Get outside for an adventure day at the Whitewater Center
We’re lucky that Lake Wylie Lodge is just a short drive away from a real treasure: the U.S. National Whitewater Center. This massive property offers the chance to go whitewater rafting on a manmade course, but there’s a lot there beyond the rafting: ziplines, rock climbing (including rock walls over a pool!), mountain biking, an off-leash dog area, and incredible playgrounds.
Our family spent a full day at the Whitewater Center this summer. Here’s what we learned from our experience.
Whitewater rafting
Whitewater rafting is open to kids starting at age 8. When our family arrived at the Whitewater Center in the morning, we booked our rafting adventure for later that day. We enjoyed the rest of the property, then headed over to the whitewater area where we got fitted in lifejackets and helmets and watched a short video training. Then we met our guide and the rest of our group and boarded the raft.
The family course took about an hour, and we did two loops on the man-made circuit. There were several fun rapids (Class II and III, so not too scary) and while we got wet, everyone on our raft from ages 8-80 stayed onboard.
A short conveyor belt takes your raft from the end of the course back up to the top, where you get to do all the rapids again.
This experience was a great introduction to rafting for our kids, and a good initial experience before trying a rafting experience in the wild.
Rock climbing
The Whitewater Center has a ton of rockclimbing and bouldering walls for all ability levels. The climbing areas were well-staffed, and all the staff was foced on safety, double- and triple-checking our harnesses and helmets before every climb.
Our 11-year-old especially loved the rock walls over big pools, where you can climb and then drop into the water.
Ziplining
The park has 6 different ziplines. The smaller ziplines are open, but the bigger ones require a reservation. The ziplines are a fun way to get a bird’s eye view of the whole property and beyond.
Wildwoods playground
We were surprised and impressed by the massive (and currently expanding!) Wildwoods area, the park’s wooded playground. There are no brightly colored plastic slides in sight — the whole playground feels like it was built by magical forest creatures. Picture multiple-story treehouses, lots of hiding places, hammocks, tunnels, and bridges.
We could have explored all day!
A tiny sliver of the massive Wildwoods playground
Food!
The food was also surprisingly good. There’s a sit-down restaurant (River’s Edge) and a counter-service option. We chose the quicker counter-service restaurant, and were all happy with our meals of chicken and pork skewers, mediterranean bowls, fries, and local craft beer for the adults.
Our family’s review: Two thumbs up! If you have a free day for an adventure (and you can tear yourself away from the peaceful lake views at Lake Wylie Lodge), check out the U.S. National Whitewater Center.
Back home to the best seats in the house: rocking chairs on the top deck at Lake Wylie Lodge
