Uwharrie National Forest ( ) Talk Like A Tarheel from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
. It is the smallest of the four National Forests in North Carolina, with a total area of . About 79% of its acreage is in Montgomery County. The forest is managed together with the other three North Carolina National Forests (
Croatan
The Croatan were a small Native American ethnic group living in the coastal areas of what is now North Carolina. They might have been a branch of the larger Roanoke people or allied with them.
The Croatan lived in current Dare County, an a ...
ranger
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
district office in
Troy, North Carolina
Troy is a town in Montgomery County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,188 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Montgomery County. The short story by Charles W. Chesnutt, called "The Sheriff's Children," is set in Troy.
...
. There is one officially designated wilderness area within the forest—the 5,025-acre (20.34 km²)
Birkhead Mountains Wilderness
The Birkhead Mountains Wilderness was established by the 1984 North Carolina Wilderness Act, and it covers in the Uwharrie National Forest at the northern end of the Uwharrie Mountains, in central North Carolina. The goals are to protect and pre ...
.
The forest derives its name from the
Uwharrie Mountains
The Uwharrie Mountains () from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
Yadkin River
The Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in North Carolina, flowing . It rises in the northwestern portion of the state near the Blue Ridge Parkway's Thunder Hill Overlook. Several parts of the river are impounded by dams for water, po ...
/
Pee Dee River
The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in the Carolinas of the United States. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course, above the mouth of the Uwharrie River
The Uwharri ...
while the northern border follows the northernmost range of the Uwharries near
Asheboro
Asheboro is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 25,012 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Greensboro–High Point metropolitan area of the Piedmont Triad and is home of the sta ...
. To the east, the forest is bordered by the Montgomery County seat of
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
.
The Forest lies within the
Southeastern mixed forests
The Southeastern mixed forests are an ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forest biome, in the lower portion of the Eastern United States.
Setting
This ecoregion covers the Piedmont region of the eastern United States, stretching in a ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
and supports mixed forests of
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
and
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
.
Land was first purchased by the Federal government in 1931, and the area was known as the Uwharrie Reservation. The Uwharrie Forest was given federal designation in the early 1960s by President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
Croatan National Forest
The Croatan National Forest () , from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
Interstate 73
Interstate 73 (I-73) is a north–south Interstate Highway, located within the US state of North Carolina. Currently, there is one continuous section of I-73, totaling , first traversing the U.S. Route 220 (US 220) freeway from ...
and
Interstate 74
}
Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange ...
run along the eastern boundary of the forest on the Moore County line from north to south. NC 73 runs from west to east from the Yadkin River to Mount Gilead. U.S. Highway 220 runs parallel to I-73/74. NC 109 runs from north to south from the Davidson County line to its end in Troy.
NC 24
North Carolina Highway 24 (NC 24) is the longest primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Traveling east–west between the Charlotte metropolitan area and the Crystal Coast, connecting the cities of Charlotte, Fay ...
/ 27 both run from the Yadkin River in the west to Moore County in the east.
The forest is one of the key locations used in the US Army Special Warfare School's
ROBIN SAGE
Robin Sage is a fictional American cyber threat analyst. She was created in December 2009 by Robin Casey and Thomas Ryan, two controversial security specialists and white hat hackers from New York City. Her name was taken from a training exerci ...
exercise for the training of
Special Forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
students.
The first substantial gold strike in the United States was discovered near this area in 1799, and gold was found in the Uwharrie Mountains in the 19th century. A mini
gold rush
A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...
occurred during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Panning for gold in the forest's streams and rivers remains a popular activity. Boating and fishing are available at Badin Lake, while the Uwharrie National Recreation Trail runs through the forest. Other trails and paths provide opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, camping, and horseback riding. Off-road vehicles have their own trail system, which is open seasonally.
Uwharrie National Forest has received attention as of late for unconfirmed sightings of Mountain Lions within forest boundaries.