Big Rock Nature Preserve — Attraction in Charlotte

Believe it or not - located in a residential neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina is a patch of woods. Nestled in the patch of woods are some very big and quite significant boulders and rocks.

Supposedly these are the largest exposed boulders in Mecklenburg County. One would think rising they were picked up and transported from some other landscape far, far away - if you forget about their size and the obvious weight.

History:

An archaeological investigation of the sensibly named Big Rock Nature Preserve was conducted in 1987. Stone tools, animal bones, and fragments of cooking pots were found among the boulders, as well as more recent artifacts, like a musket ball (likely from the mid-1800s). The study concluded that this area was used as a campsite and observation point by generations of Native Americans, whose ancestors crossed the Bering Strait from Asia tens of thousands of years ago, and who reached the Carolina Piedmont 12,000 years ago. Who knew! 🤷‍♂️

These days, the people clambering on the large stones are likely small children with their parents, or the teenagers who have unfortunately left graffiti.

But still it's a very interesting place to find in such a location. It's probably one of the best kept secrets in the Charlotte area. When we got there no one else was there. My wife and I and two of our grandkids had our picnic and explored the boulders for some time by ourselves. Later on a couple more families did show up.

But it was a fun time. We probably spend at least 3 hours there. So if you're ever in the area, why...

We loved the preserve. We went on a Friday evening, and it was calm and peaceful. The big rocks that you see when you enter have a historical significance to them related to indigenous people who frequented this area often. It was insightful to learn about it.

We climbed the big rocks and looked around for a while before continuing on the hike. The hike itself is mostly well-maintained, but the canopy makes the hike not very well-lit. Also we encountered quite a few insects flying in our faces as we were walking. The creek along the hike makes for a great companion as well. The small falls and the sound associated with it makes the hike all the more peaceful and meditative. The hike itself doesn’t take a lot of time and we were done in around 35-40 minutes.

We parked our car on the street near the entrance of the preserve. The area is pretty quiet.

Long story short: Is this the most beautiful hike in Charlotte? No.

If you’re looking for a convenient hike in and around Charlotte to get some quick cardio, should you...

Found it on Google Maps and decided to have a pit stop on the way back from Carolina Place. It appears to be within a neighborhood. While I did find the sign for where it's supposed to be, it's barely there. I can only assume it used to be more of a public place but now there's just houses that surround it. Public parking didn't exist. There's an area right across from it with a playground and parking. However, I guess there is no public parking due to the fact that there are signs that cleary state it was for residence and invited guest only. It was very disappointing that I could not find any parking to see anything. I probably would have parked there anyway but they were doing some birthday thing...