Stories

Welcome to Mountain Creek Park

Published: June 18, 2022

Catawba County hosted a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting on June 18th to commemorate the official opening of the newest destination in the Catawba County Park System, Mountain Creek Park. The day's activities included guided hikes, demos, a self-guided scavenger hunt with prizes, face painting, crafts, a selfie station, food trucks, and a park expo. 

Located on 606 acres of preserved natural habitat at the northwestern tip of Lake Norman in Sherrills Ford, Mountain Creek Park is the only large-scale regional recreation destination in southeastern Catawba County and the fourth park in the Catawba County Park System. Designed for passive recreation, Mountain Creek Park’s amenities include 19.52 miles of multi-use trails designed to optimize mountain biking, an adventure playground situated on just under an acre of play space, a fishing pier, a canoe/kayak launch, an observation platform, a 0.82-mile paved ADA-accessible trail, four pickleball courts, a mountain bike pump track and tool stations, picnic areas, an outdoor classroom, and a dog park.

Dog park passes are required for each dog using the dog park with proof of vaccinations and a $20 fee per dog. Passes can be used at any Catawba County dog park (Mountain Creek, Riverbend and St. Stephens) and are good for one year. Dog park applications and information can be accessed online or at the park office. Picnic shelter reservations can be made directly with the park in person or by phone at 828-465-9645.

Mountain Creek Park was created through a public-private partnership among Catawba County, Duke Energy, the North Carolina Land and Water Fund and the Catawba Lands Conservancy. Wirth & Associates, Inc., served as the design-build consultant for the park. Park construction was provided by JD Goodrum Company, and the trails were designed and built by Elevated Trail Design. The park is operated by Catawba County as part of the Catawba County Park System, which includes Bakers Mountain Park in Hickory, Riverbend Park in Conover, and St. Stephens Park in Hickory.

To learn more about Mountain Creek Park and the Catawba County Park System, along with all 50+ public parks in Catawba County, visit www.catawbacountyparks.org.