Hiking & Canoeing at Latta Plantation, Huntersville, North Carolina
My husband always likes to make Mother’s Day extra special for me – but he knows me too well and knows that I really don’t like doing “fancy” things and being spoiled with gifts (although he did). Instead, he knows I’d rather strap on my hiking shoes, grab our paddles, or load up in the car and go explore, all while taking 3,000 photos. Like really, that’s my perfect day! So because he’s pretty awesome he planned a day out on the lake! But before we headed out, my awesome bunch made me a version of my favorite coffee from California!!
We spent our day outside enjoying as much of Mother Nature as we could! My hubby loaded uo our canoe and instead of paddling our waters of Lake Norman where we live, we headed up the road a bit to Mountain Island Lake and put the canoe in at one of of the two canoe access points.
Check out: Best Day Trips with Kids in North Carolina
My strapping hubby lugging the canoe to the water rather than backing it up into the water with the van…reminding me of the days before we were kids (19 and 20 years old) and went on a canoe trip in the Wisconsin River and he portaged our canoe us all by himself *swoon, lol!)
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As I was packing up our goods for the trip, I brought with many items from my women’s hiking essential list!
Latta Plantation Canoe Access
Latta Plantation is located at 6211 Sample Rd, Huntersville, NC 28078. Enter into the park through the gate on Sample Road, follow the signs to the canoe access location. We entered at the North Canoe access road.
Mountain Island Lake from the Latta Plantation access point was such a beautiful and peaceful alternative to Lake Norman from a canoeing perspective. Normally on the weekends Lake Norman is full of boats, jet skis and more which makes it a bit rocky when in a canoe, even on all of the fingers and coves.
We paddled up to these really pretty boulders which we hiked once we finished canoeing.
My crew – it was hot and sunny without a cloud in the sky!
After canoeing for a good while, we docked and went hiking around the historical Latta Plantation on the trails that lead to the overlook bluffs.
Buzzard Rock Overlook Trail at Latta Plantation
Enter in at the park gates on Sample Road, follow the signs to the parking lot that are labeled with Buzzard Rock Overlook.
The trails were marked really well and were wide enough for multiple people to walk side by side. The path was also very flat and well maintained, making for a very easy hike.
After hiking and canoeing our bellies were grumbling and we were ready to fill them with some delicious, locally sourced food! We headed to The Pickled Peach which is located in the downtown area of Davidson, NC near Davidson College.
My all-time favorite meal here is the Beet & Honey Goat Cheese sandwich but I decided to go with the white bean hummus avocado sandwich — which was amazing!!! We’ve been making it at home ever since!
After our early dinner we headed next door to Summit Coffee Shop and enjoyed our fancy smanchy coffees while the kids played in their outdoor space.
It was such a great day! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!
Be sure to check out my Best Day Trips with Kids in North Carolina!
