The 10 best hikes in Charlotte

Crowders Mountain is a favorite Piedmont hiking spot for good reason. It’s not only a straight-shot highway drive in less than an hour but it also sports trails that range from easy jaunts with a toddler in a backpack to grueling mountain treks. Those among us who are regulars on the gym’s stair climber should head for the Backside Trail; and while it’s only two miles up to the pinnacle of Crowders Mountain, that trip requires a 650-foot ascent in just a mile that includes 336 wooden steps before the glorious, backbreaking summit.

At 2,100 acres, Anne Springs is twice the size of Central Park and includes thick forests and lakes, both of which are well-traveled and just a short drive across the South Carolina border from Charlotte. Aside from the regular outdoor pursuits like horseback riding and kayak rentals, the greenway also hosts regular events, like live music at the Greenway Canteen restaurant and a donkey meet and greet (where, like speed dating, you'll be introducing yourself to a bunch of jackasses).

Mostly flat hiking trails and nearly 31 miles of single-track mountain bike routes make this a popular spot for day trippers looking to take in views of Lake Norman. There are 17 miles of shoreline in the park, all of it made even more majestic when the fall leaves reflected in the waters.

The highest peak east of the Mississippi won’t require much in the way of mountaineering to reach the top: it’s just a half-mile (but steep) walk up to a lookout platform with stunning panoramic views. For the more adventurous, there are lots of options for strenuous climbs, including a six-mile summit loop starting much farther down than the summit parking lot. Afterward, a hillside picnic area offers sweeping views of neighboring peaks and a timber-cabin-style shelter with its own fireplace.

You won't have to leave the city of Charlotte to find a good stretch of untouched wilderness, with Reedy Creek serving up trails, streams and lakes. The park's center, popular for field trips, hosts talks and displays with live animals. There's a good chance your favorite hobby will also bring you here, with pickleball courts, a disc golf course and bike trails.

What might be the oldest mountains in North America rise up from Uwharrie's 52,000 acres, and you can explore them on 40 miles of trails. As a national forest and not a park, Uwharrie is more of an untamed wilderness than a park full of regulations, meaning it’s more open to hunters, fishermen and campers that can set up at organized campgrounds or at sites that dot most of the trails and service roads.

Easy trails that meander to waterfalls make DuPont a popular site for tourists. But it's the mountain bike trails that attract the cyclists, with routes that range from bombing up and down rock faces to chill gravel explorations deep into the forest. Those same trails are also frequented by hikers, who can go deep into DuPont’s woodlands and ascend up its rock faces. DuPont would be higher on this list if it wasn’t two-plus hours from Charlotte, but there’s a payoff in some of the most scenic trails in the Carolinas.

It's a strenuous 5.3-mile hike to the top of Morrow Mountain, but the reward is views of Lake Tillery and its tributary, the Pee Dee River. The park isn't all summiting, though, as it's a popular spot for horseback riding, camping and swimmers at the park's swimming pool, which provides a respite after a day hiking the trails.

Just over an hour's drive from Charlotte brings you to peaks that rise over 3,000 feet, making for some challenging hikes. Perhaps the park's most popular, and strenuous, hike is a 2.4-mile loop that follows a creek up to the 80-foot-high Shoals Falls. But those who don't want the challenge shouldn't fear, as there are plenty of chill walks in the woods that take in the views of waterfalls coming off those rising mountains.

A series of canals once made the Catawba River navigable now serve as a spot to explore along its banks, with mostly flat trails that take in views of the water. The trails are best explored from May to June when thousands of rocky shoals and spider lilies bloom along the river.