16 frugal family day trips from Charlotte

Looking for some new things to do with kids?

If you have kids, you know that there are plenty of fun, inexpensive things for kids in Charlotte, including parks, museums, splash pads and much more.

But it’s worth the short drive to check out some of these slightly out-of-town attractions. All are within an hour and a half or so from the Queen City. Know of others that should be on the list? Email your idea to info@charlotteonthecheap.com and it might make it onto the next iteration of this list.

Village Park in Kannapolis

Photo: City of Kannapolis

700 West C Street, Kannapolis
Village Park has a double-decker carousel, the only one of its kind in North Carolina, as part of its attractions. Carousel rides are just $1.50. The park also features the Rotary Express train, a splash pad, playground, picnic shelters, open space and a new waterfall feature.

The park is also the site for many of Kannapolis’ summer entertainment programming, including movies and concerts, as well as the city’s extensive Christmas events, including the Celebration of Lights and Winterland Express.

North Carolina Zoo

4401 Zoo Parkway, Asheboro
The North Carolina Zoo is not only the largest zoo in the state, it’s the world’s largest natural habitat zoo. With 500 developed acres, there’s more to see than just the usual lions and elephants – you can also find American bison, polar bears, chimpanzees, and much more. The zoo also has its own carousel, treehouse trek play area, and butterfly garden, although both have an additional fee of $3 per person. Get eye-level with giraffes at their giraffe deck, where you can hand feed the animals for $5 per person. If you’re looking for something more low level, the zoo also features a playground and kid zone, both of which can be accessed for free.

Adult tickets are $15, and kids tickets are $11 for ages 2-12.

Schiele Museum of Natural History

Photo: Schiele Museum of Natural History

1500 E. Garrison Boulevard, Gastonia
This excellent natural history museum in Gastonia is probably familiar to many kids, who visit it for school field trips. If your child hasn’t visited Schiele Museum yet, it’s more than worth the short trek to Gastonia. The museum includes indoor exhibits that focus on North Carolina natural history, North American habitats, and the American Indian, as well as outdoor exhibits, including a nature trail, Catawba Indian Village, Stone Age Heritage Site, and an 18th Century Backcountry Farm. The museum is also home to the second largest planetarium in North Carolina, with programs that rotate on a monthly basis. Tickets for planetarium shows are not included in museum admission and cost $5 per person, with children three and under admitted for free.

At the Backcountry Farm, there are seasonal living history presentations in period buildings, with hogs, sheep, chickens, and cattle. Another highlight of the museum is a planetarium.

There are two perfectly frugal times a month try it. The museum offers free admission to museum exhibits the second Tuesday of every month and the fourth Friday of the month, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. You do not to reserve tickets for free museum admission, simply arrive and head to the admission desk. Free planetarium show tickets are also available quarterly throughout the year (check the schedule here) and become available for online reservation a week prior to each date. Otherwise, admission is $7 for adults and $6 for kids and seniors (65+). Gastonia residents get discounted ticket prices.

Catawba Science Center

243 Third Avenue NE, Hickory
The Catawba Science Center is a science technology children’s museum offering hands-on exhibits, salt and freshwater aquarium galleries (featuring sharks, stingrays, and more), and a digital planetarium theater. Admission includes exhibits, aquaria, and daytime planetarium shows.

Adult tickets are $12 and youth (3-17) and senior tickets are $10.

North Carolina Transportation Museum

Photo courtesy of North Carolina Transportation Museum

411 S Salisbury Ave, Spencer
The North Carolina Transportation Museum is a must-see for train-loving kids. It’s been a kid-favorite for 40 years. It features antique cars, an authentic train depot, and a 37-bay Roundhouse that includes 25 locomotives, dozens of rail cars and more. The museum offers seasonal train rides, including the popular Day Out with Thomas and the Polar Express.

Admission plus a train ride is $8 for kids 3-12, $10 for seniors/military and $12 for other adults. Kids 2 and younger are free. Seasonal train rides are more.

Dallas Lavender Lane Farm

937 Old Willis School Road, Dallas
Dallas Lavender Lane Farm offers lavender picking each weekend in their lavender field, which features four different lavender varieties. You can visit the farm for free and pay a $5-$10 fee to cut lavender stems. They also have a small country store featuring products made from their lavender and other farm products. A section of the farm is also dedicated to farm animals, including ducks, pot belly pigs, a miniature pony, and more. They also host festivals and art classes at the farm, which often include games, face painting, crafts, train rides, and more.

Their next event is a family-friendly Hippie Festival on June 25th and 26th, 2022. Tickets are $13 each and can be purchased online.

Dan Nicholas Park

Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC

6800 Bringle Ferry Rd, Salisbury
You’ll be amazed at the range of attractions at Dan Nicholas Park. There’s a carousel, a train ride, gem mining, an aquarium, paddle boats, a nature center, a water plaza, mini-golf and a playground. There’s even a campground. Most of the attractions range from free to $1/person. Gem buckets start at $8.

