US Whitewater Center (CLT)

Pit,

This Saturday the girlfriend and I are heading to the US Whitewater Center down in Charlotte:

http://usnwc.org/

We've heard the whitewater rafting is obviously bawse, but it looks like they have a ton of other cool stuff to do - rock climbing, zip line, etc. - and I know we won't be able to do it all in one day.

That being said, has anyone been here before? Impressions? What of the activities were worth it, and which ones just weren't worth the time?

i go pretty frequently. if y'all mountain bike, the biking is good. the same trails are used for trail running, if that's your thing. for me, the actual rafting was really not worth it (the runs are pretty short. and when they tell you that you get 2 hours, that doesn't mean two hours of actual rafting. that includes a whole safety class and stuff. the actual rafting goes by REALLY fast). the climbing is decent. i've never been on the zipline.

i love going there, but most of the time i'm there to run and then just grab a beer and hang out by the water and watch people rafting. if you get food, the pimento cheese is really, really good. really all the food is good.

If you have a mountain bike take it. The trails there are good

I live about 5 minutes away and there is a ton of stuff to do. Like Hoops said, all the food is good and they have a great beer selection too. The trails are great, even if you just want to walk/hike.

They have bluegrass on Thursday nights, which is cool.

5 and 10k runs this Saturday at the NWC so plan accordingly.

lurkerdeac said:

5 and 10k runs this Saturday at the NWC so plan accordingly.

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Sounds like they are blocking off a couple of the trails for this.

I live really close to it and go over there a couple times a month just to hit the trails and hang out. I agree that the rafting is just okay, it's not like going on the Upper Gauley or anything. IMO, the whitewater kayaking is better than the rafting because you can circle back more and it is more challenging because you are lower in the water. Either way, watch the "floor" of the river, as it is all concrete and the water is pretty shallow so pretty easy to get scraped up if you fall out.

If you don't otherwise get to do it where you live, I would recommend the flatwater kayaking or paddleboarding as well. It's a fun way to spend a hot day. I haven't done the zipline yet myself, but hear that it's pretty cool. Going on a Saturday get there early, as it gets really crowded.

The Canopy Zipline Tour is pretty awesome and well worth the price.

iodeac said:

I live about 5 minutes away and there is a ton of stuff to do. Like Hoops said, all the food is good and they have a great beer selection too. The trails are great, even if you just want to walk/hike.

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part in bold is spot on