Things to Do With Children in and near Indian Trail, NC

Parks

• Crossing Paths Park is a facility located in the center of town. It serves as a hub for community events and festivals, and provides amenities for recreation. It has a playground, picnic areas, an amphitheater, walking paths, open grassy areas and public art. Eighteen miles from Indian Trail in Jackson is Cane Creek Park. It is a 1,050 acre recreational area with a mid-size lake. Kid-friendly activities include, fishing, boating, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, picnicking, camping, sports, playgrounds and horseback riding.

Game and Sport Centers

• Only four miles north of Indian Trail in Matthews is AMF Carolina Lanes. It not only offers 56 lanes of family bowling, but it also has racing simulators, arcade games, billiards, shuffleboard and a snack bar. Kate's Skating at Indian Trail is a roller skating rink providing a variety of fun activities. It has open skate sessions, skating lessons, a competitive speed-skating team and a large arcade room. There are special events throughout the week including Friday family fun night, where you can get a package deal including skating, pizza and soda.

Arts and Science

• Indian Trail has a Cultural Arts Center offering art classes for all ages. The center offers a variety of classes, programs and workshops in dance, drama, music and the visual arts. Sixteen miles from Indian Trail in Charlotte is the Discovery Place. Here, your kids can interact with the many hands-on exhibits such as the science lab, live animal habitats, the building center, the animal grossology area, where you kids can learn about the gross things animals do, and the 3-D theater. There are also guided tours that include an aquarium feeding tour and a composting demonstration.

Nature and Wildlife

• Seventeen miles from Indian Trail in Charlotte is the Charlotte Nature Museum. Here, your kids can have all sorts of fun experiences such as walking through the butterfly garden, hiking through a 100-year-old forest, visiting with native animals, presenting their own puppet shows and discovering the life cycles of animals. To learn even more about nature, take your kids to the campus of the University of Charlotte to see the Botanical Gardens, which are open for visits and tours. Bring along a magnifying glass to get an up-close look at the tropical greenhouse plants as well as native flora and vegetation because at the Botanical Gardens, visitors are allowed to touch and smell the plants.