| Lake
Norman NC is the largest man-made lake in North
Carolina, and is located in the northern part
of Mecklenburg County, just 18 miles northwest
of Charlotte. This “Inland Sea,”
has over 520 miles of beautiful shoreline that
extends over four counties - Mecklenburg, Iredell,
Catawba and Lincoln. It was created when the
Cowans Ford Dam was created on the Catawba River
in 1967, and named for Norman Atwater Cocke,
the former President of Duke Power, the company
that created the lake. Lake Norman is 34 miles
long and 8 miles wide and is 130 feet deep at
its deepest point. It holds 32,500 surface acres
of water. The Lake Norman area actually consists
of several small towns and golf communities
surrounding the lake and Lake Norman State Park.
The towns that share the lake shoreline include
Cornelius, Denver, Davidson and Mooresville.
Twenty years ago, this area was primarily a
weekend retreat, but that changed with the completion
of I-77. It is now one of the most rapidly growing
and popular areas in North Carolina, and its
easily accessed via major interstates. Everyone
loves Lake Norman - families, retirees, or couples
looking for a romantic weekend retreat. The
lake offers everything you’d expect from
a lake this size, from power boating and sailing
to swimming and fishing. The State Park has
camping, hiking, biking trails and more. The
golfing boom has taken over the Lake Norman
area by storm. You’ll find several championship
courses around the lake that offer challenging,
affordable golfing at brand-new facilities as
well as time-honored ones.
If you want a change of pace from lakeside
activities, there’s shopping and entertainment,
historical sites, art exhibits and museums
to explore in the many nearby communities,
and the city of Charlotte is just a short
drive away. NASCAR race fans visiting Lake
Norman will find they have landed in paradise.
The town of Mooresville, nicknamed Race City,
USA, has more than 60 NASCAR teams operating
there. It’s also the site of the North
Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame, and an
old textile plant is being converted into
a 600,000-square-foot Motorsports business
park. Other attractions near Lake Norman include
the Energy Explorium, the Latta Plantation
House, the Carolina Raptor Center, the Amazing
Maize Maze, the Lazy 5 Ranch and the Biltmore
Estate in nearby Asheville. All of this, plus
many fine restaurants, shopping and a large
variety of accommodations in the Lake Norman
area held make it one of North Carolina’s
most popular vacation spots.
The
city of Charlotte, known as the “Queen
City,” is just a short drive from Lake
Norman and offers even more exciting possibilities.
Charlotte’s southern culture represents
a wide spectrum of attractions, such as the
fine artwork at the Mint Museum and the Levine
Museum of the New South and Lowe’s Motor
Speedway for race fans. Charlotte has an impressive
skyline and is the number one travel destination
in the Carolinas. Other attractions in the
city of include the Charlotte Museum of History,
the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens, the Nature
Museum, plus guided walking tours of Historic
Uptown Charlotte. |
