Gift Guide: Local adventure parks offer experience gifts

WRAL contributor shares details about two local adventure parks that would be great for experience gifts this year.

Posted 1:30 p.m. Dec 8, 2021 — Updated 1:30 p.m. Dec 8, 2021

Tandra Wilkerson

, WRAL contributor

RALEIGH, N.C. — Has giving the gift of an experience versus something tangible ever crossed your mind? I think it's a wonderful idea! And one I'll be incorporating more often.

Maybe you're a thrill seeker or someone in your circle holds the title. Perhaps venturesome activities are more meaningful than items wrapped in festive paper and pretty bows.

If you live by the "cold weather just makes things better" code, I'm sharing a couple of adventurous places to check out right now. Hey... if Santa can make his way into town, you can get out there, too! That's what coats, hats, and gloves are for after all. Considering the above average temperatures we're currently experiencing, you may not need them at all.

First up is TreeRunner Adventure Park. We had a really fun day there. As self-proclaimed adventurers who aren't thrilled with heights, this definitely pushed us out of our comfort zones. Totally worth it to head home afterwards with greater confidence.

There are ropes courses and zip lines with varying levels of difficulty. There's also a junior park for the little ones. My daughters had a blast!

TreeRunner Adventure Park, located at 12804 Norwood Road in Raleigh, has camping, too, and can be rented to host events. The best thing about visiting now are the holiday deals mentioned on their site. There are discounts to take advantage of people so don't miss out.

It has been a few years since our last visit. However, if you'd like to know more about our experience, read this post. I take you through our whole check-in process, exactly what we did, and what was offered in detail. To see us in action and hear what we had to say about our visit, watch the vlog from that day below:

Be sure to visit their site or call for more up-to-date information about this place.

WRAL contributor Tandra Wilkerson and her family explore TreeRunner Adventure Park

Next up, Xtreme Park Adventures. It's been roughly the same amount of time since our last visit. This park has escape rooms, obstacle courses, paintball, gem mining and much more.

Our chosen family activity was gem mining. We found amazing crystals and sharks teeth that we still display in our home. While there, we also got a tour of the grounds and learned of upcoming projects adding even more enjoyment to the park. A few years have passed so I'm curious to see what's new!

All the details about our gem mining session and our time at the park can be found in this post.

Want to see it firsthand? Watch the vlog below:

Visit the park's website for current information about events and activities. Xtreme Park Adventures is located at 7460 Highway 98 Wake Forest Road in Durham.

I hope you're able to give the gift of experience to at least one family member, friend or even yourself. There are many free things to do out there as well. Choose whatever appeals to you.

If you decide on either of these parks, you won't be disappointed. It's a chance to challenge yourselves to do something new and simultaneously support North Carolina businesses. Now that's an out-of-the-box gift idea in time for the holidays.

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