Carolina Raptor Center, Huntersville

Carolina Raptor Center

6000 Sample Road, Huntersville, NC 28078 — in Latta Nature Preserve, north of Charlotte in Huntersville rather than in the city itself.

Two things happen here

The Raptor Trail is the part you can walk: a zoo of birds of prey, with more than thirty avian ambassadors — birds that cannot be returned to the wild — and daily educational programmes. Exhibits include the Owl Forest, Raptors of the Silver Screen and Vulture Culture. The organisation states the trail attracts over 35,000 visitors a year.

The Raptor Hospital is the part you mostly cannot. It treats injured birds of prey, and the centre states it has admitted more than 26,000 patients since it began, hiring its first staff veterinarian in 2008. If you find an injured raptor, the hospital publishes a number to call.

Practical

Both the trail and the hospital are open seven days a week according to the centre's own site, though the hours differ between them. The centre runs daily programmes, private experiences, group sales and birthday parties, and it is inside a county nature preserve, so you can combine a visit with the preserve's trails.

Current admission, hours and programme times are on the centre's own site.

This is in Huntersville, Mecklenburg County — about a half-hour drive north of Uptown Charlotte, not a walk from anywhere. Last checked: 13 September 2026.