Charlotte: Get The Kids Outside

While summertime temperatures still linger, today is the first day of autumn. We still are starting to think about sweatshirt weather when you can take the kids outside without being hot or too cold.

My kids are grown now, but when they were little, my husband and I took them camping a lot, and we also took them to public parks around the area.

Doing a little research, I came up with some great places you can take the kids to enjoy the outside: maybe jumping in some fall leaves, playing on playgrounds, or just playing catch with mom. There may be some new parks or play areas that you have not heard of yet here in the Charlotte area.

Let’s get away from the screens and the video games and take our kids outside. Here are some places that we found that you might love.

Check out the two playgrounds aimed at kids of various ages. Here you’ll find a big blue dinosaur for kids to climb, a swinging bridge, and multiple slides. Bring a soccer ball to kick around the fields.

You can park on the neighborhood street and enjoy the short walk on the paved sidewalk to the playground. There’s not much shade, so be sure to grab a hat. FYI: You can even pick up sandwiches from Lupie’s Cafe for a quick and tasty lunch or dinner.

Charlotte locals flock to this park. The spacious sprayground is an ideal locale to cool off and burn some energy while running between the water features. Bring your four-legged friend to explore the dog park or walk the paved and unpaved trail loops.

Three parking lots are located in front of the community garden, picnic shelters, and the Clarks Creek Nature Preserve, which is just a short walk away. Bathrooms are situated in between the playground and sprayground.

Tip - For some extra fun, head over to Frankie's Fun Park for food, arcade games, mini golf, go-karts, and air conditioning.

This park is just a few minutes away from Uptown Charlotte, Cordelia Park offers access to the scenic, pedestrian-friendly walking paths along the Little Sugar Creek Greenway. In addition to walking paths, this playground also features an outdoor pool, sprayground, and indoor park pavilion.

Cordelia Park is conveniently located between NoDa and the Mill District. Make a pitstop at Optimist Hall, a food hall with options for even the pickiest eater, for dinner and gelato at the end of a long day of play.