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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.
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