Catawba County adopted its 2026–2036 Parks Master Plan on September 21, 2026. It is the county's first full update to the plan since 2015. For Mountain Creek Park, the 606-acre park at 6554 Little Mountain Road in Sherrills Ford, the plan adds no new amenity phase. Inside the park, its recommendations are upkeep items like signs, playground surfacing, and shade. The larger ideas sit at the park's edges: the road leading in, the launch where the park meets the lake, and the parcels around its boundary.
Why the inside of the park stays as it is
The county has answered the Phase 2 question so many times that it put the answer in an FAQ on the Mountain Creek Park page. No Phase 2 is planned. No splash pad is planned, and the county notes that the water lines a splash pad would need don't exist in that area. No disc golf course is planned either. The county says it is "focused on maintaining the current park amenities and trail system in a sustainable way as our newest park matures over time."
The FAQ also explains where the Phase 2 idea came from. A long list of amenities was considered while the park was being planned. Budget, space, and conservation easement restrictions kept many of them out, and they were set aside in case the county ever revisited a second phase.
The park also already carries a large share of the county's park system. The master plan counts four county parks with 1,494 acres and 44.64 miles of trails. Mountain Creek's 606 acres are about 41 percent of that land. Its 19.52-mile trail network is about 44 percent of the trail miles. In the plan's community survey, 55 percent of respondents said they had visited Mountain Creek in the past year, and 39 percent named it as the county park they visit most.
Inside the park, the facilities are already in place:
- Trails: 14.8 miles open to hikers, including one hiker-only trail and a 0.9-mile paved ADA-accessible trail that runs through a quiet cove to the lakeside picnic area.
- Bike trails: 18 miles of technical singletrack. That includes 15.13 miles shared with hikers and 3.81 miles for bikes only, plus a 1.2-acre pump track, a tot track, and tool stations.
- Dog park: a 1-acre area for dogs of any size and a separate 0.6-acre area for dogs under 30 pounds.
- Pickleball: four first-come courts. When others are waiting, the house rule is one game to 11, win by 2, then rotate off.
- Playground: the treehouse-style adventure playground built by Beanstalk Builders.
- Kitty Barnes Nature Center: an 846-square-foot space inside the park office with live reptiles, exhibits, and a Little Free Library outside.
Paving the pump track came up in the plan's mountain-biking focus group. The plan records it as a participant suggestion and does not list it as an action item.
Where the plan does reach
Read with Mountain Creek in mind, the full master plan touches the park in three places. All three sit along its edges.
| Edge | What the plan says | Timing in the plan |
|---|---|---|
| The road in | A two-mile multi-use path along Little Mountain Road linking the park to the NC 150 corridor and the Carolina Thread Trail | None stated |
| The waterline | Replace the paddle launch with a safer option that can be used year-round when the water is low | Listed in the park assessment |
| The boundary | Acquire land around Bakers Mountain, Riverbend, or Mountain Creek Park "as the opportunity arises" | Tied to opportunity |
The Little Mountain Road path is the one most likely to change how people get to the park. The plan notes that the park entrance is two miles from NC 150, where NCDOT is designing a major widening, project R-2307A, that will include sidewalks connecting to new homes and businesses along the corridor. The plan calls the two-mile gap between those sidewalks and the park gate a chance for a new Carolina Thread Trail connection. It names NCDOT, the Carolina Thread Trail, and the Greater Hickory Area Metropolitan Planning Organization as partners.
The plan frames the path as an opportunity created by the widening, and the widening has no date yet. WCNC reported in September 2025 that NCDOT had no firm construction date for the Catawba County section, even though a 2029 start had been listed earlier. NCDOT's NC 150 project maps page was updated in July 2026 and still shows no construction schedule. The plan also adopts its recommendations on the condition that each one moves forward "as funding, partnerships, and other resources become available." For now, the path is a corridor the county has marked on a map, with no build date.
Land acquisition is also tied to timing the county can't control. The plan's recommendation is to buy land around the park when a parcel becomes available. The plan pairs that recommendation with conservation partners, including the Catawba Lands Conservancy and Foothills Conservancy.
Fall shows the waterline problem
Of the three edges, the waterline is the one a paddler can see this month. The paddle launch sits off a paved trail northeast of the parking lot. The plan's own site assessment says the ramp's steepness, length, and height, combined with changing water levels, can make it a safety hazard. A focus group participant made the same point, saying the launch should be less steep. That is why the replacement recommendation says the new launch should work "year-round when the water is low."
Paddling from the park also takes some planning. The park doesn't rent or provide equipment. If you're planning a one-way trip, the nearest public takeout is 5 miles south at the Little Creek access area.
Low water also has an upside. When the lake drops, mudflats appear along Mountain Creek and draw shorebirds, wading birds, river otters, beavers, and turtles. Ospreys dive for fish near the fishing pier, and the pier itself is open for bass, bream, yellow perch, and catfish under North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission rules. The county keeps an eBird checklist for the park. In the northern section, a beech, hickory, and oak forest is home to wild turkey, whitetail deer, and American mink.
The edge you meet first is the entrance
The last edge-related item in the plan has nothing to do with land or water. It recommends branded directional signs at nearby intersections to make more people aware of the park. Those signs would help with a known problem. The county warns that some navigation apps, especially ones that haven't been updated recently, send drivers to the wrong place. The entrance is directly on Little Mountain Road. If your app takes you off that road, it is taking you the wrong way.
Until those signs go up, a fall visit goes more smoothly with a few checks:
- Enter the street address or the GPS coordinates, 35.59855, -81.03185, before you leave home.
- Check trail status after any rain. The trails close in wet conditions and during freeze-thaw periods, and the county notes that the shaded trails can take longer to dry. Status is posted on the county's Facebook and Instagram, on the Tarheel Trailblazers trail status page, and by the park office at (828) 465-9645.
- Plan your finish around sunset. The park closes at sunset, and the parking lots and trails have no lights.
- Know the parking. The plan counts about 275 spaces, including about 15 ADA spaces and 37 gravel spaces, plus overflow parking on grass. ADA spaces are located near each main amenity.
- Reserve a shelter if you're bringing a group. The 11 shaded picnic tables are first-come, but the three covered shelters can be reserved by calling the park office.
Several plan items for inside the park are about upkeep. They include environmental education signs, ADA-compliant playground surfacing, Spanish-language versions of park signs, and shade around the playground for caregivers and children. That fits the county's stated plan to keep the current park well maintained.
Living near the north end of the lake means watching projects like the NC 150 widening and the Little Mountain Road path long before they open. If you'd like to talk through what they could mean for your part of Sherrills Ford, Juliet Thomas is glad to share what she knows about this side of Lake Norman. Let's Connect.
