Looking for some free Fall family fun in Raleigh? Pick some pecans

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Autumn is here, which means there's no shortage of Fall fun for families across the Triangle.

That includes Pecan Pickin' Month at Historic Oak View County Park!

Why pecans?

Back at the turn of the century, the Wyatt family did some diversifying of their crops, which meant planting the pecan grove that sits off Carya Drive in Raleigh today.

"It's a historic grove full of trees that are over a hundred years old," Fryar Park Manager Emily Catherman told ABC11. "Some of the trees came down in Hurricane Fran in the 90s and have been replanted, but the larger trees in the grove are well over a hundred years old at this point."

Throughout the month of November, families may pick one small bag of pecans off the ground in the park's pecan grove for free. (Note: No pecans may be directly taken from the trees)

"I'd never picked pecans before," visitor Nicole Nicholes told ABC11. "They have this outer shell that you can pick out and then on the inside. I actually need to go buy a nutcracker from Target, I don't have a nutcracker. They have an outer shell that you pick off and in the inside is the nut you crack the shell to get to the pecan inside."

The Historic Oak View County Park is located at 4028 Carya Drive in Raleigh. Find out more information here.