Lake James State Park

Lake James is a 3,700-acre state park in Burke and Catawba County, located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains between Marion and Morganton. The park surrounds the 6,812-acre man-made lake with recreation opportunities on land and water. The lake was constructed by Duke Power Company in the early 20th century by building dams on Catawba River and two tributaries - Linville River and Paddy Creek. Named for James B. Duke, who founded the power company, the lake has produced hydroelectric power for a century. The state park was established in 1987 with 565 acres and has since grown to its present size. Today, the park offers several campgrounds, including remote paddle-in camping, a swim beach, boat rentals, and hiking and mountain biking trails.

Contact Information:

7321 N.C. 126

Nebo, NC 28761

Phone: (828) 584-7728

Email: lake.james@ncparks.gov

GPS: 35.75038, -81.89208

Map:

Trails:

Holly Discovery Trail:

Length: 0.75 miles (loop)

Difficulty: Easy

Blaze: Red Triangles

Holly Discovery Trail is the park's TRACK Trail, in the Paddy Creek section of the park. The trailhead parking is on the left as you enter the Paddy Creek area. The trail has interpretive signs along the way and a spur leads down to a scenic spot on Paddy Creek.

Homestead Trail:

Length: 0.7 miles (one way)

Difficulty: Easy

Blaze: Blue & White Triangles

Homestead Trail is a connector that leads from the mountain bike parking area to Paddy Creek Trail.

Paddy Creek Trail:

Length: 1.0 mile (one way)

Difficulty: Moderate

Blaze: Orange Triangles

Paddy Creek Trail runs along the shore of Lake James from the visitor center to the entrance road, just across from Holly Discovery Trailhead parking.

Points of Interest:

Linville Gorge Overlook:

The Linville Gorge Overlook is near the entrance to the Paddy Creek section of the park. There is a nice view from here of the south end of Linville Gorge and Shortoff Mountain.

Blog Entries:

07-Jul-2019: Lake James & Mayo River

External Links:

NC State Parks website: https://www.ncparks.gov/lake-james-state-park