Family Adventures in Highlands, NC: Zip Lines, Coasters, Gems and Rafting

Highlands is a small town, so a lot of the best kid stuff is close. Two adventure parks sit about 15 minutes south on NC 106, and the town pool, playgrounds and botanical garden are all walkable from the middle of town. Here is what works for which ages, and in which season.

In town, on foot

Highlands Recreation Park

The town’s recreation complex on North 4th Street has a covered pool open year round, a fitness center, tennis and pickleball courts, a playground and an outdoor skate park (bring your own wheels). Visitors can buy day passes for the pool and courts; call Parks and Recreation at 828-526-3556 for current hours and swim times.

Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park

The green in the middle of town, with picnic tables and public restrooms, next to several places for takeout. In warmer months it hosts the Saturday morning Highlands Market and an outdoor concert series in the evenings. In winter it turns into a small outdoor ice rink with rental skates.

Highlands Biological Station and Botanical Garden

The garden paths around Lake Ravenel are free, open dawn to dusk, and easy for small legs. Kids can do the Kids Hike Highlands Challenge, collecting four trail stamps for a prize. Summer nature day camps for ages 4 to 13 fill fast. The Highlands Nature Center building is closed for structural repairs through the end of 2026, so plan on the garden and grounds only. Then walk across the road to Sunset Rock.

Adventure parks on NC 106

Highlands Aerial Park

On Dillard Road in Scaly Mountain. The main zipline tour has 8 ziplines and 17 aerial elements, with lines up to 250 feet high and 1,550 feet long; plan on 1.5 to 2 hours. Younger kids can do Zippy’s Treetop Adventure, a one-hour course with suspension bridges and two small ziplines. There is also a night zip, a UTV tour and a giant swing (ages 5 and up, 48 inches and taller). Each activity has its own weight limits, so check them when booking. Reservations are strongly recommended, and groups get a discount.

Highlands Outpost

Also on Dillard Road in Scaly Mountain. The headline is the Scaly Mountain Screamer, a mountain coaster with more than 3,800 feet of track. Kids 3 to 6 must be at least 38 inches and ride with an adult. Ages 7 to 15 need to be 54 inches to ride alone, and riders must be 16 to carry a passenger. There is also a gem mine, trout fishing and summer tubing. In winter, snow tubing (age 4 and up, 42 inches and taller), ice skating and a small snow-play hill for ages 5 and under take over; the tubing season was set to open November 5. Walk-ins are welcome, and the online operations calendar has current hours.

Gem mining

Jackson Hole Gem Mine sits above the Cullasaja Gorge about 9 miles west of town on US 64. The flume is covered, so it works on rainy days, and it uses river sand instead of red clay, so kids come back cleaner. Highlands Outpost also has a gem mine if you’re there for the coaster.

Guided adventures

Rafting on the Nantahala

The Nantahala Outdoor Center near Bryson City runs fully guided 8-mile trips on Class II and III water from March through October. Riders must be at least 7 years old or weigh 60 pounds, and anyone 17 or under needs an adult on the trip. It takes about three hours including check-in, and the drive from Highlands is about an hour and a half each way, so make it a full day. The water is cold even in summer; ask about wetsuits.

Highland Excursion

Highland Excursion is a local, authorized national forest outfitter guide that runs private tours, many of them in open-air 4×4 trucks. Options include a Satulah Mountain trip, rainforest and waterfall tours, guided hikes and a kids’ tour to a gem mine or the Scaly Mountain coaster. The Satulah tour takes groups up to 38 people, with trucks seating 12. Their Bush Taxi service offers door-to-door evening transport; ask about pickup at your rental when you book.

Fishing with a guide

Brookings Anglers in Cashiers runs fly-fishing schools for beginners plus guided wade and float trips. A half-day lesson is a good way for a teenager and a grandparent to share something new. More in our fly fishing guide.

Making it work with a big family

• Split by age in the morning (zip lines for teens, the coaster and gem mine for little kids) and regroup at Founders Park for lunch.
• Book zip lines and rafting before you arrive. Walk-in spots are hard to find for 10 people at once.
• Let grandparents take the little ones to the garden and the pool, both walkable from Fairview House.