At Macaroni KID we're always helping local parents Find Your Family Fun®... like at the Orange County Sportsplex in Hillsborough where you can do that while also finding your family fitness! Bonus: increasing physical activity and overall health for every member of your crew. They offer lots of different options, both indoor & outdoor, for people of all ages to engage in physical activity.
Here's a peek into some of our family's favorite things about the Sportsplex:
 Ice Skating with daddy! Source: Samantha Earnhardt, Publisher, Macaroni KID Burlington-Hillsborough |
The first thing many people think of when they think of the Sportsplex is the Ice Skating Rink. It's a fun amenity that you don't find everywhere and the Sportsplex has the only Ice Skating rink between Raleigh and Greensboro. They offer Learn to Skate classes classes (parent/tot & up) as well as Ice Hockey and Figure Skating. In addition to formal skating classes/activities, the Sportsplex also has Public Ice Skating hours every afternoon plus Friday and Saturday nights (with rare exceptions).
Our family has enjoyed an occasional afternoon visit for ice skating there. I'm not going to claim that anyone in my family is a great skater, but I will stand behind the statement that every time we've gone to public skate time, we've had a positive experience. During our visits, there have always been skaters on the ice representing a wide variety of skating abilities. Of course, there are always plenty of beginners, but there are also many steady skaters and a few that you know would just take off spinning into the air if they could. My kids still use the Skate Aids (only for ages 9 & under), although the topic of signing up for Learn to Skate classes has come up in conversation multiple times. It's been a fun local place to have in our lives - and we've ended up having many good times there, including a memorable Father's Day skate with a visiting cousin and a couple "Skate with the Scouts" recruitment events with our local Cub Scout Pack, too. (P.S. Skating is even more fun with friends!)
Public Skate is available year-round and is $10 per adult, $8 for children 12 & under. Included with Sportsplex annual membership.
Skate Rental Fee $5. Skate Aid (9 & under) $7.
Bike helmets are encouraged for young children & beginners.
 Skating with the Cub Scouts!Source: Samantha Earnhardt, Publisher, Macaroni KID Burlington-Hillsborough |
 Chillin' in the pool for littles! Source: Nina Goodspeed, friend of Samantha Earnhardt, Publisher, Macaroni KID Burlington-Hillsborough |
Although our family likes going to the Sportsplex for ice skating, we absolutely love going there for the Pool. The large indoor recreational pool is heated which means it's accessible for a swim throughout the year and, unlike an outdoor pool, is not dependent on the weather (woo hoo!) or the sunlight (I'm looking at you, 4:45pm sunset in the middle of December!). There's also a smaller, shallow gated wading pool for littles. They offer Swim classes (parent/tot & up) as well as Swim Teams plus some water-based exercise classes for adults, too. And, The pool also has daily Public Swim Hours for all ages.
The Sportsplex is an easy drive from my children's elementary school so we tried to work an afterschool swim into our family schedule regularly. And while we didn't make it as often as my kids probably wish we had, we did manage to get there quite a bit. It was pretty much a guaranteed good time for them from the moment they stepped into the pool, splashing, playing, and occasionally befriending other swimming kids who were in a similarly positive and lively mindset. Some days the pool only had a few other people in it - and other days it was a lively bustle of families enjoying pool time. Best of all, we managed to set up a few playdates at the pool - and what is more fun than a pool and your best friend?! Plus, from a mom perspective, I really appreciated how swim time would usually tire them out nicely for the evening. The Sportplex also hosted my son's 2nd grade class in the Swim for Charlie water safety program and has been a resource that our Cub Scout pack has used for fulfilling some of our Swimming safety adventures over the years.
Public Swim is available year-round and is $7 per adult, $6 for children 12 & under, and $5 for Seniors. Included with Sportsplex annual membership.
 The pool is an awesome place for a family outing, a playdate, and to meet some fun new kids! Source: Samantha Earnhardt, Publisher, Macaroni KID Burlington-Hillsborough |
 Playing on the Turf before Summer Camp.Source: Samantha Earnhardt, Publisher, Macaroni KID Burlington-Hillsborough |
Beyond the rink and the pool is the Field House: Indoors are 2 basketball courts available for pick-up games, numerous leagues, and even clinics and camps (preschool & up). There are also Open Gym Hours for Basketball, Pickleball, and Volleyball. Outdoors is the lighted turf field which is used for lacrosse, field hockey, soccer, and flag football - plus classes, clinics, and leagues. Bonus: it's completely fenced in - which will prevent any rogue balls (or children) from making a break for it.
Our family became familiar with both the court & turf last summer when attending Summer Camp through their Kidsplex program. Having a LEGO-obsessed child, the first camp to catch my eye was their LEGO Camp - which is offered twice per summer. He spent his mornings that week happily building whatever struck his fancy and chatting with his similarly LEGO-minded fellow campers. In the afternoons the kids alternated between ice skating and swimming, which I really appreciated to get my little guy moving around getting some physical exercise, too.
Since he was already going to be there all week, it was an easy decision to sign his little sister up for camp as well - in this case the Platinum Summer Camp. In addition to afternoons swimming and skating, the Platinum campers spent morning time with structured and unstructured activities on the Court and on the Turf (plus a few crafts), which was perfect for my athletic and energetic 5-year-old. As a mom, one of the things I appreciated most about camp (in addition to keeping my kids engaged and active) was that the hours are longer than many other camps, 7:30am-6pm, which is great for working parents and/or parents with weird schedules. I also like that the Turf is completely fenced in, so even as campers arrived fresh-faced every day and piled onto the turf for morning free play, I knew they were safely contained!
P.S. 2025 Summer Camp Info is already up!
 The outdoor turf area is used for numerous activities throughout the year, including Summer Camp!. Source: Samantha Earnhardt, Publisher, Macaroni KID Burlington-Hillsborough |
 My child had a blast at LEGO Camp last summer. Source: Samantha Earnhardt, Publisher, Macaroni KID Burlington-Hillsborough |
The Sportsplex offers a lot of other stuff, too - for kids AND grown ups!
More for families!
- Afterschool Program (K-12)
- Includes turf time, court time, swimming, and ice skating!
- Preschool (2-5)
- Featuring rotating schedule of Ice Skating Lessons , Swim Lessons , DanceTots , Spanish , and SuperShots !
- Tots Programs for littles (2-5), including hockey, tumbling, soccer, basketball, & more!
- Teacher Workday and Intersession camps!
- Homeschool Program!
- Birthday parties!
- KidsCorner Complimentary Member Childcare (ages 6 mon-12 yrs) so you can get your child-free fitness on at:
- Group Fitness Classes for Grown-Ups
- Over 80 Group Exercise classes per week (!) including water-based , dance-based , spin , yoga/meditative🥋, and so much more!
- State of the Art Fitness Center with a large variety of fitness equipment
- Group Fitness Classes for Grown-Ups
 The Kidsplex classrooms are used year-round for Preschool & Afterschool progams - as well as Teacher workday, Intercession, & Summer camps!Source: Samantha Earnhardt, Publisher, Macaroni KID Burlington-Hillsborough |
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