All-A-Flutter Farms

7850-B Clinard Farms Rd, High Point
All-A-Flutter Farms is an agritourism farm and nursery devoted to promoting conservation of the monarch butterfly. Although they are a field-trip only facility during the week, they offer family shows on select Saturdays. Family show tours typically last an hour to an hour and a half, and include learning about the farm, hand feeding the butterflies, and access to the farm grounds. After the provided tour you can utilize the nature trails, play area, and picnic areas.

Tickets are $10 per person, with kids 2 and under free.

Emerald Hollow Mine

Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC

484 Emerald Hollow Mine Drive, Hiddenite
Emerald Hollow Mine in Hiddenite bills itself as the only emerald mine in the world open to prospecting. Visitors have three ways to look for emeralds and other gems: sluicing, digging and creeking. Tickets each cost $10 for kids (age 4-11) and $25 for adults. Different buckets for sluicing cost more.

Reed Gold Mine

9621 Reed Mine Rd, Midland
Reed Gold Mine is another attraction popular with young prospectors. It’s the site of the first documented gold find in the United States. It’s free to tour the mine, which is open for self-guided tours from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. If you’d like to pan for gold, you can do that between April and October, for $3 per pan. Reed Gold Mine hosts a unique Christmas event. Take a candlelit tour of the underground mine tunnels, which are decorated for Christmas.

Greensboro Science Center

4301 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro
The Greensboro Science Center is a combination zoo, aquarium, and museum. Exhibits throughout the center feature a pygmy hippo, red pandas, stingrays, life-size dinosaur models, and much more. OmniSphere shows are also included with your ticket. SkyWild zip line tours are also offered, for an additional cost. The Rotary Club of Greensboro Carousel is located on site, and tickets are $2 per ride or $10 for 7 rides.

Admission is $19.50 for adults 14-64, $17.50 for children ages 3-13, and $18.50 for seniors 65+.

Lazy 5 Ranch

Photo: Mace Publishing, LLC

15100 Mooresville Rd, Mooresville
If you want to get close to large animals–really, really close, especially to their mouths–Lazy 5 Ranch is the place for you. It’s home to more than 750 animals from six different continents. Feed them on a 3 1/2 mile safari-ride, which you can travel on a horse-drawn wagon or your own car. The wagon is more fun, but there’s something special about an elk sticking its head in your car window too. Admission is $11 for kids 2-11 and seniors, and $15 for adults. Admission and a wagon ride is $15 for kids 2-11 and seniors, and $21 for adults. Feed buckets are $3 each. Cash only. There’s also a picnic area and a playground.

Please also check out list of animal encounters throughout the Charlotte area. There are farms, preserves, petting zoos and more.

Drive-In Movies

There are two drive-in movies within an hour or so of Charlotte. More information about the drive-in movies near Charlotte.

Badin Road Drive-In, 2411 Badin Rd, Albemarle. Double features Friday, Saturday and Sunday. $7 per adult, $5 per child ages 6-11 and free for children under 6.

Hound’s Drive-In. 114 Raven Circle, Kings Mountain, NC. Friday, Saturday, Sunday. $20/carload.

Historic Brattonsville

1444 Brattonsville Rd, McConnells, SC
Historic Brattonsville is a living history site that tells the story of Scots-Irish and African-American people in the South Carolina upcountry. It features more than 30 historic structures from as early as the 1760s. Costumed interpreters demonstrate historical farming techniques and day-to-day activities. Also, explore Huck’s Defeat Battlefield Trail and the video documentary, and learn about one of the most important Revolutionary War battles in the Carolinas. General admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors 60+, $5 for youth 4-17, and free for 3 and under.

Carrigan Farms

Photo: Carrigan Farms

Carrigan Farms is 5th generation family farm in Mooresville. Charlotte area kids love visiting it to swim in the quarry in the summer, pick strawberries in the spring, go on hayrides to the pumpkin patch in the fall and much more. There are many activities at Carrigan Farms from spring to fall. When swimming in the quarry ($15 to $20 admission) life jackets are required for kids age 11 and under and recommended for everyone. If you pass a swimming test you aren’t required to wear one. The water is 25 feet deep.

Old Salem Museums & Gardens

900 Old Salem Road, Winston-Salem
The Old Salem Museums and Gardens is a historic site and museum exploring the stories of people, including the Moravian, Black, and Indigenous peoples, in the American South. Their museums include the historic town of Salem, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, and the gardens at Old Salem.

All-in-one tickets are $20 for adults, $12 for students/kids, and free for children 0-3 years old. Two-stop tickets are also available, and include access to two ticketed venues for $12 per adult, $10 per students/children, and free for children 0-3 years old.

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