Here’s the perfect way to earn prizes for exploring the great outdoors with your family. Kids in Parks is an incentive-based program from the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation designed to get kids away from screens and enjoying the outdoors. The best part – it’s FREE! So, enjoy a day of outdoor play while your kids earn prizes!

Kids in Parks: What’s it all about?

Here in the Upstate we are definitely blessed with a lot of breathtaking outdoor destinations. Unfortunately, with younger children in tow and the absence of a play structure, it’s hard to know how to make the most of those natural gems. If you find yourself heading out to just such a place, getting out of the car, soaking in the beauty, and then a few minutes later looking around and saying “ok, now what?” Here is the solution.

Kids in Parks is a user-friendly website that includes an always-expanding list of nationwide locations that are considered TRACK trails. It allows families to search for locations near their hometown or even for an out-of-town adventure. That includes 190 TRACK Trails in 12 states, Washington DC, and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation with dozens of locations just a short drive away in North Carolina and Congaree National Park in South Carolina.

How Kids in Parks Works

After a particular park is chosen, all you need to do is head out! Everything you’ll need will already be at the park waiting for you. Every TRACK trail Park has an information sign with activity brochures for you to take. Self-guided activities will turn what might have been viewed by young children as just a boring walk in the woods, into an educational adventure.

After you’ve completed one (or several) of the “Track Adventures” you can log on to the website from anywhere and begin logging your adventure. The process is very simple. You’ll need to create an account on the site that manages each child in the family. From there you’ll be able to track the children’s activities and what badges they have earned. It will even tell you how many miles have been hiked, based on the length of the trail you completed.

Children will receive the first of fifteen prizes after the first activity is logged! A pocket-sized trail tracker nature journal along with a trail tracker sticker unique to each official location or backyard adventure they log. Other prizes include a disc golf disc, putter disc, bike lights, and more.

e-Adventures for Kids In Parks Kids

Kids In Parks also offers an e-Adventure section of activities that kids can do from a smartphone or tablet. These activities allow children to still explore the environment around them in a new way and earn prize incentives.

Following Kids In Parks on social media and through e-mail subscription to their newsletter will provide your children with even more free resources to keep them busy and entertained – all for free.

Hiking Mount Mitchell With Kids In Parks

My family discovered this program on our first trip to Mt. Mitchell National park in Burnsville, North Carolina. This trip has become an annual event for my family.

Mt. Mitchell is breathtaking, and this is probably why it became one of our country’s first national parks. The summit is the highest point east of the Mississippi River at 6,684 feet above sea level. If I told you I hiked every year to the summit for my birthday you’d be impressed, wouldn’t you?

I’ll tell you a secret. 
The summit is very easily accessed by all. Makes for a great story though, you don’t have to disclose that last part if you go. I won’t tell anyone about our secret. From the summit platform you can see all the surrounding states, so don’t forget your camera.

Here’s a tip – turn your phone on airplane mode. There will not be a signal at the summit and your battery will go from hero to zero searching for one before the first photo is taken.

Mt. Mitchell has two “Track adventures,” called “Island In the Sky” and “Let’s Explore – ecoEXPLORE”. Due to the elevation of the mountain, its ecosystem is unlike anything at lower elevations. The drive of roughly two hours and fifteen minutes from the Upstate is worth it.

Places to Explore With Kids in Parks In South Carolina

Kidsinparks connects kids and families with their local, state, and national parks and public lands. Here are some places to explore in South Carolina.

The Congaree National Park is just south of Columbia and two hours from the Upstate. This park is busy during May and June, as it is a synchronous firefly viewing spot. The park, which covers over 20,000 acres of wilderness, can be explored by foot or paddle.

Musgrove Mill State Park is a beautiful outdoor destination that includes lots of territory to explore plus American history to share with your family.

McDowell Nature Preserve The McDowell Nature Preserve TRACK Trail follows an easy 1.2 mile loop that features scenic views of the creek and offers a close-up look at the diverse tree and plant species.

Reedy Creek Nature Preserve runs along the Dragonfly Pond Trail which follows the edge of Dragonfly Pond. The Dragonfly Pond Trail is a 1 mile loop through a mixed hardwood forest.

Wateree River Veterans Park follows the Freedom Trail, a 0.75-mile trail through the park and along the river. The southern side of the trail is fully paved and you can walk out on the fishing pier to observe the Wateree River.

Sesquicentennial State Park is an easy day trip from the Upstate and offers so many things to do. Enjoy camping, fishing, hiking, and even a splash pad at this unique State Park!

Landsford Canal State Park
The Catawba River and Landsford Canal State Park is home to the largest known stand of the rocky shoals’ spider lily, a flower species found predominantly in the Southeast. Activities in the park include picnicking, nature watching, and studying the canal structures. Fishing is permitted along the Catawba River, and a paddling trail runs through the park for canoes and kayaks

Table Rock State Park is one of our area’s premier hiking destinations. Offering beautiful waterfalls, swimming holes, and trails from the leisure to the strenuous, all nestled in an incredible mountain forest setting. At just 30 miles from downtown Greenville, this park would make a great day trip for your next family adventure.

TRACK Trail Locations In North Carolina

On your way to Mount Mitchell in North Carolina, you can also stop at TRACK trail locations in the surrounding area. The Asheville Visitor center on the Blue Ridge Parkway was the very first TRACK trail, installed in 2009 and it’s a perfect stop on your way to the mountain.

Several locations are within an attraction that requires an entry fee. Some of these include:

• Chimney Rock State Park
• Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
• North Carolina Arboretum

These venues having TRACK trail activities are great if you were already planning on going, but please don’t think that to participate you need to spend money.

Just to the north of us in Tryon, North Carolina is a TRACK trail park. Woodland Park is a moderate trail that winds through the forest and past a waterfall. It also includes what has been one of my favorite “track adventures” – “Hikin’ to find Lichen.” We had a blast searching and hunting for all different kinds of algae and fungi along the trail. My tip for this location is to leave the stroller in the car. The path is narrow and not stroller friendly.

North of Boiling Springs in Rutherfordton, North Carolina their Historic Main Street is a TRACK trail location. Probably one of the few if not the only trails that guide you through city streets. Here you will walk in the footsteps of revolutionary war soldiers, view historic landmarks and even see the location where the nation’s first $1 gold coin was minted.

Earning Prizes On A Bike or With Disc Golf Activities

Aside from the regular TRACK Trail incentives you can earn, there are two more sets of unique prizes that can be earned by visiting the TRACK Trail bike and disc golf locations. Unfortunately, there aren’t any biking TRACK trails near the upstate. However, if you’re planning a summer trip near Asheville, there are a few disc golf locations in that area.

Explore Close to Home

One of the many things my family loves about this program is that you don’t have to travel any further than your own backyard to participate in it. The TRACK Trail adventure brochures are available online as printable PDF files. If you follow “Kids in Parks” on social media, I’ve seen them post additional TRACK trail brochures. You can utilize all of these in your backyard or your favorite local park.

Places locally my family likes to enjoy an adventure are the Tyger-10 nature park, Lake Cooley, and the Milliken Arboretum, all located in Spartanburg.

I’m so excited to share it with everyone because I really can’t say enough good things about it.

Special Days for Outdoor Play!

• Kids to Parks Day: National Park Trust– Hosted annually on the third Saturday of May, this nationally recognized event is a great way to connect kids and families with their local state and national parks. Public Lands are also highlighted to explore.
• National Play Outside Day: Recognized as the first Saturday of every month, this day is an encouraging day for outdoor adventures with family!

Which park will your family visit to earn prizes?