The Local’s Guide to Mooresville, NC

by The Backseat View

Mooresville, NC, is located 30 minutes from Charlotte and is a perfect small-town vacation destination. The town is more extensive than it seems, so this Local’s Guide to Mooresville will provide insight for planning the best trip. Locals have managed to maintain the small-town feel and keep their town a Southern secret. Mooresville is best defined as the upscale, classy Lake Life with a touch of farmland roots. Traditions are built here, with stories told over kayak paddles and barbeque grills on Lake Norman.

LAKE LIFE

My memory stirs with summers spent fishing on the lake and touring NASCAR garages. Come for the race history museums and the 55-mile-per-hour kart races, but stay to create family memories at the Lazy 5 Ranch and Carrigan Farms. Mooresville is where stories are created by adventuring into the magic of Lake Life.

After 30 years in Mooresville, my family is sharing THE BEST of Mooresville with y’all.

LAKE NORMAN

Mooresville is located on beautiful Lake Norman.

• The lake is the largest artificially created lake in the United States. It’s enormous and beyond beautiful. Locals spend the summer boating, fishing, and jet skiing.

• Half my family lives in Mooresville on Lake Norman, so I highly recommend renting a house on the lake from VRBO for your summer vacation.

Lake Norman State Park

• Lake Norman State Park offers over 31 miles of biking trails.

• Fishing for flounder, catfish, or perch from the shore or launch your boat.

• Lounging or swimming by the beach area of Lake Norman is a perfect day.

• Camping is available for tents, trailers, and RVs.

• The camper cabins sleep six people and are similar to tiny homes for the camping experience.

• Lake Norman is the perfect weekend escape.

DOWNTOWN

Mooresville has a charming, traditional, All-American downtown Main Street. The windows have flower boxes and the brick walls are covered in historic murals. Independently owned stores and restaurants provide a variety of options.

Let’s walk through the favorites.

• The Epic Chophouse Restaurant is the best for special occasions or vacation dinners. This is rated as almost everyone’s favorite restaurant. Epic has been rated the town’s premiere steak house for over a decade.

• For a casual meal, try Big Tiny’s BBQ for a delicious Texas-style brisket and ribs.
• The Mooresville Ice Cream Company, founded in 1924, is not to be missed. The Award-winning Salted Caramel ice cream in a historic shop is worth any drive. For decades, we have enjoyed this gem of a family tradition.

• Main Street is the place to be, from stylish boutiques to Tap houses.
• The community wildly supports downtown Liberty Park Events with food trucks, local vendors, and live music. This is the classic American small-town event, with everyone bringing their chairs and coolers to enjoy a night under the stars. Check the town calendar and join in the fun. The five-acre park with a playground, splash pad, and creek side walking trails brings the community together.
• The Vintage, 1950s-style drive-in What-A-Burger is a local favorite at the edge of Main Street. Everyone loves this historic place.

MERINO MILL

• Merino Mill, located on Main Street, just a few blocks from downtown, has the best coffee shop, Defined Coffee. It doesn’t matter the time of day, we are going by Defined Coffee. The massive blueberry muffins are always on my checklist. Defined Coffee has a dedicated following, and there’s always a line.

• Nest & Bower provides classy, trendy, and unique home décor.
• Merino Mills has the largest Antique Mall in the Carolinas, Main St. Antiques and Design Gallery, with over 350 vendors. There is something for everyone in here.
• Local Favorite Restaurants are The Barcelona for burgers, and Alino Pizzeria.
• Merino Mill hosts Sail Again Children’s Consignment and women’s clothing, Green Jeans Consignment, twice yearly. These are the best sales on expensive name-brand clothing like Lilly Pulitzer, Vineyard Vines, and Lululemon. Check their websites and stop by in April and September.
• The Joy House benefits the special needs community through unique gifts. With over 30 vendors, we always stop by at 500 S. Main Street.

NASCAR

Mooresville is HOME to NASCAR.

• The Auto-Racing Walk of Fame stone pavers line Main Street in downtown Mooresville. The pavers have the names of drivers and the year they were inducted.

• The North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame is dedicated to all types of racing. Over 40 cars bring racing’s most remarkable moments to life. The home of racing delivers a museum loaded with memorabilia and history. The tickets are affordable, around $6.

