Mountain Island Park Trail – No Roots Adventure Co

Mount Holly, NC

★★★★

1.6 Miles One way, 2.9 round trip. This trail is located alongside the Catawba river, and begins at the Mountain island Hydroelectric station.

Originally the Mountain Island Manufacturing Company resided here and was one of the first cotton mills of the area. The mill was functional from 1850 until 1916. In 1916 the mill and surrounding homes were destroyed in a hurricane. In 1923 the hydroelectric station was built and is used and owned by Duke Energy. When standing near the dam you can hear the mechanical noise and occasional alarms, and can see the age in architecture when looking at the dam.

June 8th, 2021 Arriving at this trail I had no Idea about the hydroelectric dam. When starting all trails I really didn’t look at the details of trails, just that they were near water. The entrance into the park itself was welcoming and pulling up to the dam made the walk feel special. The parking lot itself had its own Feline keepers that wanted to watch you from afar but left quickly when approached. You can tell this park is fished often with tackle hanging off the power lines above. The water is a green blue color that is murky but the color seems to make up for it. The first half of the trail is crushed rock, second half is dirt path. I had made the decision to wear my light Vibram Five fingers and certainly realized that was a mistake as I was able to feel all the rocks. Every so often there are little walkways that cut through the woods between the trail and the river that you could probably bring a nice snack and stop and take everything in. The park also hosts a number of bike paths that look like they could be at the easy to moderate level. I choose to walk some of these paths to be closer to the water. The foot bridges give the trail a good bit of whimsy, and at the end of the trail is marked by the frame to an old truck . For whatever reason I felt the need to start intermittently run on this trail, I don’t run but my body said why not. I would suggest bringing bug spray or lotion because the damp areas were a little buggy.

I finished this trail in 1hr 20mins. I do tend to take stops

This would be good in all seasons, in the fall you would probably have better views of the Catawba from the walking path.