Salisbury-Rowan County features a flawless display of natural beauty with pristine lakes and rivers on a backdrop of rolling hills, balanced with quaint small towns, and the historic yet sophisticated main street of Downtown Salisbury, NC.
Many of Authentic North Carolina’s best treasures are found in Salisbury-Rowan County, North Carolina. Experience authentic North Carolina barbecue, hop on a train at the North Carolina Transportation Museum, research your family history with the best genealogical collection in the Southern US or satisify your shopping urge at our many unique shops. All this and more in Salisbury-Rowan County, your Authentic North Carolina Destination.
High Rock Lake is the northernmost of the Uwharrie Lakes and the second largest lake in North Carolina behind Lake Norman. Its water surface covers 15,180 acres and there are 365 miles of shoreline. It begins at the confluence of the Yadkin River and the South Yadkin River. The lake’s name is derived from neighboring “High Rock Mountain”, the tallest mountain in the Uwharrie Mountains. The lake serves as a boundary between Davidson and Rowan counties and is a reservoir for hydroelectric power generation. High Rock Lake is currently managed and operated by the Alcoa company.
The lake is spanned by two bridges at the northern end of the lake: the I-85/US 52 bridge and the older US 29/US 70/NC 150 bridge. The NC 8 causeway crosses the Abbotts Creek tributary of the lake, as does a bridge at Holloway Church Road farther north of Abbotts Creek. Railroad tracks and their causeways also cross the southeastern portion of the lake at the Hwy 8 causeway and over Flat Swamp Creek. Numerous communities align the lake’s banks including Lexington, Salisbury, Southmont, Linwood, High Rock, and Spencer.
