Two Great Places to Picnic South of Charlotte – Colonel Beatty Park and Davie Park

This is the final part of my series on places to picnic in Charlotte. In the first two articles we visited Reedy Creek Pakr in the East Park Region and Freedom Park in the Central Park Region. If you happen to live south of the City, I’d suggest you check out Colonel Beatty Park or William R. Davie Park in Mecklenburg County’s South Park Region.

Coloney Beatty Park is located about 20 miles south of of Charlotte in Matthews, NC. This 265 acre park has all the facilities you would want from a family picnic park. If you’re having a large event you might want to think about reserving the Lake Pointe Hall. This climate controlled lodge can accommodate groups of up to 120 people. It has kitchen facilities, restrooms, water and electricity. It would make a great place for a corporate meeting or a family reunion. The park also has two outdoor picnic pavilions and plenty of individual picnic tables.

Colonel Beatty park has lots of facilities for the sports lover. There are basketball and tennis courts, horseshoe pits, softball fields and five very nice lighted soccer fields. There is also a 10 acre lake that is very good for canoeing and kayaking. In fact, there is a canoe and kayak launch area.

If you’re a beginner or intermediate mountain biker, you’re going to enjoy the 5.75 mile trail in Colonel Beatty Park. The green loop is a quite easy ride but the black diamond trail is considerably harder. There is not much elevation change but there are lots of roots and tight turns so you will be challenged. The trails are maintained by the Tarheel Trailblazers biking club and are being improved all the time.

The 107 acre William R. Davie Park is about 25 minutes south of Charlotte and about 15 minutes from Colonel Beatty Park. The reason I chose to write about this park is because it is home to the Davie Dog Park. If you have a dog and want to let him run free, this park is for you. The park covers five acres and is broken up into two separate fenced in areas; one for large (over 20 pound) dogs and one for smaller dogs. You are allowed to let your dog off his leash in the Davie Dog Park. As it should be, you are required to clean off after your dog.

William R. Davie Park also has many of the facilities you’d expect at a family picnic park. There are indoor and outdoor picnic facilities, softball fields, soccer fields, horseshoe pits and a volleyball park. There are also walking trails and a small lake. Finally, there is a well equipped playground for your kids to enjoy while you kick back and relax.

This concludes my series on places to picnic in Charlotte, NC. I hope you’ve found this series and the other articles I’ve written to be useful. Keep checking back because I’ll be starting another series of great places to picnic very soon.