Day-trips ring

Latta Nature Preserve

Mecklenburg County's biggest public natural space — 1,460 acres on Mountain Island Lake with 14 hiking trails, paddling, the Carolina Raptor Center, and the new Quest nature center.

Open now · closes 7:39pm
  • Park
  • Lake access
  • Fishing Access
DirectionsWebsite

Hours & practicals

Hours (fall)
Every day, NaN:NaNpm–NaN:NaNpm
Address
6345 Sample Road, Huntersville, NC 28078
From your base
Sorts every list here by walk time.

Mountain Island Lake, right now

96.19 ft pool stage at Mountain Island Dam, read at 4:00 PM.

Its action stage — the lowest flood threshold — is 101.5 ft.

Duke Energy, which operates the dam, is targeting 96 today and reads 96.2 — 0.2 above target.

The Catawba–Wateree basin is in Stage 2of Duke's Low Inflow Protocol, its drought footing — which is why levels across the chain are below target and some access has closed.

Reservoir pool stage on the dam gauge's own datum — not the full-pond elevation boaters use, and not comparable with another lake's gauge. Gauge live from NOAA's National Water Prediction Service, operating level from Duke Energy.

The take

Free, open daily, and big enough to soak up a whole Saturday between the lake trails, the paddle launches, and the raptors. One caveat: the historic house has been closed for redevelopment, so go for the woods and water, not the house tour.

Questions people ask

When can I go in?

The preserve is open daily from sunup to sundown. The Quest nature centre inside it keeps its own separate hours.

Check in

Your passport…

Sources

More in Day-trips ring

Nothing else quite like it — here's what else is close by

The neighborhood

The 6 things this place connects to in the guide's map of the town — one step out, and nothing beyond it.

District

located in

Categories

serves

Places

competes with

See Latta Nature Preserve on the wiki, with every connection listedArriving in Day-trips ring? The first-hour guide