Kids Central

Photo courtesy of City of Asheville

Congratulations, you’ve made it to Asheville — with the kids! With these tips below, you’ll have a bevy of ideas up your sleeve to keep everyone engaged and entertained for your entire stay.

The Great Outdoors

There are plenty of opportunities to get the kids outside and have some fun — whether they’re the adventurous sort or take a more mellow approach to outdoor activities.

The intrepid may be intrigued by our nearby zip line courses: In town, Adventure Center of Asheville offers fun for younger kids (ages 4-10) through adults, while Navitat Canopy Adventures in nearby Barnardsville offers tours that are likely more appropriate for older kids and teens (along with adults) who meet the weight requirements.

Asheville boasts three climbing gyms with indoor and outdoor options: Climbmax in downtown, the Smoky Mountain Adventure Center in West Asheville and Riveter in Fletcher.

Smoky Mountain Adventure Center

Photo courtesy of Climbmax @climbmaxnc

If you have a skateboarder in tow, you may want to check out the Food Lion Skatepark, a public outdoor skate park near downtown, or the privately owned RAD Skatepark, an indoor spot in the River Arts District.

Every part of town has playgrounds, though some spots offer more elaborate structures than others:

• North Asheville’s Jones Park

• West Asheville’s Carrier Park

• Arden’s Jake Rusher Park

• In the Black Mountain area, Montreat’s Robert Lake Park

If the kids are hankering for a round of mini-golf, the Asheville area has you covered, too, with three outdoor venues to choose from: Lakeview Putt and Play, Play Staytion and Tropical Gardens Mini Golf.

In the warmer months, water fun can include dashing through the fountains at Splasheville downtown or a dip in the area’s public pools. (More info on playgrounds and pools can be found on the Asheville Parks and Recreation and Buncombe County Recreation Services websites.)

For some in-town and nearby hikes, check out:

• The N.C. Arboretum

• the Botanical Gardens at Asheville

• the Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary

• the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Asheville Visitor Center TRACK Trail (milepost 384)

All these places offer manageable trails for families. The TRACK Trail is part of the Kids in Parks program (kidsinparks.com), which includes info, maps and incentives to get children excited about outdoor recreation.

You can also combine a nature stroll with some up-close encounters with wild animals native to our region at the WNC Nature Center, a multiyear winner of best Daytrip for Kids, as voted by Mountain Xpress readers.

Depending on the season, your children also may be able to visit a local farm, pick berries or apples at a U-pick establishment or challenge their sense of direction at a local corn maze.

Fun and Games

The Asheville area also has plenty of indoor options for fun as well, including two trampoline parks in the South Asheville area (Launch and Sky Zone), two bowling alleys in East and West Asheville (AMF Star Lanes and Sky Lanes), indoor play centers (Asheville’s Fun Depot and Mountain Play Lodge, both in South Asheville), pinball at the Asheville Pinball Museum and the state’s first board game café, Well Played, both downtown.

Kids who get jazzed about science will likely be interested in the Asheville Museum of Science downtown, a regular winner of best Museum for Kids as voted by Mountain Xpress readers.

Meanwhile, art lovers might enjoy the hands-on activities offered at the newly reopened Asheville Art Museum or a paint-your-own pottery session at local studios Claying Around or Fired Up! Creative Lounge.

If you’re looking for some adults-only time in the evenings, many local organizations host regular parents’ nights out at settings ranging from gyms to martial arts studios and more.

Then, too, this being Beer City USA, you might want to bring your kids along to a family-friendly brewery (which may include outdoor space and lawn games).

In fact, the options for family fun are so numerous that you just might have to start planning your next trip.