Find birds, horses, boats, hiking and a nature preserve all within a few miles of Uptown.

by Contributor

In Short
This 1290-acre nature preserve on Mountain Island Lake offers 18 miles of hiking trails, a picnic area with shelters, scenic lake overlooks, fishing areas and boating opportunities. It is located 12 miles north of Charlotte adjacent to Latta Plantation, an early 19th century farm open for tours. Facilities within the park include the Carolina Raptor Center and the Latta Plantation Equestrian Center.

08/19/02

natural

by dotilavada

For a nice quiet day at the park or to bring a noisy group of teenagers nothing beats Latta Plantation

• Pros: clean, quiet, horses

07/08/02

"New About The Old"

by RonnaAnn

My family seeks to combine nature and history for our outings and got a winner with a trip to Historic Latta. Plantation Park. First stop was the restored house, old cabins, barn, outbuildings, and garden. We saw the cute donkey and new education center. During the guided tour we laughed and learned, our guide shared interesting customs and ideas of 1800's people rich and not so rich. My son said, "I have learned new about the old". After a picnic near the lake and a little swinging we saw the canoes and paddle boat launch. Time for the horse petting & riding; we enjoyed the quick ride over a trail. We had learned so much about the wild & captive birds at the Nature Center. It was time for a short nature trail walk to a beautiful rock overlook of Mountain Island Lake.

The Wilsons 07/2002

• Pros: relaxing, good value, beauty
• Cons: no dining, needs more picnic