Morrow Mountain, one of state’s oldest parks, gets upgrades

By Marina Shankle, for the SNAP

Morrow Mountain State Park is an iconic part of Stanly County. Opened to the public in 1939, the park has drawn visitors to Stanly County in all the decades since. This year, the park is welcoming visitors new and old with upgrades and added features, some new ways to enjoy the county’s oldest attraction.
According to Park Superintendent Jeff Davidson, the park enjoys a rich history.
“Generations of visitors have enjoyed the park through its existence,” Davidson said. “Locals will tell you they learned how to swim at the pool when they were younger or they remember hiking the trails.”
That fondly remembered pool is “the only public swimming pool in the North Carolina state parks system,” Davidson said.
This year, the pool features a new splash pad that replaced the old wading pool. The pool house has also been renovated, with new plumbing, counters, and ventilation being added.

One of the rooms inside a camper cabin at Morrow Mountain. (Contributed)

Eight brand new camper cabins have also been added this year.
“Camper cabins are a bit different than what we call the ‘vacation cabins’ that have been at Morrow Mountain,” Davidson said.
Each camper cabin consists of two rooms, one with two sets of twin bunk beds and one with a queen bed. The cabins have electricity and heating and air conditioning, and each comes with a grill, fire ring, and picnic table, as well as two Adirondack chairs and a parking space big enough for two vehicles. The cabins are non-smoking and do not allow pets.
The camper cabins are located at a camping site that also includes spots for tent and trailer/RV camping and are close to one of Morrow Mountain’s other new features, a brand new bathhouse.

The new shower house at C Loop at Morrow Mountain (Contributed)

“Now each loop at the tent/trailer/RV campground has its own bathhouse,” Davidson said. “All three are now ADA accessible to people with mobility challenges, and each has a family restroom with a shower.”
Older facilities, such as the other bathhouses and the six vacation cabins, have also been upgraded.
The vacation cabins feature full kitchens stocked with basic necessities, dining and living rooms, bathrooms with showers, two bedrooms, and screened-in porches.

Many of the trails have rerouted or upgraded at Morrow Mountain. (Contributed).

Morrow Mountain’s many trails for hiking and horseback riding have also seen some changes.
“Our staff has been working on trail improvements and reroutes throughout the park,” Davidson said. “Both hiking and bridle trails were rerouted and redesigned to make them more sustainable and minimize environmental impact. It also makes the trails safer.”
The summit of the mountain, which offers stunning views of Stanly County, also got some upgrades. The concession stand now has electricity and new counters, and a wheelchair-accessible walkway was added.
The new additions and upgrades to the park will give visitors even more opportunities to enjoy nature and history at the location.
One of the mountain’s most unique natural features, Davidson said, is “a stone-type called rhyodacite, used for 13,000 years by the American Indians to make projectiles and tools. The argillite stone, also found in the park, was mined by the Civilian Conservation Corps to create much of the park’s infrastructure.”
The state’s oldest known archaeological site, the Hardaway Site, is located on Morrow Mountain, and is currently being studied by the Badin Museum.
“We are looking forward to being able to tell the story of North Carolina’s earliest inhabitants and being able to showcase many of the stories of the area’s artifacts that the people that lived in this area continuously for thousands of years,” Davidson said. “There are lots of options for adventure at Morrow Mountain. You can enjoy the trails, enjoy the pool during the season, rent a boat and paddle out onto Lake Tillery, fish along the Yadkin-Pee Dee River, see the historic Kron House reconstruction site and more.”
Whether you are enjoying the park’s new features or exploring the mountain’s ancient attractions, you can always find something exciting to do at Morrow Mountain State Park.

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