Lake Norman State Park: Lake Shore Trail (Blog Hike #291)

Trail: Lake Shore Trail

Hike Location: Lake Norman State Park
Geographic Location: southwest of Troutman, NC (35.64951, -80.94402)
Length: 5.1 miles

Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)
Dates Hiked: November 2009, July 2015
Overview: A well-developed, well-maintained trail with good lake views.

Park Information: https://www.ncparks.gov/state-parks/lake-norman-state-park

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=941305
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: Roughly 30 miles north of Charlotte, take I-77 to US 21 (exit 42).  Exit and head north on US 21.  Take US 21 to the town of Troutman and turn sharply left onto Wagner Street.  Wagner Street becomes Perth Rd. after you leave Troutman.  Take Perth Rd. to State Park Rd. and turn right on State Park Rd.  Brown state park signs mark all of these turns.  State Park Rd. leads into the park.  Follow signs for the hiking trailhead, which means ignoring all side roads until you reach Shortleaf Dr.  Turn left on Shortleaf Dr.  Turn right at the first stop sign, and park in the parking spaces on either side of the road just past the stop sign.

The hike: At first glance, the Lakeshore Trail at Lake Norman State Park seems like a typical trail at a typical state park.  Yet seasoned hikers know there is nothing typical about any parkland, and this area is no exception.  Lake Norman was created in 1959 when Duke Power built a hydroelectric dam across the Catawba River to provide power to the growing city of Charlotte.  Without this lake, Charlotte would probably not be the industrial center that it is today.

            In 1962, Duke Power donated 1328 lakeside acres to form the state park.  In so doing, they protected a significant amount of lakeshore from the development that would occupy much of the rest of the lake.  Today, the large lake, popular for boating, swimming, and fishing, is the main draw, but the park also offers a small 33-site campground and numerous picnic areas.

            For the hiker, there are several hiking opportunities in Lake Norman State Park.  The easy 0.8 mile Alder Trail and the lengthy 12.1 mile Itusi Trail lie in the northern part of the park, but neither of them offer prolonged lake views.  For the best lake views, you need to hike the excellent Lake Shore Trail described here.  Since the trail forms a loop, you could hike it either direction.  Brown metal signs mark every half mile, so this description will hike the loop counterclockwise in order pass the mile markers in an increasing order.

Lake Shore Trailhead

            Start on the left (south) side of the road where the trail enters the forest near a small wooden bench.  The trail uses a single switchback to reach lake level.  The lake to your left will be a near constant companion for the next few miles.  The forest around Lake Norman consists mostly of broadleaf trees such as oak, maple, and beech, but there are a few stands of loblolly and shortleaf pines.  Thus, the expansive lake views make this an above average trail for leaf peeping in the fall.  When I hiked this trail in mid-November, the leaf color had already passed peak, but some colorful trees could still be seen around the lake.

            At 0.25 miles, the red-blazed Short Turn Trail exits to the left.  As its name suggests, this trail can be used to shorten the Lake Shore Trail to either 2.6 miles if you choose the north half of the Lake Shore Trail or 3.2 miles if you use the south half.  To hike the entire loop, continue straight on the white-blazed Lake Shore Trail.

Hiking the Lake Shore Trail

            Just after passing the 0.5 mile marker, the Lake Shore Trail twice crosses the short loop formed by the red-blazed Family Camp Trail loop.  As you might have guessed by now, all spur trails are blazed with red plastic diamonds while our trail is blazed with white plastic diamonds.  Just past the 1 mile marker, the trail angles left to join an old road for a short stretch.  Many sections of this trail follow old dirt roads.  Fortunately, all of the points where the trail leaves the roads are well-marked by small brown trail signs.
            At the 1.5 mile marker, you will pass the last bench on this trail.  Soon the trail curves left to head away from the lake for a short period, only to intersect another old road and head back toward the lake.  As is typical with lakeside hikes, most of this hike consists of climbing away from the lake to get around an inlet and dropping back lakeside in between creeks.  On the bright side, all of the major creeks on this hike are crossed with wooden bridges.

Lake Norman

            Past the 2 mile marker, you arrive at the best lake view on this hike.  This point sits between two major inlets, and hence it is surrounded on three sides by water.  In another 0.5 miles, the other end of the Short Turn Trail enters from the left.  If you wanted to shorten this hike, you could turn left here and return to the trailhead in only 3.2 miles total.

            Just past mile marker 3, the trail crosses paved Boat Launch Dr.  Some restrooms with flush toilets can be found just down the road to the right near the boat ramp.  Continuing around the loop, at 3.8 miles the spur trail to the group camp exits at a soft angle to the right.  A sharp left will allow you to remain on the Lake Shore Trail.

Trail near boat launch

            This turn marks the big turn inland, as the trail heads across the peninsula for the main branch of Lake Norman.  A long gradual climb away from the lake will lead you to a crossing of the main park road.  Across the road, the trail passes around a white vehicle gate and begins heading down another old dirt road.  Soon the trail curves left to leave the old road, and the lake again comes into view.

            More up and down lies ahead as the trail dips in and out of ravines, but these ravines are not as large as those on the other arm of the lake.  Past mile marker 4.5, the trail makes a final left turn away from the lake.  After crossing the beach access road, a final short stint in the woods will bring you back to the parking lot along Shortleaf Dr. and complete the hike.