North Carolina's largest man-made lake, 30 minutes from Charlotte.
Lake Norman is North Carolina's largest man-made lake, 32,000 acres and over 520 miles of shoreline created by Duke Power's Cowans Ford Dam between 1959 and 1963 — close enough to Charlotte to support a genuinely upscale dining scene alongside its big-lake boating culture.
Lake Norman spans Mecklenburg, Iredell, Lincoln, and Catawba counties just north of Charlotte, North Carolina's largest man-made lake at 32,000 acres. Davidson holds two of the lake's dining standouts — James Beard-nominated Kindred and waterfront North Harbor Club — while Cornelius and Mooresville add LakeHouse Wine Bar & Grill and Eddie's on Lake Norman. Lake Norman Marina in Sherrills Ford and Safe Harbor Skippers Landing near Troutman anchor the boating side, with free county-park launches at Blythe Landing and Ramsey Creek. Lake Norman State Park, on the lake's north end, adds a public swim beach. Being this close to Charlotte, the lake reads as an upscale suburb as much as a resort destination.
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