11 family activities in North Carolina

Family activity holidays in North Carolina come naturally. After all this is the state that boasts the Blue Ridge Mountains, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Appalachian Trail, and some of the tallest sand dunes in the US. It’s so wild and unspoiled, they filmed scenes of The Hunger Games movies here: and that’s all before you get round to the world’s largest natural-habitat zoo, mile-high footbridges and daredevil waterfall plunges.

Tough as it’s been, Visit North Carolina have curated a list of thousands down to 11 family activities you just can’t miss.

1/11 Tackle the Air Hike Ropes Course at North Carolina Zoo

North Carolina Zoo is the world’s largest natural habitat zoo. But if a day surrounded by over 1600 animals, from every corner of the globe, isn’t exciting enough for kids, they can take an Air Hike challenge here too.

This 23-obstacle rope course includes giant webs, soaring bridges and tunnels, tightropes, plank walks, and some seriously high aerial platforms. To add to the fun, an expert guide leads the way, so it’s not too daunting for younger adventurers, and parents can relax too.

Where: North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro

How to get there: Asheboro is one hour and 40 minutes drive north-east of Charlotte

When: Air Hike is open seven days a week, between April and October, from 9.30am to 4.30pm

Cost: Adult zoo ticket: £11 / Child zoo ticket: £8 / Air Hike Rope Course ticket: £9

Find out more about Air Hike Ropes Course at North Carolina Zoo

2/11 Tour Hunger Games movie locations in Asheville

The first Hunger Games’ movie was filmed in North Carolina. Visit DuPont State Forest, hike to spectacular Triple Falls, and have a picnic on the rocks where Katniss sang Rue’s Lullaby. Don’t miss Henry River Mill Village: the eerie ghost town east of Asheville which doubled as infamous District 12. And real super-fans might want to consider a night at hip Hotel Indigo in Downtown Asheville: the cast stayed here during filming.

Alternatively, try a ‘Hunger Games Unofficial Fan Tour’, which does DuPont in cinematic detail, and includes a themed lunch and activities like archery. Don’t let the ‘unofficial’ part put you off: the tours are Five-Star Trip Advisor Recommended.

Find out more about Hunger Games Fan Tours from Asheville

3/11 Go twilight ghost-crabbing on the Outer Banks

Spanish mustang aren’t the only wild and exotic creatures for kids to encounter on North Carolina’s extraordinary Outer Banks. With a bit of patience, and keen eyes, they can spot tiny Ghost Crabs here too.

Best way to spy out these elusive little cuties is to head to Corolla Beach at twilight, armed with an Illuminet (cross between a fluorescent fishing net and a torch). Pick a prime spot on the sand, and wait: Corolla practically belongs to Ghost Crabs after dark. So if kids don’t catch a glimpse of at least one pair of beady, black eyes and teeny, weeny claws on a night watch, they’re not looking hard enough.

4/11 Discover the legend of Blackbeard on Ocracoke Island

The fascinating North Carolina coast isn’t short on myths, legends and enchanting islands, but for all three in one, there’s nowhere quite like Ocracoke.

It’s a charming and peaceful place these day, from the pretty town harbour to its 16 mile long stretch of Cape Hatteras National Seashore: named #1 US Getaway Beach by Dr Beach. But back in the 18^th century, Ocracoke was choice hideout for none other than Blackbeard the pirate, and the site of his fatal final battle in 1718.

Hire bikes, or a golf cart, for the day, explore the island, and visit Teach’s Hole Blackbeard Exhibit. Better still, stay awhile, get to know Ocraocoke’s gorgeous beach better, and take a sunset sail aboard the Schooner Windfall II, to the site of the pirate’s last battle.

Find out more about Ocracoke Island on the North Carolina coast

 5/11 Explore breathtaking Biltmore Estate in Asheville

When one of the wealthiest men in the world chooses to live in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, it gives you an idea of how beautiful it is in this part of the world.

George Vanderbilt completed Biltmore House in 1895, it was America’s largest private home then, and still is today. Only now you don’t need an invite to gaze on the splendour. Take a self-guided tour of the house, explore the elegant formal gardens, and trail walk round the enormous 8000 acre grounds: it’s all extraordinary. Leave time for Antler Hill Village Farm and Outdoor Adventure Centre, and don’t miss a grown-up adventure at the Biltmore Winery.

