Rapids and Ropes

Last weekend, TwoDog Outdoors ventured up to Charlotte, NC to experience the National Whitewater Center (WWC). The WWC sits on 1,300 acres and has over 40 miles of trails available to run, bike, or walk. The facility also has several ropes courses, multiple climbing walls (one is free-climbing over a pool), yoga center, several zip lines, and two different whitewater rapids courses. It would be easy to spend the entire day here and not participate in every activity the center offers. 

Pro Tip: Buy Day Passes online to skip the lines. 

Arriving at the Center

When we arrived at the center, we decided to structure our day around the whitewater rafting trip. Reservations were needed but easy to make at the rafting center, and employees were readily available to point us in the right direction. Rafting is included in the day pass, but on a first come basis. Since it was a bit cooler, we decided to schedule the trip for the afternoon. When booking a reservation for rafting, if you don’t want the first time slot a $5 fee per person is required to change the time to later in the day. 

Pro Tip: Make rafting reservations when you first arrive at the center for the middle of the day, and bring water shoes and a change of clothes, you will get wet. 

Checking out the rapids

Next, it was time to test our ropes course skills while we waited for our rafting time slot. After getting fitted for our harnesses and a quick safety talk, we were quickly in the air ziplining and challenging our balance as we dangled in the trees. The lines to ropes courses can get backed up, especially on busy afternoons or weekends. On the next trip, we will go to the longer ropes course over the river first before the crowds arrive. Although the courses do not have an age requirement, they do have a weight restriction between 45-265 pounds. 

First Course of the Day

After a morning of ropes, we ate lunch at the Trail Center which included chicken fingers for Julie and pulled pork tostadas for the rest of us. The portions were large and filling, and we were pleasantly surprised at the prices. After lunch, it was time for one more short ropes course before our whitewater trip. 

The whitewater is divided into a “family friendly” course of class 2 and 3 rapids or “adventure rafting” that includes class 3 and 4 rapids. Since TwoDog’s kids are adrenaline junkies, we opted for the adventure course. Before climbing into a boat, we watched a short video on safety and were paired with our guide, David. David has been working at WWC for a year and a half and had a thorough knowledge of each rapid. He did a great job of making the experience fun for the kids while keeping us safe. We learned how to spin the raft in a 360 while plummeting down class 2-3 rapids and “surfing” the raft, which pretty much means as much water as possible will soak the two squealing kids in the front of the boat (they loved it). We finished up the course by barreling down the class 3-4 rapids, which were the biggest rapids our kids had seen. Their eyes were the size of saucers when our boat started the course and each bump and jolt was met with squeals. The whole rafting experience lasted about an hour from safety talk to drying off. 

Last Pro Tip: Rent a bin to store a change of clothes and personal items. We switched our clothes and shoes multiple times and there is only a single charge for the entire day.  

After a quick snack, we made an afternoon reservation for the Double Down Zipline which takes participants over the whitewater course twice and is the longest zipline at the park. While waiting, our kids jumped off a 100 foot platform (while tethered using the ropes course harness) that allowed them to free fall until they got 20 ft off the ground, and somehow they talked their dad into it too. 

100 feet is a long way up

The National Whitewater Center was much bigger than I had anticipated and even on a holiday weekend didn’t feel crowded. Over lunch, our crew decided it was the Disney World of Adventure Sports. The center has something for everyone and is a great way to learn about a new outdoor sport without having to leave the city. For more information or to buy tickets, visit their website whitewater.org.