Editors' picks across 8categories — the dock with the deepest channel, the winery with the view, the restaurant with the right wine list, the trail nobody's on at sunrise.
A waterfront restaurant at Davidson Landing with coastal-inspired cuisine built around locally sourced ingredients and scenic lake views.
Visit ↗A James Beard-nominated restaurant on Main Street in Davidson, across from Davidson College, from chefs Joe and Katy Kindred — innovative American cuisine with Italian influences.
Visit ↗A waterfront wine bar and grill on Harborside Drive in Cornelius, with 22 boat docks — small bites, steaks, seafood, and house-made pasta. Closed Mondays.
Visit ↗A lakeside seafood, steak, and pasta restaurant on Williamson Road in Mooresville, with live music on weekends.
Visit ↗The Charlotte area's largest-volume boat dealer, on NC-150 in Sherrills Ford — a full-service marina with sales, service, and slips. Closed Sundays.
Visit ↗A marina on Perth Road in Troutman, on the lake's north end — boating services and slips, part of the Safe Harbor Marinas network.
Visit ↗A Mecklenburg County park on NC Highway 73 in Huntersville — six boat ramps and 218 trailer parking spaces, plus a playground and picnic areas.
A Mecklenburg County park on Nantz Road in Cornelius — four boat ramps, an ADA-compliant fishing pier, a playground, and picnic shelters.
A state park on State Park Road in Troutman, established in partnership with Duke Energy — boating, fishing, water skiing, swimming, camping, and a public swimming beach.
Visit ↗Built by Duke Power on the Catawba River between 1959 and 1963 — the first bucket of concrete poured September 1, 1960, commercial hydroelectric operations beginning September 30, 1963. The dam impounded the river to create Lake Norman, North Carolina's largest man-made lake, named for former Duke Power president Norman Atwater Cocke.