Find out more about Biltmore Estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains

6/11 Slide down Turtleback Falls in Gorges State Park

Skinny Dip, Bust your Butt, Wildcat and Hooker, are just a few of curiously named, and awesome, mountain swimming holes and waterfalls round about Asheville in western North Carolina. But even in this wildly exciting collection, nothing beats Turtleback Falls.

Reaching these wonders involves hiking a few miles through Gorges State Park. Well worth it for the thrill of racing down an enormous, natural waterslide at full speed, before being shot over a 20ft high cliff into a fathomless swimming hole. So popular, there’s even a rope to help you up to the top of the falls, Turtleback is definitely an experience for older teens – although younger kids like the walk, and seeing teenagers screaming in terror is plenty entertaining.

Find out more about Turtleback Falls in Gorges State Park

7/11 Ride the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad

Hiking the Appalachian Trail through America’s most visited national park is a bit of an extreme adventure for most families. The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad, on the other hand, is perfect for kids. Not only does it take in the grand sights along the park’s southern boundary, the vintage steam train alone is a memory-maker.

Now listed as one of the World’s Great Small Rail Journeys, the Nantahala Gorge Route is best for spectacular landmarks, and it includes an hour’s playtime at Nantahala Outdoor Centre. If the weather’s good, make sure to book the open-air gondola section: it’s great fun for kids, and you change sides on the return trip, so no one misses a single jaw-dropping view.

Find out more about the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad in North Carolina

8/11 Start kids hang-gliding at Jockeys Ridge State Park

Visit Jockey Ridge State Park in the Outer Banks, and kids as young as four can learn to hang-glide on the tallest living sand dune in eastern US: only 10 minutes from where the Wright Brothers first took flight in 1903.

Kitty Hawk Kites have been teaching here for the past 25 years, and between the fantastic height of the dunes, and the soft sand landing, the conditions are so good, they virtually guarantee airborne kids in under three hours. Group lessons are limited to five and, apart from the fun of learning to actually fly, scrambling up the enormous sand mountain is an incredible adventure all by itself.

Find out more about the Kitty Hawk Kites at Jockey Ridge State Park

9/11 Dive into North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knolls Shore

North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knolls Shore has over 4000 residents, including river otters, stingray, and even a rare white sea turtle.

Kids can visit Caretta’s Cove and talk to a Southern Female Loggerhead, or watch hatchlings in the astounding Loggerhead Odyssey. There are daily Below the Surface Dive Programs where divers interact by microphone as they swim round tanks. Kids can watch feeding time at the Living Shipwreck, meet otters at Creature Connections, and even help to feed fish themselves. Amazingly, all these experiences are included in the ticket price, and Pine Knolls Shore is just one of four outstanding North Carolina Aquariums along the Atlantic coast.

Find out more about North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knolls on Atlantic Beach

10/11 Dare to cross Grandfather Mountain Mile High Swinging Bridge

There are endless reasons to visit Grandfather Mountain. The walks and trails are breathtakingly beautiful, and graded by difficulty, so you can easily identify what works for littler legs. It’s in the midst of mountains designed by nature to stun you into silence, and you arrive on the Blue Ridge Parkway: one of the country’s Great American Road Trips.

But save all your astonishment – and nerve – for the granddaddy of all Grandfather’s great attractions: the Mile High Swinging Bridge. Stretching across an 80ft gorge, it’s the tallest suspension footbridge in the US, and has been known to sway slightly in the wind. If you dare across, the reward is a 360˚ panorama from a height of 5280ft above sea level.

Find out about Grandfather Mountain State Park in North Carolina

11/11 Fast-paced action in thrilling Charlotte

North Carolina’s largest city sets the state standard for fast-action, family adventures. Take Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Feel the Thrill tour, and experience the same extreme ‘tilt’ of the 24˚ banked turns as drivers do on race day. The tour also includes a visit to the garage area, the zMAX Dragway and Dirt Track, and a photo-op in the Winner’s Circle.

Thrills come in all forms at the US National Whitewater Centre, where Olympian kayakers train. The centre’s recirculating river challenges families, and kids as young as eight, to test their nerve on class II to IV rapids. Try out the climbing wall, along with flatwater activities, ziplines, and rope courses. And you can come play in the evening too: they switch on the music Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, from May through September.

But whatever you do, don’t leave Charlotte without a turn on Fury 325: the world’s tallest and fastest giga-coaster. You’ll find it, along with another dozen rollercoasters and many more rides for all ages, at Carowinds amusement and waterpark.

Inspired by the top 10 family activities in North Carolina? Take a look at Visit North Carolina for a few thousand more thrilling adventures.