18 Best Day Trips from Charlotte – Charlotte On The Cheap

Village Park in Kannapolis

700 West C Street, Kannapolis, NC
Distance from Charlotte: 28 miles

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 $2. The park also features the Rotary Express train and a splash pad (both $2), a playground, picnic shelters, and lots of open space. The carousel and train are seasonal.

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.

And while you’re there, check out Kannapolis’ revitalized downtown, and spend the day!

North Carolina Zoo

4401 Zoo Parkway, Asheboro, NC
Distance from Charlotte: 90 miles

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 and treehouse trek play area, 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. The zoo also features a kid zone, which can be accessed for free.

Adult tickets are $15, and kids tickets are $11 for ages 2-12. Seniors (62+) and military members are admitted for $13.

Schiele Museum of Natural History

1500 E. Garrison Boulevard, Gastonia, NC
Distance from Charlotte: 21 miles

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.

The Schiele offers free admission to museum exhibits the second Tuesday of every month, from 4 to 8 p.m. Free admission includes the museum, the farm, and a special learning experience.

Otherwise, museum admission is $7 for adults and $6 for kids and seniors (65+), and the Farm admission is $3.

Catawba Science Center

243 Third Avenue NE, Hickory, NC
Distance from Charlotte: 57 miles

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 $14 and youth (3-17) and senior tickets are $12.

North Carolina Transportation Museum

411 S Salisbury Ave, Spencer, NC
Distance from Charlotte: 44 miles

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.

Morrow Mountain State Park

49104 Morrow Mountain Road, Albemarle, NC
Distance from Charlotte: 47 miles

Want a mountain view without driving all the way to Western North Carolina? Try Morrow Mountain State Park! It features hiking, camping, paddling, fishing, horseback riding, and swimming, but perhaps the most popular thing to do there is to drive up (or hike up, if you want a challenge) to the top and take in the stunning vista. Pack a picnic to enjoy!

It’s free to visit, but there are charges for some of the activities.

Dan Nicholas Park

6800 Bringle Ferry Rd, Salisbury, NC
Distance from Charlotte: 48 miles

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 $4/person. Gem buckets start at $10.

All-A-Flutter Farms

7850-B Clinard Farms Rd, High Point, NC
Distance from Charlotte: 91 miles

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 enjoy the nature trails, play area, and picnic areas. This is a springtime and summer destination only.

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

40 Acre Rock

2207 Conservancy Road, Kershaw, SC
Distance from Charlotte: 51 miles

Just an hour and a half southeast of Charlotte is a place that will make you think you traveled to the moon. 40 Acre Rock is a unique stone with large craters filled with water and plants found only at this location. The hike to the rock is a short one. You’ll walk .6 miles on a flat trail from the small parking lot directly to the rock. You can also hike to a waterfall.

Emerald Hollow Mine

484 Emerald Hollow Mine Drive, Hiddenite, NC
Distance from Charlotte: 60 miles

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, NC
Distance from Charlotte: 26 miles

Reed Gold Mine is another attraction popular with young prospectors. It’s the site of the first documented gold find in the United States. Self-guided tours of the mine are free. If you’d like to pan for gold, you can do that between April and October, for $3 per pan. Reed Gold Mine sometimes hosts seasonal activities, like a Candlelit Christmas Tour of the mine, or trick-or-treating in the mine.

Greensboro Science Center

4301 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro, NC
Distance from Charltote: 102 miles

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. Also in Greensboro are the Miriam P Brenner Children’s Museum and the International Civil Rights Center & Museum.

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

Lazy 5 Ranch

15100 Mooresville Rd, Mooresville, NC
Distance from Charlotte: 36 miles

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.

Historic Brattonsville

1444 Brattonsville Rd, McConnells, SC
Distance from Charlotte: 36 miles

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, and highlight the African American history of the site. 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

1213 Oak Ridge Farm Hwy, Mooresville, NC
Distance from Charlotte: 32 miles

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. Swimming at the quarry is a splurge, not a frugal activity, but it has to be mentioned here!

Old Salem Museums & Gardens

900 Old Salem Road, Winston-Salem, NC
Distance from Charlotte: 77 miles

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 $30 for adults, $16 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 $22 per adult, $10 per students/children, and free for children 0-3 years old.

Chimney Rock

743 Chimney Rock Park Road, Chimney Rock, NC
Distance from Charlotte: 95 miles

Chimney Rock at Chimney State Park is a popular tourist spot due to its 315-foot freestanding rock spire. It offers spectacular views and hiking trails. You can take an elevator, although there are 40 steps required to get to the very top.

Another major attraction in Chimney Rock State Park is Hickory Nut Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in North Carolina. It’s an incredible reward for a moderate hike.

Tickets are $17 for adults and $8 for ages 5-15. These spring and summer prices. Tickets are usually less in the winter.