Fall Adventures for Kids Under 5 at Refreshing Mountain

Happy Fall Ya’ll! 

Autumn may be the time where Refreshing Mountain gets to catch its breath from our busy summer season, but that doesn’t mean the adventures have to end! We have an abundance of fun seasonal activities for our guests and are introducing our 2024 Fall Fest Days (now through November 23rd)! We’ve gamified all of our ziplining packages (Rubber Duckie Tosses, Pumpkin Smashing, and free tshirts, anyone?) in addition to bringing back our annual Fall Homeschool Days (click here for more details). In honor of Refreshing Mountain’s official Fall Fest Days debut, we’ve even created Family Fall Photo opportunities around our property and are serving Pumpkin Spiced Lattes at our 319Cafe on the weekends.

But while those activities are great for our guests who are ages five and up, we know that some of you are wondering what options families of younger children who don’t hit our age requirement have when they come visit our facility. Whether you are a grandparent hanging back with a younger child while the big kids do one of our ziplining packages, or you’re a parent looking for a fun and low-cost way to spend a fall afternoon on our property, we see you and are here to answer your questions! 

Kids Under our Age Minimum   

Let’s start with the basics. Can children under five come on the property with you? Absolutely. Refreshing Mountain prides itself in being a family friendly facility, so while your toddler cannot participate in any of the actual paid activities we offer, they are welcome to accompany you on the ground and watch as long as they have an adult with them. Additionally, there is no charge for a friend or family member coming to observe and watch the fun! 

For our guests specifically participating in our Ascent and Basecamp Packages on the weekends this fall, your child under five can also go into and enjoy our Wildlife Center and Birds of Prey Exhibit as long as they have a paying adult with them. This is also one of the only activities on-site that you can purchase a separate ticket for, so for $10/person (Children 3 and under are free!) you can come and enjoy a self-guided tour through our Wildlife Center. You might even get the chance to interact with some of our reptiles and amphibians. Just ask a staff member!  

Free Options 

If you’re looking for some no-cost, fun activities to do with your child when visiting the area this fall, we have options for you. Did you know that we have a large wooden playground built with your kiddos in mind? It is located right next to our Elevated Obstacle Course and features multiple climbing features, tunnels, playsets with slides, seesaws, as well as a large clubhouse with surrounding picnic tables and benches. Our playground is open to the public, so even if you aren’t coming for activities, you’re still more than welcome to come and enjoy it.

Our Farm Animal Area is also free and open to the public, making it a great option to keep your child busy and entertained, whether you are waiting for the rest of your group or are just stopping by for the afternoon. There are even coin-feeders next to the fences holding the animals, so bring some quarters and feel free to feed our four-legged friends! To find our Farm Animals, head down towards our catch and release fishing pond and you’ll see a trail that will take you right to them right past our Wildlife Center. 

In the spirit of fall, we also wanted to highlight our hiking trails and invite you to explore and enjoy the coming fall foliage with us. Refreshing Mountain is surrounded by miles of lush forest and nature and our hiking trails are both stroller-accessible (as long as you don’t mind some gravel) and kid-friendly. Our longest trail only stretches about a mile, so it’s not too exhausting for our hard-working parents but will definitely help expend some of your little’s energy while getting them out into the fresh air.

One of our favorite fall activities is to make a big batch of trail mix, dole it out in some ziplock bags for your child, and take them out for a Fall Scavenger Hunt. We know how busy you are, so we took some time to create a fall-themed Scavenger Hunt and we even have copies of it in our office. Just come up to the check-in window and ask one of our staff members for it! Here’s a fun tip for our homeschool families: Keep a copy of your Scavenger Hunt with the different items you crossed off while out on the trail, and put it in your homeschool binder. It’s science class and a field trip all in one!

If you’re here for our Fall Fest Days, you can enjoy free rounds of our Pumpkin Ring Toss (located next to our pool pavilion). This is a fun and helpful way to keep your kids entertained when waiting for your PSL from our 319 Cafe! Speaking of our cafe, swing by the register and grab a Refreshing Mountain fall-themed coloring page and participate in our Coloring Contest (happening now through November). Enter now for a chance to win 2 tickets to our Christmas Lights! 

Bottom-Line: We Want You Here! 

 We hope that this gives you some easy and fun fall activities to do with your younger kiddos at Refreshing Mountain. The bottom line is that we aim to be as family-friendly as possible at our facility and we want you here! So even if you can’t enjoy our higher-adventure activities yet, our goal is to make sure you have some fun options in your back pocket should you need them when you come to visit us. Stop by for some cute fall photos, grab a PSL from our cafe, and enjoy the cooler weather that the fall season brings. We can’t wait to see you!

(PS. We’ve  included a fall-favorite trail mix recipe below for you to enjoy with your family. Just don’t feed the squirrels!)