Morrow Mountain State Park
Morrow Mountain State Park is the 25th Park in our 2025 North Carolina State Park Challenge. Morrow Mountain is located in Albemarle, 50 miles northeast of Charlotte. It has gorgeous sweeping mountain views and easy river access making it the best of both worlds. We started out at the park office to get our passport stamp and patch. After asking the park ranger for trail recommendations- we set out on the Sugarloaf Mountain Trail. It is a 3.3 mile loop that takes you up to some gorgeous mountain views- but the trail is fairly exposed so make sure you have some sun coverage and plenty of water! The parking lot is also the same parking for some of the bridle trails- so make sure you (and your dog) are okay to be near some horses. To cool off we drove up to the Morrow Mountain overlook to eat a quick lunch and enjoy the view from our air-conditioning.
After lunch, we headed down to the Yadkin River to try to keep cool in the heat. There are seasonal boat rentals and a concession stand down by the docks. If you brought your own watercraft, there is a ramp to get into the water. We decided to take a portion of the Fall Mountain Trail that runs along the Yadkin River. There were multiple areas to stop off the trail to dip in the water to cool off. The river had a calm flow and would be a calm place to paddle.
There are three sections in the main campground (A, B, & C)- two are exclusively for tents and the other is a mix of tent, RV/Trailers, and Camper Cabins. There is also a sections for 6 Vacation Cabins, and a primitive group camping. Currently, they are doing some construction near the main campground so multiple of the campsites are closed- they are blocked off online so you don’t accidentally book them. We booked our site in the C campground, which looked very full online, but it was completely empty-i t just looked that way because of all the closed sites. This campground doesn’t have too much privacy- the sparse trees allow you to see through to the other sites, so keep that in mind when picking a site.
We got up early to see sunrise at the overlook and it did not disappoint! We were the only ones up there and the sun rose right in front of the patio area! There is a 0.8 mile loop trail around the overlook if you’re looking for a little sunrise hike. There’s so much to do at this park and I feel like we barely scratched the surface, definitely add this one to your list!
Park Details:
ADDRESS: 49104 Morrow Mountain Road, Ablemarle NC28001
HOURS: December-February: 7am-7pm
March & November: 7am-8pm
April & October: 7am-9pm
May-September: 7am-9pm
VISITOR CENTER: Open Daily 8am-4:30pm
PASSPORT STAMP: Located at the Park Office
ENTRANCE FEE: No Entrance Fee
TRAILS: 37 miles of hiking trail
ACTIVITIES: Hiking, Horseback Riding, Paddling, Swimming, & Fishing
DOG RULES: Dogs must be on a leash no longer than 6ft and are not allowed in park buildings. Please pick up after your pet!
Check out our videos about this Park on instagram @axel.theadventurepup
