Carolina Raptor Center

Charlotte


A pleasant woodland stroll within the Latta Plantation Nature Preserve leads past aviaries holding predatory birds that have suffered injuries – you may come across volunteers taking a vulture for a walk. En route you’ll learn about the ‘disgusting habits’ of black vultures, that bald eagles aren’t really bald – they’re white – and that owls are ‘not the brightest of birds.’


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Charlotte attractions

1. Historic Latta Plantation

0.71 MILES

This 19th-century cotton plantation occupies a small corner of a scenic nature preserve, a dozen miles north of Uptown Charlotte. Exhibits in the visitor…

2. Sullenberger Aviation Museum

8.64 MILES

The Sullenberger Aviation Museum, honoring Captain Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger III, is located at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

3. Romare Bearden Park

9.45 MILES

This small park celebrates the African American artist and writer Romare Bearden, born in Charlotte in 1911. A pretty spot to admire the Uptown skyline or…

4. Discovery Place Science

9.47 MILES

Illustrating simple scientific principles with eye-catching displays, Discovery Place is targeted largely at kids. It centers on a steamy rainforest that…

5. Levine Museum of the New South

9.57 MILES

Tracing the story of the ‘New South’ that emerged from the ashes of the Civil War, this committed museum explores the years of Reconstruction, Jim Crow…

6. Bechtler Museum of Modern Art

9.59 MILES

An Uptown landmark, thanks to sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle’s huge mirror-tiled Firebird out front, this showcase for 20th-century art was donated to the…

7. Mint Museum Uptown

9.59 MILES

A stunning modernist edifice tucked between mighty skyscrapers, the Uptown portion of Charlotte’s Mint Museum consists of two distinct halves. One makes a…

8. Harvey B Gantt Center

9.63 MILES

This thriving Uptown art museum was named in honor of former city mayor and civil rights champion Harvey Gannt. Its three small galleries host changing…