We go to West Point on the Eno park a lot. Or I guess we used to. It is only a couple of miles from our house, so it’s an easy “get out of the house” afternoon for us.
They have a number of things to look at, learn, and miles of trails you can walk on. The grist mill is usually open on the weekends and kids can see them milling actual corn for demonstrations. I believe they also sell corn bread mix and grits which are made on the mill. Sometimes when we are there, they will let one of my kids open/shut the water gate to engage the water wheel which is pretty cool!
There is a photography museum here for the Mangum family, and the old house which you could walk through as well. There is a blacksmith shop which used to give demonstrations on occasion, but to be honest I don’t think this has opened in a decade; we only saw a demo there once or twice.
One of the main attractions for my kids is the bridge which spans the Eno River. I let them collect up to three rocks and we head over to the bridge to toss the rocks into the river for fun. It’s a boy thing. Why only three you ask? Well, if I let them collect more then we would probably be there for hours and cause the river’s path to shift 🙂
Another anticipated activity is counting turtles while on the bridge – it’s almost like one of the find the hidden picture puzzles since turtles can be pretty crafty in their camouflage skills.
Here are just a bunch of random pictures I’ve taken during our visits. I’m sure I have more….