Reedy Creek Park Playground

If you haven’t been out to Reedy Creek, you’re honestly missing one of the better park setups in Charlotte. The Carolina Panthers-themed obstacle and racing course is the real draw — kids go absolutely nuts for it, and it’s genuinely more interesting than your standard playground fare. There’s also a solid climbing structure and swings for the littles, plus picnic tables if you want to make a full afternoon of it. The trails wind through the woods and out toward the lake, so once the kids burn off some energy you can actually take a decent walk without getting back in the car. Good for a two-year-old, good for a teenager — not many spots can pull that off.