Norwood, NC is a small town about 40 miles due east of Charlotte. It is bordered by Lake Tillery to the east and next to the Uwharrie Mountains. We were only here for a weekend, but there’s so much to see and do, you could easily stay longer.
Table of Contents
Where We Stayed
Norwood Campground
Norwood Campground is not a fancy campground, but there’s nothing wrong with it. The proximity to Lake Tillery is the biggest selling point for us. It lacks a dog park, but there’s a small playground and a jumping pillow. The pool looked like it was a good size, but it was closed for the season when we visited.
There are 81 sites, most with full hookups and some with just water and about a dozen with just water and electric. The fishing pond was very popular while we were there.
They also have a small gift shop/camp store.
The restrooms are better on the inside than they look from the outside. We didn’t use them, but they are above average if you plan to use the bathhouse.
The campground isn’t actually on the lake; it’s on the other side of the road. However, they have a piece of property on the lake side that does go down to the lake. Since it’s only for those staying at the campground, it’s kind of like having private access. The gravel driveway (for lack of a better word) is steep, and I don’t think you’re supposed to drive on it, but it works.
There’s no dock or anything, but it’s a perfect place to let the dogs get in the water and would be a fine place to launch your own kayak or paddleboard if you had one.
| Campground Name | Norwood Campground |
| Location | Norwood, NC |
| Dates | October 3-5, 2025 |
| Site Number | 64 |
| Site Surface | All gravel, pretty unlevel |
| Hook-ups | Full hookups |
| Cost | $55 per night |
| Water Pressure | Oops, forgot to write it down! |
| Voltage | Oops, forgot to write it down! |
| Verizon Speed Test* | 0.65 Mbps down; 0.41 Mbps up |
| T-Mobile Speed Test* | 17.6 Mbps down; 0.38 Mbps up |
| Campground WiFi* | 5.06 Mbps down; 11.4 Mbps up |
Our campsite was a bit unlevel, but otherwise fine. There was plenty of shade, but no real grass. There wasn’t anything really special about the site, but nothing wrong with it either.
What We Did
Morrow Mountain State Park
Morrow Mountain State Park is about 20 minutes from the campground and has more than 35 miles of hiking trails (as well as plenty of other recreational opportunities).
We took the Fall Mountain Trail, which is a 4.1-mile loop through the park. Fall Mountain Trail is labeled a moderate trail, which seems reasonable to me. There is some tricky terrain to navigate, with lots of rocks and roots to watch for, as well as some steep uphill sections.
Near the end of the loop route, there’s a path off to the left with a log lying across the trail. I think there’s a sign about treacherous terrain or something. Jesse had read something about an impressive view on AllTrails, so we gave it a try. For a while, the terrain wasn’t bad.
At some point, you get to a spot that overlooks the Yadkin River. This is where the treacherous terrain comes in, because you need to get down those rocks to get closer to the river. By that point, Corona had already hiked about 4 miles (as this part is not included in the 4.1-mile calculation for the trail distance). She’s also 13 years old and those rocks were really more like boulders, so we elected to stay at the top and watch as Jesse and Aiken made their way down. In the photo below, you can barely see them on a rock near the water since they’re so tiny.
We started the trail at the southeast corner near the boat ramp and hiked the loop clockwise, ending at the restrooms/boat rental area. The good thing about hiking in this direction is that you end your adventure along the Yadkin River. There are a few spots with good water access, and the dogs were only too happy to wade around in the water after a few miles of hiking.
Kayaking on Lake Tillery
While researching kayak rentals online, Jesse noticed a place called Lake Tillery Kayaking had special pricing if you were staying anywhere on the lake, including Norwood Campground.
We rented two sit-in kayaks for 4 hours. Lake Tillery Kayaking doesn’t have a physical location; they’re mobile and bring the kayaks to you. We arranged to have the kayaks dropped off at the Norwood Access Area on Lakeshore Drive. When we arrived, the man (whose name I cannot remember, but he was really nice!) already had the kayaks waiting for us at the water, complete with life jackets. Jesse did some minimal paperwork and off we went.
We were told if we got back early to just drag the kayaks out of the water a bit and off to the side. They really made the whole process easy for us.
We had a great time. We explored several coves of the lake.
It felt like we were kayaking for a long time, but when you look at the places we explored, you get a feel for how big the lake is (and how little we saw). The image below is a photo of a map of Lake Tillery. The small green section toward the lower half of the image is the area we expored with the kayaks.
Below is a screenshot of a part of the lake. The white star is Norwood Access Area, where we began and ended our kayak adventure. The dotted line is the route we took, traveling clockwise. The green circle near the end of our trip is the campground’s lake access area.
There were so many birds! We saw great blue herons, egrets, kingfishers, and a green heron (photos in the Wildlife section of this post). There were also turtles and lots of fish. We stayed close to the shoreline for the most part, in part to stay out of the way of the bigger, faster boats that are using the lake, and in part because it was fun to look at all of the houses and docks on the lake. This is one of my favorites.
We also found this weird thing in the water. We are puzzled. Is it some weird nesting thing for birds? If anyone knows, please let us know!
Where We Ate
The Boat House on Lake Tillery
The Boat House on Lake Tillery is only a 3-minute drive from the campground. It doesn’t look like much from the outside (or the inside really), but we would come again.
The Boat House is somewhere between fast food and sit-down restaurant. You order at the counter, and they give you a buzzer that lets you know when your food is ready.
There is an outdoor bar as well as seating outside where you can watch the boats go by on the lake.
Two things made the place stand out to us. The first was the view of the lake from the outdoor seating. You could sit outside, enjoy your meal, and watch boats go by.
The second was the dock with boat slips and a fuel pump. While we were eating, we watched a group of people (and one dog) pull up in a pontoon boat, dock in a boat slip, fuel up the boat, and then head to the outdoor bar. Seems like a pretty smart business plan to have boat slips and a fuel pump if you’re on a lake like this.
We ordered mozzarella sticks, a hot dog and fries, chicken tenders and fries, and two sodas. Our bill was $37 and change before tip. The food was simple, but good. They appear to sell a lot of pizza.
They also have ice cream and a few homemade desserts. We got two single scoops of ice cream (in cups) for $6 and change (including tax).
Wildlife
We saw so many birds while we were kayaking. The lake is basically paradise for them. We saw great blue herons, an egret, kingfishers, and a green heron.
The kingfishers are so tricky to photograph. They are so fast, never sit still for long, and are quick to leave if you try to get close. This is the best I could get.
Here’s a beautiful green heron I found near the shore at the end of our kayaking.
We also saw a few deer on our way to Morrow Mountain State Park.
Happy travels!
Have questions? Visit our FAQ page. Still have questions? Ask us on Instagram!