I come prepared for the inevitable with a stop sting cream. Most people have very little cell service out here! Mind the last few turns on your way in so that you can find your way back out before your map loads again! There is camping here lakeside, but I have never tried it out!
South Mountain 1 hour 23 min drive
Directions: 3001 S Mountain Park, Connelly Springs, NC
Plenty of parking, no fees for daytrip
Who this is best for: Everyone Thinks
Things to Know: Go here!! I cannot believe it took me so long to get to the mountain. It is so close to Charlotte. I go for day trips often. I’ve camped at the Family Campground and backpacked here multiple times. There is a visitors center with bathrooms and maps at the entry. You can stop here again before you leave, connect to the WiFi to let your map load for the drive home! There is the sweetest river flowing right past the parking lot at Jacob’s Fork parking. I recommend starting here. There are more bathrooms and a big wooded picnic area here. The nature trail follows along the river for the perfect walk for the youngest or people who do not really want to hike. There are so many places to stop and explore the river. The hike up to the big waterfall has been closed since Helene with no reopening in sight. Once it reopens that is a magical hike with glorious pools of water to dip in on the way up. Still there are plenty of other trails. Our current favorite for my 11 year old who doesn’t love to hike is Big Bear Falls trail. After the nature trail ends its a short distance ahead and off to the right. It’s a little more adventurous than the nature trail but short. At the top you get to a small little waterfall with sweet pools to dip in and explore. She asks me weekly to go back, she loves is so much. We’ve done family backpacking here as well as overnight backcountry treks. I’ll post more details about those in the future.
Waterfall Junction at Riverbank Zoo (Columbia, SC: 1 hour 36 minute drive from city center)
Directions: 1300 Botanical Parkway, West Columbia, SC
Plenty of parking
Who this is best for: Children under 8 though some older children will still love it and of course the rest of the zoo is for all ages
Things to Know: The water play area here is so cool! There are little waterfalls, it flows down a river path there are miniature pools, but it’s not swimming. There is also a sand area a big field and some playhouses and a treehouse. The price is steep because it’s one price for the water area and the zoo. More details here.
Tube the Green River (Saluda: 1 hour 45 minutes from city center)
Directions: We like Green River Adventures, 5476 Green River Cove Road, Saluda, NC
Who this is best for: ages 5 and up and youngers for adventurous folk
Things to Know: We recently took the longer 4 miles tube journey at Green River Adventures. It took 4 hours, probably because the water level was so low. We had to get over a lot of rocks due to this, but our crew didn’t mind. I love how laid back this place is, while also offering nice amenities like covered areas, bathrooms, changing rooms, picnic tables. They have life jackets, which you can choose to wear or just take with you. We went on a Tuesday and it was not busy at all. I would suggest calling ahead to check water levels if your crew is particular. We took snacks and sunscreen in dry bags and clipped our water bottles on with clips. I also took along my Grayl water filter to refill along the way. More details and reserve spots here.
Robert Lake Park (Montreat: 2 hour drive from city center)
Directions: 317 Texas Road, Montreat, NC
Who this is best for: Children under age 10, but older will enjoy.
Things to Know: This park is so sweet. It’s far away for a park trip, but I have totally done a day trip to get kids to this amazing water. If you pair it with other places around Black Mountain that makes a lot of sense! The river runs right through the park and in this spot is gentle flowing and wide. There are plenty of shady picnic spots around and the kids really like the playground. We have also done the short hiking trails that follow the river as well.
Museum of Life and Science (Durham: 2 hour 9 minute drive from city center)
Directions: 433 West Murray Avenue, Durham, NC
Who this is best for: In summer this is best for younger kids, age 8 and under, who will love the water areas. Older kids enjoy for sure and there is plenty to see and do, but I think late spring or early fall might be better for all that walking unless your goal is to just go primarily to three waterplay areas and maybe hit up other favorites along the way.
Things to Know: This place is huge! Even though I have been many times it wasn’t until the last trip that I realized there is a whole inside part. Ha! Outside there are three waterplay areas: the creek at Hideaway Woods and the Into the Mists and Earth Moves, which are right across from each other. Each of these is wonderful! The creek doesn’t need much explanation except to say that this is one is crafted for children so the entire area is accessible and made for their play. The mists are magical!! It’s like a mix between Avalon and The Shire with all these little nooks and crannies to run around and mist everyone! Right across the way in Earth Moves there are water falls and a sandy water play area that intrigues young children for hours. This area is really big, has plenty of shady seating spots and dry play areas too with things like chiseling! And aside from waterplay the kids love the sailboats exhibit, the treehouses, the butterfly house, the train ride (extra fee), and the dinosaur trek. There is so much more in addition to these. I recommend getting there at opening time and planning to stay for the whole day. We sometimes take an easy dinner that can be left in the car and break that out at the parking lot picnic area before driving home. Bathing suits for sure and a nice dry change of clothes, too. Full details here.
Table Rock State Park (Pickens, SC: 2 hour 14 min drive from city center)
Directions: 158 E Ellison Lane, Pickens, SC
For a daytrip you can skip the visitors center which is across the street from the park entrances. You can enter at either entrance gate (there are two). Both will take you in winding road around to the lake parking area. For weekends you need to arrive early to get parking. On weekdays it’s super easy to park all summer.
Who this is best for: Everyone
Things to Know: There is a small entry fee at the gate. There is lake swimming, shady tree areas, peddle boats and kayaks for rent and best of all a waterfall a very short hike and further trails that lead to sliding rocks and creek play. We typically set up an area in the shade and start with the lake in the morning before it is so hot. There is a designated swimming area, but usually no life guard. We always rent a peddle boat and take off into the open water as well. There is a little store and bathrooms. In the afternoon heat we head to the mountain woods. There is a small nature center and bathrooms at the trailhead. A very short walk along the trail takes you to the magical waterfall. There is a platform seating and then rocks easy to traverse even for the youngest to get down to the small waterfall and pool. I always get right under the waterfall whose water clears away the cobwebs of the mind! After as much time hear as desired, head forget along the path. We like to go up the trail and take the left side when it eventually branches. This will eventually lead you to a wooden pathway and the favorite sliding rock area is just there. As with all sliding rocks, it’s slippery. Someone always seems to fall. All ages of people slide along. There are rock areas to sit and observe or down below a sandy area and pooling water for young children to explore. We usually hike back from here but you can hike on for more walk! I have done this as a daytrip many times! Also I love camping here.
Enjoy the earth’s water dear friends.