Uwharrie National Forest

The Uwharrie National Forest, located in north-central North Carolina near Charlotte, is comprised of 49,857 acres. Located in central North Carolina, the area now known as Uwharrie National Forest, has long attracted visitors. Archeologists think one reason for all these visitors was the materials found in the earth. The Uwharrie Mountains are an ancient volcanic mountain chain where the dominate rock is rhyolite. Rhyolite, a tool-making rock important to prehistoric people, was exposed by centuries of erosion caused by water, wind, and ice, making it easy to find in this area.

Later, the fertile rolling land attracted a few European settlers but it was another by-product of the ancient volcanoes, gold, that brought a boom to the area. Settlements popped up and faded with that 18th century gold rush. Now, old home sites, cemeteries, and piles of tailings from gold mines dot the Uwharrie National Forest. Today, visitors still come to the Uwharrie National Forest looking for riches. Some come try their hand at panning for the last of Uwharrie's gold (check with Forest Service for regulations and the best locations) but most come for other easier to archive riches. These folks are looking for gold in a sunset, a flash of silver when a hook is set just right, the precious solitude of trails through towering old-growth woods, and just plain good old-fashion fun times. The Uwharrie National Forest has such riches and many more to offer.

Although the Uwharrie National Forest is the smallest National Forest in North Carolina, it boasts of over 50 miles of trails. From a 1-mile loop trail along Densons Creek to the 21-mile Uwharrie National Recreation Trail, the Uwharrie's many maintained trails vary in length and mode. Whether on foot, horse, mountain bicycle, or in an OHV and 4X4, these trails offer visitors a unique, up-close view of the Forest.

The Uwharrie National Forest's mountains are not the tower monoliths found west of the Mississippi River, but gently rounded mounds that invite hikers, bikers, and equestrian riders to explore the ancient landscape.

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