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| Lake Norman State Park © Katrena |
Lake Norman State Park, located in Iredell County about 40 miles north of Charlotte, lies on part of North Carolina's largest man-made lake. The park includes about 17 miles along the northern shore of Lake Norman. There is no fee to enter the park, but some activities like camping, boat rentals, and swimming do have fees.
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| Lake Norman State Park Visitor Center © Katrena |
When some people think of Lake Norman, they might automatically think of all the houses along the shore and multiple piers and docks as seen from the interstate. The state park celebrates the natural beauty of the lake and wooded areas with hiking trails, biking trails, camping, boating, swimming, and other activities.
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| State Park Near Troutman NC © Katrena |
We visited Lake Norman State Park in June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The welcome center, swimming, and boat rentals were closed, but the trails were open and well-maintained. The larger bathrooms were closed, but two single-stall bathrooms on the side were open and clean. Visitors were free to walk onto the back deck of the welcome center and enjoy the view and rocking chairs as well.
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| Beautiful Hiking Trails in NC © Katrena |
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| North Carolina State Park - Lake Norman © Katrena |
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| Enjoy Nature with the Family © Katrena |
The park has a lot of picnic areas. Many are right by the lake and have pretty views. Most picnic tables are shaded while a few eating and sitting areas are sunnier.
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| Hiking Trails Near Water in NC © Katrena |
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| Hiking Trail at Lake Norman © Katrena |
A park ranger happened to be walking by and stopped to talk from a distance. Many of the rangers provide regular programs at the state parks and share their knowledge of the park, animals, and plants in the area. I always enjoy having a chance to ask a ranger about the park and get tips for things to do and see!
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| Dragonfly Trail at Lake Norman State Park © Katrena |
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| Paved TRACK Trail that is Handicap Accessible © Katrena |
We hiked the Dragonfly Trail first. It is a paved 0.15 loop with informational signs. Many of the signs are interactive with questions. Visitors can find the answers by opening doors or turning segments of the display. The Dragonfly Trail is wheelchair accessible. The informational signs include a nice variety of information.
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| Learn About Nature While Hiking © Katrena |
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| Outdoor Educational Activities © Katrena |
We heard quite a few birds in the wooded area near the parking lot and along the Dragonfly Trail. The park is home to a large number of birds, such as bald eagles, scarlet tanagers, and
yellow-billed cuckoos, just to name a few. We also saw squirrels and other small animals as we hiked.
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| Lake Norman Viewing Areas that are Free © Katrena |
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| Fishing on Lake Norman © Katrena |
We found a nicely maintained deck with stairs to a lower deck overlooking the water on the left side. Our family saw turtles, fish, and dragonflies while listening to beautiful bird calls at the deck. Water seems to always attract mosquitoes, so if your crew has mosquito magnets in the bunch, I would suggest bug spray in warmer weather.
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| Easy Hiking Trails in NC © Katrena |
The Alder Trail is not paved but is nicely maintained. It hugs the edge of the water. One side trail takes hikers a short way out to a small dammed area with steps to the water's edge. This spot provides a nice view of the visitor center.
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| Alder Trail at Lake Norman State Park © Katrena |
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| Interesting Mushrooms Along Lake Norman Hiking Trail © Katrena |
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| Beauty of Nature at State Park in Iredell County © Katrena |
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| Pretty Flowers at Lake Norman © Katrena |
We continued down the Alder Trail and found a nice variety of trees, shrubs, mosses, mushrooms, and a few wildflowers.
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| Pretty Picnic Spots in North Carolina © Katrena |
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| Alder Trail View © Katrena |
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| Wildlife on Hiking Trail in NC State Parks © Katrena |
At the far end of the trail we found a picnic table and small bench. We stayed in that spot and enjoyed watching the dragonflies, damselflies, minnows, a lizard, and fish. It was quite enjoyable and relaxing!
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| Boating on Lake Norman © Katrena |
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| Fishing at Lake Norman © Katrena |
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| Paddling at Lake Norman © Katrena |
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| Jet Skiing at Lake Norman © Katrena |
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| Water Activities at Lake Norman State Park © Katrena |
Quite a few people were out on the water the day we visited. We saw fishing boats, kayaks, paddleboards, jet skis, and more. It was a lot of fun to see how others were enjoying the beautiful June morning on the water. The park normally offers a variety of boats for rent, including pedal boats, canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards, but these are all on hold due to pandemic regulations.
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| Paddleboarding at Lake Norman © Katrena |
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| Faith Talks About Paddling at Lake Norman and Hammocks Beach © Katrena |
Faith, the person on the paddleboard in the photos, talked with us as she floated on the water. She mentioned seeing a lot of turtles and herons on the lake that day and also paddling to Hammocks Beach, one of the state parks we have not yet visited.
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| Turtle at Alder Trail in Lake Norman State Park © Katrena |
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| Shaded Hiking Trails in Piedmont NC © Katrena |
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| Fun Outdoor Family Activities - Could Normie be Watching Us from Lake Norman? © Katrena |
We walked back on the other side of the Alder Trail loop. It took us to the lower deck that we had seen earlier. Is there a monster-like creature that lives in the depths of the lake? We didn't see Normie, if he exists, but perhaps Normie saw us!
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| Bikers on Itusi Trail and Accessible Picnic Table at Lake Norman © Katrena |
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| Itusi Bike Trail at Lake Norman State Park © Katrena |
As we hiked, we saw several people taking advantage of the bike trails at Lake Norman State Park. The Itusi Trail includes 8 loops with 30.5 miles of biking trails. The bike trails are more narrow than the hiking trails and also looked well-maintained.
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| Dog Friendly State Parks in NC © Katrena |
Several vehicles were in the parking lot. I think many were biking and boating that day, which made social distancing quite simple and easy for our group as we find hiking to be a fun, safe activity in the midst of a pandemic. The few people and pets we did see on the trails were friendly and respectful to others on the trail.
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| Hiking Trails in North Carolina © Katrena |
If you are interested in learning more about Lake Norman State Park's location, hours, history, ecology, camping, trails, videos, and more, check out the
Lake Norman State Park official page on the North Carolina State Parks web site.
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| North Carolina State Parks and Recreation © Katrena |
If you have favorite spots in North Carolina where you like to travel, feel free to send me an email with suggestions for other places to go in the state. You might also like to check out more of my articles by looking at my
site map, reading my
other article about Lake Norman, or looking at some of these articles of state parks that are near Lake Norman, including:
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| Interactive Ways to Learn About Nature © Katrena |
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Travel NC With Kids!