• Memory Lane Museum features over 100 vehicles on display. Over 15 different types of race cars are on display, from Soap derbies, drag cars, Winston Cup Stock, and NASCAR cars. Antique cars, famous movie cars, and tractors are also on display. The museum has won several awards for the preservation of automotive history. It’s affordable at around $10 per person.

• Penske Racing South Facility provides tours of the actual racing garage for free and is a top Mooresville activity. You can watch from the overhead catwalk as the crews work on cars and haulers, preparing for the next race. Sparkling clean floors, a top-notch facility, and taking pictures with trophies and race cars make this an impressive tour.

• Kyle Busch Motorsports also provides free visits to the working garage and watching through the glass as the teams prepare the cars for the next race. There are over 200 trophies on display and a few winning cars to take photos with.
• JR Motorsports requires advance sign-ups for free garage tours and purchase tickets for a behind-the-scenes NASCAR garage tour. No photography is allowed in this garage experience. This is most popular with Dale Jr.’s fans.

• Go Pro Motorplex requires a driver’s license for this Premier Outdoor Karting Track. These karts reach speeds of up to 55 miles per hour. You are visiting Race City, so you might as well race. A top-notch racing facility on a professional course with fast karts is the definition of FUN in Mooresville. This rack is the entry to the racing world with future drivers practicing daily.

• The Pitt has Indoor Kart Racing for all ages. With over 140,000 sq ft of fun with laser tag, arcade games, an escape room, and pool tables, great for all ages.

• NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte
• Walk the halls with legends and remember the famous races at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The museum has interactive exhibits, historical memorabilia, race videos, and an extensive collection of race cars. The simulator rides must be added to your ticket for the racing experience. The guided tour is two hours long, so have lunch at the café or Buffalo Wild Wings.

• Charlotte Motor Speedway is the famous NASCAR track that has entertained fans of all ages for 50 years. The fan experience is very broad from touring race shops, behind the scenes speedway tours or driving the stock car yourself. The list of racing events is endless from the All-Star Race, Coca-Cola 600, Bank of America 500 to World of Outlaw Events, Monster Trucks and the drive-through holiday light show, Carolina Christmas.

Animal and Outdoor Activities

Lazy 5 Ranch

• Lazy 5 Ranch is a drive-thru or wagon ride safari and petting zoo home to over 750 animals from 6 continents. The animals are pushy and demand feeding, leaving behind lots of slobber. The variety of animals is impressive, from giraffes, llamas, zebra, water buffalo, longhorn cattle, ring-tailed lemurs, and rhinos.

Before you grab everyone a $3 bucket of feed and hop in a wagon, you must pay in cash, with adults $21 and children $15. Driving your personal vehicle through is a few dollars cheaper, but the damage is not worth the money saved. Reservations are required or highly recommended for the wagon rides.

Carrigan Farms

• Carrigan Farms changes with the season. The Farm offers pick-your-own fruits and vegetables from strawberries, pumpkins, asparagus, or apples. Halloween offers spooky hayrides at the quarry. The sparkling blue water of the quarry is Instagram-famous. Swimming is available on open swim days or with reservations. Carrigan Farms has a double-stream waterfall known as Unity Falls. The farm is gorgeous and worth the trip any time of the year.

Parks

• Parks are numerous so I picked two.
• Cornelius Road Park has a playground, walking trail, and disc golf.

• Hope Park has two huge playgrounds based on age and a splash pad. This park is off the scale of town parks, which is impressive.

Zoo’s

• Zootastic Park is located next door to Mooresville in Troutman. It’s a fun, educational animal park for all ages. You drive through the park feeding the animals and then explore various animals in a zoo-type environment. The Christmas Light display is a holiday tradition for the locals.
• North Carolina Zoo is an hour and a half away in Asheboro, NC, but it makes a great day trip. The zoo is the world’s largest natural habitat zoo, so the 1,700 animals have plenty of roaming room.

Winter

• For Winter visits, Mooresville is a quick drive to Sugar Mountain for skiing, snowboarding, or hiking, an easy local favorite.

• Other winter activity options include Ski Beech Ski Resort, Winterplace, and Boone.

