Recreation facilities in the Stanly County area are many and varied. Stanly County is gaining additional recognition each year as the "Playground of the Lower Piedmont," for it is truly an ideal location for recreation. Morrow Mountain State Park is located in the county about six miles east of Albemarle.

The park is bordered on two sides by Lake Tillery and covers 4,425 acres in the Uwharrie Mountains, the oldest mountain range in North America. Morrow Mountain's facilities include family campgrounds, vacation cabins, a large swimming pool and bathhouse, picnic areas, rental boats, a natural history museum, hiking and nature trails, an amphitheater, and a re-creation of the historical Kron House where Dr. Frances J. Kron lived in the early 1800's. Visit Morrow Mountain on the web at  http://ils.unc.edu/parkproject/momo.html or visit Browse USA for beautiful photos of Morrow Mountain.

Stanly County Bicycling Map. Many of Stanly County's rural roads are perfect for cycling. The state of North Carolina has assisted in the production of a Bike Map for the county. Download map here.

Hunting in Stanly County and adjoining Montgomery County for deer, quail, duck and rabbit is in abundance.

The Badin Inn Resort and Club at Badin has a beautiful, well-maintained 18-hole championship course, swimming pool, tennis courts and a clubhouse. Another private club in Norwood, Piney Point Golf Club, semi-private 18-hole course and modem clubhouse. Fifteen minutes from Albemarle lie the Old North State Club, the state's number two golf course, and the new Tillery Tradition golf community.

A full-time parks and recreation director is employed by the City of Albemarle to plan and implement year-round programs covering a host of activities such as soccer, tennis, basketball, softball, baseball, football, dance, and pottery. There is also a staff of permanent employees who coordinate all the recreational programs. There are several small neighborhood parks with playground apparatus, and park improvement is an ongoing process.

Rock Creek, the largest of the parks is just south of Bypass 24/27 where it crosses Highway 52 South, which offers a wide range of programs, including swimming, tennis, hiking, and team sports. Instruction in some sports is offered periodically. This park also hosts the Challenge Program to teach physical fitness to 9- 15-year-olds.

Don Montgomery Park near downtown Albemarle offers six lighted tennis courts, two all-purpose courts for basketball, volleyball, or similar games, and one general purpose field suitable for softball, baseball and midget football. In addition, there is playground equipment for younger children and shuffleboard for all ages.

Roosevelt Ingram Park features playground equipment and fields for team sports such as soccer and baseball.

Chuck Morehead Memorial Park, on Highway 52 North, offers swimming, tennis, and picnicking.

The Stanly County Family YMCA on North First Street offers a variety of physical fitness programs, including aerobics, swimming, racquet ball, and Nautilus training, as well as water therapy for arthritis patients and others with special physical needs. The "Y" is a state-of-the-art facility. Team sports such as basketball, softball and volleyball are organized in a league format for businesses and churches. The facility recognizes the importance of our community's youth by providing day camps, after-school programs and organized leagues. Visit the Stanly YMCA online.

There's a I00-acre park in Richfield with nature trails, a lake, and picnic area. Norwood also has parks with hiking trails and tennis, swimming and softball. Badin, New London, Oakboro, Stanfield, and Locust maintain a variety of park facilities to meet their individual communities' needs.

Football, basketball, and baseball are enjoyed locally by the young and old. Albemarle fields American Legion Baseball teams each year, and the high schools and Pfeiffer University offer many opportunities for fans. Southern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference sporting events are only a few hours drive away, and the NBA Hornets and NFL Carolina Panthers about an hour. Additional recreational needs are met by a growing host of privately-owned businesses, including batting cages, movie theaters, a gold mine, a bowling alley, roller skating rinks, arcade games, go-cart tracks, miniature golf courses, crafts studios, driving ranges, and others.