One week vacation with a 7 year old: Carrboro/CH or Raleigh or ??

[crewstopia]

I agree we aren't really a vacation destination, but that doesn't mean you can't find things to do for a week. You would be doing the things the locals do all year long, just squeezed into a shorter time.

I'd sacrifice walk ability, though, and stay in a hotel along I-40. Or maybe find an interesting house on VRBO. Then drive to one city each day and devote time to its museums - state museums in Raleigh, Life and Science and Duke Gardens in Durham, etc. Do a state park another day and Three Bears Acres, which your kid will love, if it's open. Maybe look for a theater performance or concert - there are many for kids.

[ncbeckster]

I'd suggest looking at a site like Tripadvisor and figuring out what you and your family would like to do. This area does have a lot of child friendly places. Downtown Raleigh has two free museums, one is a history museum and the other is a science museum. There is also Marbles Kids Museum. Then not too far from there is Pullen Park. There is also an Art Museum with a large park and walking trails.

Then you could also explore Durham with the Museum of Life and Science, Sarah Duke Gardens and other museums in Durham.

Chapel Hill has the planetarium that your seven yr old might like. Pittsboro has the Carolina Tiger Rescue. There is a zoo in Asheboro. There is a bird sanctuary in Scotland Neck that you could stop at on the drive down or the drive back as it isn't too far off I-95.

There is a lot to do in the area and surrounding areas, it just depends what you are looking for.

[toot68]

What a bunch of stick in the muds. If someone wants to hang out here for a week and check things out, there's tons of stuff for them to do.

Day long stuff
1) Carolina Tiger rescue - outside of pittsboro - need an advance reservation -non-profit that rescues of a variety of big cats that were kept as pets/abused etc. Very up close tour. Carolina Tiger Rescue - Home Page
2) Duke Lemur center - Durham - need an advance reservation. Research center holding several hundred lemurs. Duke Lemur Center
3) Museum of Life and Science-Durham
4) Museum of Natural History - Raleigh
5) Marbles - Raleigh
6) Kidzu - Chapel Hill
7) Morehead Planetarium - Chapel Hill

Playgrounds
1) Duke Park - Durham
2) Wilson Park- Carrboro (backs up to some wonderful hiking trails along bolin creek)
3) Pullen Park- Raleigh

Gardens
1) Duke Gardens - Durham
2) North Carolina Botanical Garden

Hikes
1)Duke Forest -Durham -along new hope creek very pretty
2) Crabtree lake - sailboats and canoes available
3) umstead park

Treats
1) Mapleview Dairy - outside chapel hill, working dairy
2) Locopops - Durham
3) Pelican's Snowballs - Durham (close by to Museum life and science)

Eats
1) Elmo's diner - Chapel Hill and Durham
2) Weaver Street Market - Carrboro

If you are in town on a saturday, or on weds Apr-Nov, Durham and Carborros Farmers markets are wonderful and Durham's in particular has nearby play area and lots of food trucks.

[rnc2mbfl]

For a seven year old in Raleigh, I can recommend the following:
Pullen Park. This is a perfect scale park for a kid that age.
Marbles Museum. Also check out the adjacent IMAX for any kid friendly shows.
Natural Sciences Museum + Nature Research Center (the most visited tourist place in NC). I'm not sure that other state museums would be of interest.
If your kid likes nature, you can also spend time at Umstead Park.
Frankie's Fun Park for arcades, games, bumper boats, go cars, putt-putt, etc.
Indoor city pools. There's one at Pullen Park so you can kill two birds with one stone.
I'd take a day trip to Durham as well and visit The Museum of Life and Sciences as Zitsky recommended.
In the end, while the Triangle is not a tourist destination, I think that there are plenty of things to keep a seven year old busy for much of the week.

[Dire Wolf]

I recommend spending a couple of days to check out the area, then move on to somewhere like Wilmington/Wrightsville, Myrtle Beach, Asheville or Blowing Rock that are all true vacation destinations.

Most of the parks, museums and the like in the Triangle are nice to haves for those of us that live in the area, but are not really much of a draw for a visitor.

[TarHeelNick]

I really enjoy living in the Triangle region and have for my whole life....I can't think of enough things to keep a family on vacation busy around here for a week. There's cool stuff to do and see in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill but not really a weeks-worth unless you have family/friends in the area that you'd also be visiting. NC isn't much for "urban tourism" more natural/resort tourism.

I agree with the people above that a good route to go would be to check out things like Morehead Planetarium/ UNC's campus (it's beautiful this time of year) in Chapel Hill; Museum of Life and Science in Durham, Marbles Kid's museum in Raleigh etc.....then head out to the beach or the mountains.

[tee el cee]

Thanks, all. We're shifting focus to Boston for this vacation.

[TarHeelNick]

Originally Posted by tee el cee

Thanks, all. We're shifting focus to Boston for this vacation.

That's a great idea! I went to a wedding in Boston around the timeframe you're going a few years ago and it was awesome. A ton of cool stuff to do in that city include fun history lessons for your kid!