Mountain Market area

Hiking

Take a walk in the Uwharrie and get closer to nature. Trails are available for day hikers or overnight trekkers. Motorized vehicles, horses and bicycles are not allowed on these footpaths. You never know what you might find while out exploring. You may turn a corner to find a ancient gold mine or a mountain top with beautiful views of the surrounding area. Wildlife is abundant in the Uwharries so have a camera along because you never know when you might encounter a herd of deer or a bald eagle. Please pack out trash, be careful with fires and avoid damage to trees and vegetation. The hiker's code is an old rule but still a good one: take only photographs and memories, leave nothing but footprints.

Hunting and Fishing The Uwharrie National Forest is part of the 2 million acres of public lands managed by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission for public hunting, trapping and fishing, and are designated as Game Lands. In addition to the appropriate basic annual hunting license, a Game Lands Privilege license must be obtained to hunt on the Uwharrie National Forest. Information concerning seasons, bag limits, and special Game Lands Restrictions are found in the annual N.C. Inlands Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest. Here at the Mountain Market you can purchase any necessary licenses as well as all your hunting and fishing supplies for the season. There are many opportunities for hunting and fishing in the Uwharrie National Forest and the local lakes and rivers. You can stalk white tail deer in the fall or try your luck at calling in a turkey in the spring. If small game hunting is what you prefer the forest is full of squirrels, rabbits and birds like dove and quail that can be taken in season. Water fowl hunting can be found on the Pee Dee river and several of the area lakes. If you would rather wet a hook than hunt there are unlimited fishing opportunities in the Uwharrie area rivers and lakes. Several of the larger lakes in the Pee Dee system like Tillery, Badin and Tucker Town offer stripper and large mouth bass fishing as well as regular tournaments for all levels of fishermen from beginner to pro. Just want to lay back and wait for the fish to come to you? Then try your hand at crappy or cat fishing. Find a shady spot on the bank bait up a hook and relax. Another great way to spend a summer day is wade fishing in the Uwharrie river. You will find plentiful catches of white bass here in the early spring and bass and pan fish to be caught throughout the rest of the year.

Horse Riding There are many miles of horse trails in the National forest as well as 2 large horse camps and several smaller camps to choose from. Canebrake Horse camp is the newest campground in the Uwharrie National Forest. Located in the Badin Lake area, there are 32 miles of horse trails and a full range of amenities for horse campers. The camps main attraction is the area's 25 riding trails, which can be accessed from the camp by the Home Trail. the single-track trails meander through about 4,000 acres of oak-hickory and oak-pine forests. Climbing hills and crossing streams, trail riders can hear a variety of songbird tunes and watch deer bound and wild turkey scurry through the woods. Enormous boulders, some as large as 15' tall, can also be seen. The 3-mile River Trail, rated "more difficult", traces the Uwharrie River. Rated as "easy", the 1.3 mile Robbins Trail crosses the backbone of a scenic ridge of the Uwharrie Mountains and accesses the Deepwater Trail area. You can find a map of the horse trails here TRAIL MAP

Directions:
From Troy, travel about 10 miles and turn left onto Mullinix Rd. (SR 1154). Follow Mullinix Rd. for about 2 miles to a "T" intersection. Turn right onto McLeans Creek Rd. (FR 554) and travel about 1/4 mile to the campground on the right.

4x4 and ATV Trails

The OHV trails in the Uwharrie National Forest are a lot of fun but can be a bit challenging to some riders. Please stop by the Mountain Market for your OHV and ATV trail passes. Daily passes cost $5.00 a day and a season pass cost $30.00 Take it slow and easy on any trail with which you are not familiar. Some of the trails are open to several different types of vehicles and many of them are open to two-way traffic as well, so please be extra cautious when riding on those. You never know when you will go around a curve and meet another driver head on or run upon a 4x4 trying to climb an steep rock face. Not ready for the trails yet but want to watch the 4x4s in action. Uwharrie Stables just up the road from us host regular mud bogs where you can see the the big trucks in action climbing rock piles and plowing through the mud. When you need a break from all the action be sure to stop by our food stand where we have bratwurst and other snacks and cold drinks available. You can find a map of the OHV trails here. Trail Map

Canoeing and Kayaking

There are many opportunities in the Uwharrie area for canoeing and kayaking. You can spend a day floating the unspoiled Uwharrie river and the Little River or exploring the bigger water of the Pee Dee River in the eastern part of the county. Trail clubs run the river every year. Paddling with a club is probably the best way for beginners to learn the Uwharrie or any other river. Experienced paddlers know that heavy rains can change these rivers from a gentle beginners streams to swift-water hazards. If you prefer lake paddling there are several different lakes in the area that offer easy access, great fishing and bird watching. Falls reservoir is the best of these lakes for paddle boaters since it has very low motor boat traffic and is the most scenic of all the area lakes. Want to turn that day trip into a weekend excursion. Boat camping can be found on the Uwharrie river, Badin Lake and Falls reservoir on the nation forest land that borders the water.

Biking There are a large number of biking trails in the National forest most of these are concentrated in the Wood Run area. The trails vary in difficulty and there is something for every level of rider from casual gravel road riding on Wood Run Rd to the step and challenging single track riding on Keyauwee trail. The Uwharrie and Dutchmens Creek hiking trails are not open to mountain bikes. These trails are blazed with single white and yellow paint blazes. Please respect this rule and only ride on the Wood Run Mountain Bike Trails. These trails will be marked with the double, white paint blazes. Look for signs with the UMBA symbol, signifying bike and hiker use. Some of the major trails are. Wood Run Road--The gated and graveled road leading out from the NC 24/27 trailhead parking lot Riding out and back is 11 miles. Wood Run Camp, a small open field, is located 1.4 miles down this road from the trailhead. Supertree Trail--- Both ends connect to the east side of Wood Run Road. Ride this loop clockwise for more single-track downhill. Keyauwee Trail---Both ends connect to the west side of Wood Run Road. Ride this loop counter clockwise for more single-track downhill.

Gold Panning The Uwharrie area has a long history of gold mining activity. Hundreds of old mines carve deep into the mountains and gold can be panned in many of the streams in the national forest as well as the Uwharrie river. Recreational panning for gold is allowed on most of the Uwharrie National Forest. Stream-bed (placer) gold, in most cases, does not exist in sufficient quantities to constitute economically recoverable deposits. No fee or permit is required as long as only shovel and pan techniques are used and no significant stream disturbance results, but one should check with the Uwharrie Ranger Station. Sluice or "shaker" boxes are allowed, but no mechanized or motorized equipment, such as suction dredges are allowed. Please stop by the Mountain Market for panning supplies and maps of the area to help you find the mother load.