It was very easy to find, the directions on their website were very clear. Once off the Interstate, it was a nice drive with some pretty scenery. The raptor center is within Latta Plantation nature preserve, which I will write more about later.
We were very impressed with the raptor center. It was just 10$ for me to get in, and Courtney was free because she is 4 years old. They have a nice little gift shop area and they also sell some snack foods and drinks. Outside there is a picnic area. We went on a weekday so unfortunately there were no flight shows or up-close type demonstrations to watch, but the self-guided tour of the center was fantastic. They provide maps of the layout which are helpful and prevent you from missing anything. The exhibits are very informative both about the species of bird you are viewing as well as the individual birds, how they came to CRC, and so on. We enjoyed reading the personal stories about the birds even though most of the stories were very sad. Raptor Center is a wonderful organization, this is not just a "zoo" - not a zoo at all, really. They rescue birds of prey who either require rehabilitation in order to be released back into the wild, or who, for various reasons, cannot be rehabilitated. We saw many birds who had been injured by cars and no longer able to fly, wing injuries, etc. the Raptor Center provides a place for these birds to live peacefully instead of dying a horrible death if they were left to their devices in the wild. I think everyone who knows me knows that owls are very near and dear to my heart, and it makes me so happy to know that there is an organization that helps owls (and other birds of prey too of course) in need of rescue, medical care, a place to live. Owls are magnificent creatures and I don't think enough people realize that. (Yes, I am aware how borderline crazy the last couple of sentences make me sound, but I don't care, I love owls!)
A highlight of our trip happened early on. We were looking at the Magpies and turned to walk away when I heard a female voice say "hi....". I thought someone must be talking to Courtney and so I turned to acknowledge the person. There was nobody there. I turned back around and again we heard "Hi.....". After a few confused moments, we discovered it was one of the birds talking!
The trails are very well-maintained and easy to navigate. No stroller was needed, it is a nice little stroll in the woods but not so long that a young child would become tired. It is also worth mentioning that they had very clean bathrooms. Maybe I'm a freak, but access to a bathroom is very important not just because I have a small child, but also because no matter where I am, I want to know there is a bathroom I can use. I'm a weirdo. So yeah, they have clean bathrooms.
Over-all we had a great time, well worth the money, educational, fun...a very enjoyable day!
After we were done at the raptor center, we decided to drive on to Latta Plantation. It was literally about 2 minutes down the road within the nature preserve. It is a 7$ fee for adults to tour the grounds including a guided tour of the house if you so desire. Children 5 and under are free. We thoroughly enjoyed touring the grounds. The provided map is again very helpful and informative...it definitely helped me to seem like I knew what I was talking about when Courtney asked me questions! We took our time walking along the farm, seeing the animals and various buildings. It is a very pretty area and I got some nice photos.
We decided to do the tour of the house since we were there already and there was a tour going at 2:00. It was informative, the guide was very knowledgeable on the history of the house and land. It was interesting for me, but a bit boring for Courtney, who was a good sport anyway. The house itself is not very impressive as plantation homes go, it does not "fit the mold" of the stereotypical plantation home, but it is still neat to stand in a structure that has existed for 200+ years. The stairs inside were rather steep and Courtney had trouble going back down the steps, so families with small children beware of that. A major downside for me was that inside the house no photos were allowed. I don't even know why, because the inside of the house was sparse and not all that interesting? All in all, I was glad we toured the house because we both came away having learned something....even though I think Courtney's most interesting fact about that house was that the family used chamber pots and had no indoor toilet :-P
*Talking of bathrooms, the welcome center does have bathrooms, but beware their seemingly haunted automatic flush toilets that kept randomly flushing over and over again? It was kind of spooky, there was no one else in there with us yet all the toilets, 5 or 6 of them, kept flushing over and over again.
There is also a small bathroom further along the grounds, in a small building which is also surprisingly clean, well-maintained, and heated. Why do I feel like I am talking way too much about bathrooms all of a sudden?
On the way out of the park, we stopped at the Nature Center, which is free to visit. It didn't have much but there were some interesting exhibits such as snakes, frogs, a large window for bird watching, etc. Courtney enjoyed it and the girl at the front desk was very friendly. They also had a large picnic area, access to hiking trails, and a vending machine.
We had a wonderful day out and I would recommend these destinations to anyone who wants to have a relatively inexpensive (but still fun) day out. We plan to go back in warmer weather and explore the walking trails!
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