About the Lake

About High Rock Lake

You can read more about High Rock Lake on the wikipedia page.

High Rock Lake is the 2nd largest lake in North Carolina, and is located smack dab in the center of the State. It's location is hard to beat, nestled between Charlotte, Winston-Salem, and Greensboro. The lake is right off I-85, making it easy to get anywhere, and spans two counties: Rowan County (Salisbury, NC) and Davidson County (Lexington, NC).

The lake spans over 15,000 acres with 365 miles of shoreline and 1000's of homes. High Rock Lake is fed by the Yadkin River. The inlet part of the lake is less trafficked, but a popular thing to do is to do a boat caravan or jet ski ride up river to Boone's Cave.

On the other end is the High Rock dam, with a beautiful backdrop of the High Rock Mountain, the highest in the Uwharrie Mountains range, and where the lake gets it name.

The history of the dam goes back to 1887. The lake (chain of lakes, actually) back then was just a river, going through a rather deep gorge, so some mining entrpeneurs felt it was a natural place to build a dam. After a series of various interests, ultimately it was the aluminum company, Alcoa, who bought the land and started building dams along the river. Baden Lake was created in 1917, followed by Falls Lake in 1919, and High Rock Lake in 1927. (We're not too far from High Rock Lake turning 100! That's going to be a a party.)

Recently, in 2017, Cube Hydro Carolinas took over operating of the dam. Thus, they also oversee some aspects of the lake. For example, they are in talks with Salisbury and Rowan County to build a new waterfront park for the community to enjoy.

There's lots of ways to enjoy High Rock Lake. It's a tournament class fishing lake, there are several restaurants on the lake (accessible via boat, of course), scenic views about, organized social events like Poker Runs and Dragon Boat Races, and, of course, tubing, jet skiing, wakeboarding and wakesurfing.

A popular recreation spot is Goat Island, a sandy-shored party spot on the Salisbury side of the lake. Be forewarned, things can get a bit crazy out at the Goat, but there's room for everyone. Usually families hang out at one part of the island, while the drinking, dancing, fist-bumping crowd is at another. What happens at Goat Island, stays at Goat Island! (Well, not really, but it's fun to pretend that's true.)

Compared to other lakefront real estate across the country and even the state, High Rock Lake is surprising affordable. Much of lake is still undeveloped, so there is opportunity abound. Inventory (homes for sale) is generally low, so many people opt for building the lakefront home of their dreams. Established homes go from anywhere in the $200K's, up to the millions, and lakefront lots have been hovering around $200K/acre.