The past few years we’ve taken a cruise in the winter but with the current situation (i.e. Cruise ships shut down) we decided to do something different with one of my husband’s vacation weeks this year! We took a week of day trips. We went to the beach and went parasailing and then for one day we decided to head over to the U.S. National WhiteWater Center in Charlotte, NC.
They offer SO Much more than just whitewater adventures.
- Whitewater Rafting
- Ziplines
- Flatwater Kayaking
- Deep Water Solo (rock climbing wall and jump into the pool)
- Rock Wall Climbing
- Rope Courses
- Whitewater Kayaking
- Mountain Biking
They even offer ice skating in the winter time!
They offer all access day passes for $59 a person, a two-day pass for $109 and an annual pass for $219.
If you only want to do ONE activity you can pay for a single activity for a slight discount. For example- rafting is $49/day and climbing is $25/day and ziplining is $49/day. But you get the biggest bang for your buck for the all access pass.
There are a few upgrades to the day pass you can opt for.
- Figure 8 and Double Down (the larger ziplines) are $10/person upgrade. TOTALLY worth it.
- Rodeo Rafting (upgrade fee)
Here are a few things I wish I knew before we arrived.
- Wear water shoes. Get ones with really good rubber soles so you don’t have to constantly swap out shoes. As long as they are closed toe you can use them for all of the activities. Look for ones with good soles because many of the walkways are gravel and thin soles can hurt. If you switch from water activities to aerial ones you won’t have to switch in and out of sneakers.
2. Rent a $12 bin. You can get a locker for $2 but it is a one time use so only use that if you have no plans to open it up the entire day. For $12 you can have a bin all day to get things in and out off. You’ll get a lanyard with a bin # and just go back to the guest services and they will pull it out and let you put things in and out of it. Trust me…you need this…..because you cannot take ANYTHING on the activities. On the rafting – you will get SOAKED so you don’t want your wallet and phone getting wet (or lost!).
We kept everything in the bin and went back multiple times throughout the day. If you chose not to get a locker or a bin you can leave your bag outside the departure spots but no one will watch it or keep it safe for you.
3. Get a waterproof phone lanyard. You aren’t allowed to have anything “loose” on any of the activities and there really isn’t anywhere to safely keep it except the bin or attached to you. I wish I had one of these so I could have taken pictures of the kids right after battling some TOUGH water rapids 🙂 or landing the highest zipline! Shop lanyards here.
4. The restaurant is ok. It’s not amazing…but it’s pretty good. (p.s. the Southern Fried Chicken Sandwich is HUGE). The prices aren’t amazing but they aren’t ridiculous either and 100% better than what you would get at Carowinds and a LOT cheaper too.
You can buy bottled water or sodas at the trading posts and SHOCKER- they were only $2. I guess I’m so used to theme parks where a tiny little bottle of soda seems to cost $8. The best part? You can bring your own reusable water bottles so do that and save a bunch of money.
5. The zipline upgrade is TOTALLY worth it. It was an extra $10/person on top of the day pass but OH so worth it. The views from the top of the trees was so beautiful. And the ride was a rush.
6. It’s FREE to get in! You only have to pay if you intend to participate in the activities. I LOVE this because I am sure that there are times that people want to go to the park but NOT pay $59 to just sit and observe! I love that you can sit under a shelter and watch or walk the trails for free.
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