Our friends over at Scoop Charlotte assembled a list of the best corn mazes near Charlotte. Which one have you been stuck in? See them in order of opening dates 

Apple orchards within 2 hours of Charlotte (List provided by CharlotteAgenda) 
NOTE: Many orchards are cash only. Apple availability updated as of August 11, 2017. Call ahead to confirm availability.

Sky Top Orchard

• Location: Flat Rock, NC
• Distance from Charlotte: 2-hour drive
• 2017 season opening: August 9
• Picking Schedule: Click here
• Currently available: Early Mac, Gala, Ginger Gold
• Available soon: Check the ripening schedule
• Apple cider doughnuts? YES
  

Windy Hill Orchard & Cider Mill

• Location: York, SC
• Distance from Charlotte: < 1 hour-drive
• 2017 season opening: U-pick season opening estimated early September (they’re predicting very limited 2017 season); Hard Cider Bar opens August 18; Farm Stand opens August 24
• Picking Schedule: Click here
• Apple cider doughnuts? YES (they also serve hard cider)

Carrigan Farms

• Location: Mooresville, NC
• Distance from Charlotte: 45-minute drive
• 2017 season opening: September
• Picking schedule: Click here
• Apple cider doughnuts? No

Apple Hill Orchard

• Location: Morganton, NC
• Distance from Charlotte: 1.5-hour drive
• 2017 season opening: August 11
• Picking Schedule: Click here
• Currently available: Gala, Arlet
• Coming soon: Honeycrisp (August 19); see full harvest calendar
• Apple cider doughnuts? YES

Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard

• Location: Hendersonville, NC
• Distance from Charlotte: 2-hour drive
• 2017 season opening: August 15
• Picking Schedule: Click here 
• Currently available: Ginger Gold, Gala
• Coming soon: Check the ripening schedule
• Apple cider doughnuts? YES

Blueberry Thrill Farm

• Location: Gibsonville, NC
• Distance from Charlotte: 1 hour and 45 minutes
• 2017 season opening: opened in July
• Picking Schedule: Click here
• Currently available: Buckeye Gala, Stark Grand Gala, Ultima Gala, Summer Banana
• Coming soon: Check the ripening schedule
• Apple cider doughnuts? No

The Orchard at Altapass

• Location: Spruce Pine, NC
• Distance from Charlotte: 2 hours
• 2017 season opening: opened in May
• Picking Schedule: Click here 
• Currently available: There are more than 40 apple varieties at the orchard; see more info
• Coming soon: Check the ripening schedule
• Apple cider doughnuts? No

Our friends at CharlotteFive give us the run down to the best brisket spots in the Queen city. 
Naturally, nothing can beat my home smoked brisket, but these come in a close second.
​(no really - ask my friends....) 

By Sara Kay Mooney -January 27, 2016

​Five years ago, if you told me that I would willingly bring my baby to a bar, I would not have believed you. But the microbrewery, beer garden and urban market boom has dramatically changed Charlotte’s bar culture, shifting it, in many instances, towards more family-friendly environments. Nowadays, it’s common to see parents (myself included) with a pint in one hand and — gasp! (sorry, mom) — an infant in the other.
Avoid shelling out big bucks for a babysitter and hop over to one of these four spots to enjoy a drink with your little one in tow… without getting judgmental stares.