Destinations
The Triangle area has lots of great places to go with kids! This list includes Durham destinations as well as those within a few hours' drive. Our Favorite Parks are listed on a separate page.
Indoor Fun Around Durham
- Museum of Life & Science: fantastic place to play, for ALL ages. Really! Wednesday afternoons are free for Durham residents. Excellent outdoor playground; butterfly house; animals; train rides. PLUS the museum. They also offer classes, parties, and summer camp programs.
- Little River Family Resource Center: MANY family programs. Kidsville is an early learning center for children 0-5 years (older kids like it too). Library of books, videos, and CD-ROMS; art center, block play, Imagination Station, and fish.
- Durham County Library has excellent children's programs, including performers and storytime.
- Pump It Up has warehouse-size rooms full of inflatable castles, slides, obstacle courses, and more. Hour-long play sessions a few times a week.
- Streets at Southpoint Mall: enclosed toddler/preschooler play area beside food court; family restrooms and nursing rooms nearby. Barnes & Noble has Thomas trains in their children's book area. Interactive fountain outside the movie theater. Check the mall's online calendar for performances and family activities.
- Alas, Busy Street at the Shoppes of Lakewood closed a few years ago. It's sadly missed.
Outdoor Fun Around Durham
- Ganyard Hill Farm: fall fun with farm animals, hayrides, pumpkins, giant haystack, corn mazes.
- Jordan Lake State Recreation Area: lots of different sites, from boating to beaches. Easy walking trails accessible from NC-751: a trailhead just north of the bridge, and a wildlife observation area south of the bridge (both on the west side).
- Lake Michie and Little River Lake also have recreation areas.
- West Point on the Eno: scenic and historic 388-acre park along a two-mile stretch of the Eno River, 6 miles north of downtown Durham. Activities and classes year-round, plus the Festival for the Eno on July 4 weekend.
- Schoolhouse of Wonder at West Point Park runs environmental education programs and camps for children throughout the year.
- RDU Airport Observation Park: watch airplanes take off and land, and listen to the tower talk. Plus there's always a breeze.
- Duke Gardens is a beautiful place to walk or play, and they offer programs for children. (Great classes for adults too!)
- American Tobacco Trail is a 22+ mile rails-to-trails project running through Durham, Chatham and Wake Counties. The 7+ mile stretch from downtown Durham to NC-54 is paved and excellent for biking, walking and rollerblading. Nice and flat for beginning cyclists.
- Tobacco Trail Bicycle Rentals operates from Solite Park on nice weekends, renting bikes for kids and for grownups, tandem bikes, and kid trailers too.
- Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area: while "mountain" might be stretching the point, this is one of the most beautiful spots around. Hike up to a 300-foot cliff overlooking Hillsborough. Not well protected for the littlest hikers; be extra vigilant!
- Pick-Your-Own Fruit: there are several places. Check
PickYourOwn.org for an incomplete list.
- Jean's Berry Patch: Strawberries. South of Durham, on NC-751 a few miles south of NC-54.
- Herndon Hills Farm: Blackberries, Blueberries, Muscadine Grapes. Barbee Rd at Massey Chapel Rd, south of Durham, near Southpoint Mall. 919-544-3313, farm(atnospam)murphydatasystems.com
- Bacon Farm: Strawberries. On St. Mary's Road, about halfway between Guess Rd and Hillsborough (north and west of Durham).
- Waller Farms: Strawberries. On Kerley Rd near the intersection with Erwin Rd (west of Durham).
Elsewhere In the Triangle
- Kidzu Children's Museum, Chapel Hill: a fun interactive play & learning space for kids 0-8. NEW! Opening March 7, 2006.
- Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh: general admission is free; charge for special exhibits.
- Exploris Interactive Museum, Raleigh: exhibits, activities, and IMAX theater.
- PlaySpace Children's Museum, Raleigh: super play-place for kids age 0-8. Climbing, dress-up, water play (bring extra clothes!), props for all kinds of pretend play, big fishtank, and a separate play area for babies. Classes and "Parents Night Out" too.
- Hill Ridge Farms, east of Wake Forest. Farm animals, train rides, a giant slide, gemstone panning, maze, old-timey exhibits, hayrides & pumpkins in fall. Targeted to the six-and-under set.
- Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in southern Cary: beautiful nature trails (yes, real hemlocks) and a nice Nature Center.
- Morehead Planetarium, Chapel Hill: multimedia star shows, varied exhibits, year-round programming for all ages.
- Ackland Art Museum, UNC, Chapel Hill: free admission to see works of art from around the world. "Adventure Sundays" free family art tours, 2pm every Sunday (recommended for ages 5-9.)
- Meadowmont Pool: 301 Old Barn Lane, off NC-54 in eastern Chapel Hill. A very nice private pool (part of the Meadowmont development) with a sloping "beach" perfect for toddlers and a water slide for the bigger kids. Adults pay $8 admission; toddlers must wear rubber pants if not potty-trained.
- Silver Lake Water Park, 5300 Tryon Road south of Raleigh. All sorts of activities in and out of the lake.
- Jumpin' Jupiters in Raleigh has closed. Sadly missed!
- Triangle Metro Zoo in Wake Forest has closed as well.
Further Away
- NC Zoo, Asheboro (beyond Greensboro, and NOT Asheville). Bring wheels! The animal habitats are large and widely spaced. An excellent and very scenic zoo. Informative website too.
- Old Salem excellent historical attraction in Winston-Salem. Living history in the old Moravian town of Salem; Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts; Toy Museum and Children's Museum. Be sure to sample the sugar cake.
- Emerald Pointe Water Park, Greensboro. Huge park with water activities for all ages. Pricey, but very fun; perfect outing for multiple families with different-aged kids. AAA discounts for tickets bought in advance.
- New Hope Valley Railway, Bonsal (between Raleigh and Sanford). Take your young railfan for a ride on a real steam engine. Trains run on first Sundays; a 1-hour round trip between Bonsal and New Hill. Christmas Trains in December.
- NC Transportation Museum, Spencer, NC (beyond Greensboro). Train depot, antique autos, and roundhouse with 25 locomotives and other exhibit areas. Seasonal train rides and special events including "A Day Out With Thomas" several times a year.