Let's head to Charlotte, where if you have some energy to burn this weekend, the Whitewater Center is the place to be.

[groovy music] - The Whitewater Center was founded here in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2006.

The Whitewater Center is a 1300 acre outdoor facility.

We offer activities, so you can go rafting, you can go biking, you can do high ropes courses, zip lines, trail running, mountain biking, whitewater kayaking, as well as flat water kayaking.

We offer races, events, festivals.

We have a full service restaurant, beer garden, great place to spend the day.

- Charlotte's growing so much.

One, the economy.

We have a lot of folks with 1.3 million visitors.

It's the second largest tourist destination in the Carolinas, so it brings a lot of economic development to Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, as well as Gaston County.

And I think it's an important piece, as it helps people get off the couch and get outside.

- I think the White Water Center is such an important piece of the community here in Charlotte.

It's something that we're all proud to have in our backyard.

It's also something that we're proud to show people who come to visit us from out of town.

And when we spend time outside, that's when we're at our best.

It's when we can learn new things about ourselves.

It's when we can test ourselves and grow and try new things.

It's a place where you can challenge yourself in a controlled environment, and it's a place you can come together with your friends and family.

And I think that sort of gathering space is something that we're really proud to have here in Charlotte.

[upbeat music] Whitewater Center is home to the world's largest manmade whitewater river and we have two different channels that are really specific to different kinds of activities.

Our wilderness channel is great for your introduction to whitewater rafting.

It's a great place for families to learn how to whitewater raft.

You can also whitewater kayak and there's some great play waves in that channel as well.

And then we have our Olympic length competition channel, which is designated for both whitewater rafting as well as the Olympic sports of canoe, of kayak, and slalom disciplines.

- It's manmade, it's controlled, so you're not dealing with strainers and other natural hazards that you would be on a natural river, which makes it pretty valuable for people that are intimidated to either go rafting or learn to whitewater kayak because of those elements.

[jazzy upbeat music] - So a lot of my friends have talked about it before, I've just never been able to join them, so to be able to experience it today was so exciting and it was so much fun.

To be honest, I was kind of scared, but coming here, I felt more secure and safe.

- This is my first visit to do activities.

I've come twice to do a juvenile diabetes walk with my friends and I have never done anything here.

I was terrified and I absolutely loved it.

And then I was ready to go all-in and do all the scary stuff.

[laughs] Now that I've been and experienced it, the fear of the unknown is gone.

Before I never wanted to come because I thought there's no way that I would be able to do it physically.

And now, I don't know what held me back all these years just because they're, they look like they know what they're doing.

There's a lot that are probably doing the same thing as me and just learning as they go.

And it's really easy once you get the hang of it.

[jazzy upbeat music] - It's one of a kind.

I think the biggest piece is it lowers the barrier of entry for folks.

So a lot of outdoor activities can be pretty intimidating.

And so we bring that and try to lower the barrier for people to try to dip their toes in the sand and give it a shot before going out into real white water in Western North Carolina or rock climbing.

- The staff here has been absolutely amazing and accommodating.

You know, it makes you feel very safe here, especially for somebody that's never done it before.

So everybody's super nice.

- Yeah, I felt super safe the whole time.

It was very fun.

It was mild most of the time with a few scary spots, but that I loved, more than I thought I would.

I thought I would be really scared and I was, I felt very safe but that was because of our guide.

- The Whitewater Center is open 365 days a year, all year long, so we're open all year long if you want to come and see us.

One of my favorite things to tell people is the Whitewater Center's just a great place to come and hang out, even if you're not doing activities.

You can come hike the trails, walk the dog, even go for a run out here without actually buying an activity pass.

Of course, if you want to come back and do activities with us, we'd love to have you as well and we have a great number of activities that you can do out here.

- The US National White Whitewater Center is at 5,000 Whitewater Center Parkway in Charlotte and they're open daily.

To purchase your pass, visit them online at whitewater.org or give them a call at [704]391-3900.