GOLF

• Mooresville Golf Club is an award-winning public golf course. I don’t review golf courses, so I’m here for the food.

• The local secret is the restaurant On the Nines Bistro, with exceptional food with a view. Everyone loves to brunch and lunch here to enjoy the Southern flair meals made from scratch.

• The Point is a luxury, private waterfront home community inspired by Nantucket’s style. The Trump National Golf Club is home to an 18-hole golf course designed by Greg Norman. The Lake Norman Yacht Club is located here for learning to sail. These are millionaire row-type homes, but vacation homes are available to rent.

Welcome Home Veterans

Living Military Museum

Walking into this place brings a surprise at the impressive museum covering all the wars. Learning about history is always a great idea. The café allows people to gather and connect, especially the veterans. I applaud all the people working to keep this awesome place running.

Charlotte Activities

Charlotte has a light rail system that makes navigating the town super easy with 26 stations and 11 park-and-ride locations. It runs around $5 one-way and is safe.

• The U.S. National White Water Center is much more than white water rafting with festivals, River Jam, Racing Series, outdoor films, adventure dining, and outdoor activities. The world’s largest manmade whitewater river has class II-IV rapids. The river is made into four sections: Instruction, Freestyle, Wilderness, and Competition rafting. Rafting requires reservations made onsite. After rafting, the center offers ropes courses, kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, and ziplines to fill your weekend. This is THE PLACE to PLAY!

• The Bank of America Stadium is home to the Carolina Panthers and MLS soccer teams. The stadium is fantastic, with great views of the city buildings and a clean, relaxing environment in the heart of downtown with restaurants, bars, and hotels. The stadium is the perfect venue for live music and concert tour stops.
• Bojangles Coliseum for the Charlotte Checkers, hockey team and concerts.
• The Spectrum Center for basketball with the Charlotte Hornets and concert events.
• Truist Baseball Field (formerly BB& T) host the Charlotte Knights the AAA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. It’s a lovely park with views of the downtown skyline buildings. AAA Baseball is reasonably priced entertainment for the entire family.

• Kannapolis Cannon Ballers are a Single-A affiliate of the White Sox and play their games at Atrium Health Ballpark. Kannapolis is only 14 miles from Mooresville. They have a new stadium and it’s a great place to watch a game.
• Billy Graham Library is free and the Journey of Faith tour takes a little more than an hour to complete. The Billy Graham Library is much more than a library, it a huge warehouse. It’s a peaceful, inspiring visit filled with films, memorabilia, and historic moments of spreading God’s love. They offer a serene tour of the original Graham family home. The library experience is free, but shopping in Ruth’s Attic and lunch in the Dairy Bar are worth bringing money. The calm vibes and soulful experience make this an inspirational day for spiritual growth.

• Carowinds Amusement Park is a family favorite! Everyone buys season tickets to enjoy this 105-acre park filled with thrill rides, live entertainment, and a water park. My family says this is “Way better than Six Flags”, with constantly building, new rides in a clean and safe environment.

• Discovery Place Science is a Children’s science museum with an IMAX screen, Accenture IMAX Dome theatre, and interactive hands-on exhibits.

Mooresville LODGING

The Hilton Garden Inn in Mooresville is the best hotel in town. We stay here for big family events and are always impressed with their service and personal touches. The staff takes pride in their hotel and consistently exceeds our expectations.

Restaurant Recap

I looked at 10 different family member’s list of top food choices and these were consistently in the top three.

• Epic Chophouse for best steak dinner

• Mooresville Ice Cream Company- salted caramel

• Lancaster’s BBQ with a bus inside and a unique racing theme

• Jeffrey’s Restaurant– high-quality independently owned dining

• On the Nines bistro- exceptional Southern food

• El Cerro Reyes- Classic, friendly Mexican Restaurant

• Big Tiny BBQ– Located on Main Street with casual brick-walled dining

• The Barcelona for burgers

• Alino Pizzeria

• What-A-Burger for fast food.

Mooresville is the best of small- town America with Charlotte in the backyard bringing endless activity options. Come visit the classic town of Mooresville, NC for a weekend or a week, the memories are waiting on you!

Thank you for reading my Local’s Guide to Mooresville Travel Guide!

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