Moss Lake in North Carolina

Trip Overview

I chose Moss Lake for a day trip because it is only 17 miles from my house, and it is relatively small for a lake, which usually yields few power boaters. I knew, however, that there would be an increased number of powerboaters due to the Labor Day weekend.

I arrived at the Moss Lake Park at about 10:45 am and was on the water by 11:00 am. The boat ramp puts you out in one of the widest sections of the lake, which is usually where the most powerboaters are. Although there were a few more than usual, there still was not as many as Lake Wylie or Mountain Island would've had.

My destination for the day was one of the northern coves of the lake, offering possible seclusion and tranquility. The general shape of the lake is a large, wide lower section, and three main coves that split off to the north. I chose the cove furthest to the East, as my topographic map showed it was the longest, and possibly fewest lake houses.

Within a half hour, I had already paddled to the point where the three coves split off. There were several islands in the immediate area, and after surveying each of them, none offered a good place to rest, so I kept going. I saw only one other paddler the whole day, and that was just before entering my cove of choice. We talked for a minute about our boats, and paddled on separately.

Once I entered the cove, the water smoothed out greatly and was much more easy to paddle in, which was a blessing for me, a novice kayaker. To my surprise, there were few places on the shore of the cove that didn't have a house sitting on them, which was a little disappointing. The paddle to the end of the cove was shorter than I expected, only about 20 minutes. I had my fishing pole and was hoping to do some fishing from the shore, but the only good places I found to do so had "No Trespassing" signs posted in multiple locations, so I kept going.

By 12:30, the temperature was fairly high, along with the humidity, so I headed back to the main channel. I stopped again at the cove split off area at one of the islands for a break, then headed back towards the boat ramp. Also by that time, more powerboaters had arrived at the lake, and the mood was slightly offset by the constant bobbling of my kayak from their wakes. Regardless, it was a very good paddling day trip that I recommend for any novice, like myself, to do, as it allows one to get accustomed to flatwater kayaking in a lake where many different types of water can be paddled on.

Trip Distance was approx. 6.0 miles round-trip.

Accommodations:

Moss Lake Park is a city park with two boat ramps, parking area, picnic shelter, restrooms, and areas for bank fishing.

Fees:

None for paddling or boating.

Directions:

Take Hwy 74 to the Oak Grove Rd. Exit (West of Kings Mountain) and go "North" on Oak Grove Rd. Turn right onto Stony Point Rd (Red Light with Gas Station). Turn left onto New Camp Creek Church Rd (Another Gas Station). Moss Lake Park will be approx. 1 mile on the right.

Resources:

I used Topozone.com to produce a topographic map for the lake.