List of North Carolina state parks
State Parks
State Parks are the principle unit of the state park system. The NC Division of Parks & Recreation describes its parks as follows: Generally, State Parks are expected to possess both significant natural resource values and significant recreational values.

List of North Carolina state parks

Section Title: State Parks
Table Section Text: State Parks are the principle unit of the state park system. The NC Division of Parks & Recreation describes its parks as follows: Generally, State Parks are expected to possess both significant natural resource values and significant recreational values.

Park Name	Web- site	Region	County or Counties	Size	Year Established	Status	Remarks

Bay Tree State Park	—	Coastal Plain	Bladen	609 acres (2.46 km2)	1979	Undeveloped	North Carolina's oldest, undeveloped State Park is adjacent to Bay Tree State Lake.

Carolina Beach State Park	[1]	Coast	New Hanover	761 acres (3.08 km2)	1969	Open	Named not for a beach, rather the Town of Carolina Beach, the park is located along the banks of the Cape Fear River and Snow's Cut (part of the Intracoastal Waterway).

Carvers Creek State Park	[2]	Coastal Plain	Cumberland	4,332 acres (17.53 km2)	2005	Open	Under development; Interim facilities are open at the park's historic Long Valley Farm Access.

Chimney Rock State Park	[3]	Mountains	Rutherford, Polk, Buncombe, Henderson	6,807 acres (27.55 km2)	2005	Open	Under development; The park protects the landscape of Hickory Nut Gorge, including its most well known feature, Chimney Rock.

Cliffs of the Neuse State Park	[4]	Coastal Plain	Wayne	1,094 acres (4.43 km2)	1945	Open	The park protects ancient cliff faces located along the banks of the Neuse River.

Crowders Mountain State Park	[5]	Piedmont	Gaston	5,126 acres (20.74 km2)	1973	Open	The park protects the Kings Mountain Ridgeline in North Carolina, including its highest peaks Crowder's Mountain and King's Pinnacle. The park is also adjacent to Kings Mountain State Park in South Carolina, which in turn is adjacent to Kings Mountain National Military Park.

Dismal Swamp State Park	[6]	Coastal Plain	Camden	14,432 acres (58.40 km2)	1974	Open	Under development; The park protects large part of the Great Dismal Swamp, and it is adjacent to Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

Elk Knob State Park	[7]	Mountains	Watauga, Ashe	3,680 acres (14.9 km2)	2002	Open	Under development; The park preserves some of the highest peaks in Ashe and Watauga Counties, and it protects headwaters of the North Fork New River.

Eno River State Park	[8]	Piedmont	Durham, Orange	4,200 acres (17 km2)	1973	Open	The park protects the banks of the Eno River and surrounding lands.

Fort Macon State Park	[9]	Coast	Carteret	424 acres (1.72 km2)	1924	Open	The first North Carolina State Park to open to the public. It protects the historic Fort Macon and the eastern end of Bogue Banks.

Goose Creek State Park	[10]	Coastal Plain	Beaufort	1,672 acres (6.77 km2)	1974	Open	The park protects part of the landscape along the Pamlico Sound.

Gorges State Park	[11]	Mountains	Transylvania	7,709 acres (31.20 km2)	1999	Open	Under development; North Carolina's westernmost state park; it is located along the steep Blue Ridge Escarpment. The park is best known for the many waterfalls it provides access to, both inside the park and on adjacent public lands.

Grandfather Mountain State Park	[12]	Mountains	Avery, Watauga, Caldwell	3,436 acres (13.90 km2)	2009	Open	Under development; Adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway, the park protects the highest peak located along the Blue Ridge Escarpment. The park consists of lands formerly known as the "backcountry area" when it was privately owned nature preserve.

Hammocks Beach State Park	[13]	Coast	Onslow	1,520 acres (6.2 km2)	1961	Open	While protecting a variety of maritime habitats, the park is most known for its four-mile (6.4 km) long barrier island, Bear Island.

Hanging Rock State Park	[14]	Piedmont	Stokes	7,869 acres (31.84 km2)	1935	Open	The park encompasses the eastern end of the Sauratown Mountain range, including a geologic feature known as Hanging Rock. It also protects a segment of the Dan River.

Haw River State Park	[15]	Piedmont	Rockingham, Guilford	1,379 acres (5.58 km2)	2003	Open	Under development; This park preserves large wetlands along the Haw River.

Jockey's Ridge State Park	[16]	Coast	Dare	426 acres (1.72 km2)	1975	Open	The park protects the tallest sand dune system on the East Coast of the United States.

Jones Lake State Park	[17]	Coastal Plain	Bladen	1,669 acres (6.75 km2)	1939	Open	The park surrounds Jones State Lake and Salters State Lake, both of which are largely undeveloped Carolina Bay lakes.

Lake James State Park	[18]	Mountains	McDowell, Burke	3,644 acres (14.75 km2)	1987	Open	Under redevelopment; Located near the base of Linville Gorge, the park encompasses large parts of the Lake James shoreline. In 2004, the park nearly octupled in size after a land deal with Crescent Resources.

Lake Norman State Park	[19]	Piedmont	Iredell	1,934 acres (7.83 km2)	1962	Open	Formerly known as Duke Power State Park, most of this park consists of lands donated by Duke Power along the shores of Lake Norman, the largest manmade body of fresh water in North Carolina.

Lake Waccamaw State Park	[20]	Coastal Plain	Columbus	2,201 acres (8.91 km2)	1976	Open	This park is along the shoreline of Lake Waccamaw, the largest natural Carolina Bay lake.

Lumber River State Park	[21]	Coastal Plain	Scotland, Hoke, Robeson, Columbus	11,259 acres (45.56 km2)	1989	Open	The State Park with the greatest geographic expanse, it preserves the banks of the black water Lumber River, which is Wild and Scenic River and a State River.

Mayo River State Park	[22]	Piedmont	Rockingham	2,187 acres (8.85 km2)	2003	Open	Under development; This new, still growing park is located along the Mayo River.

Medoc Mountain State Park	[23]	Piedmont	Halifax	3,893 acres (15.75 km2)	1973	Open	At 325 foot (99 m), Medoc Mountain isn't a true mountain but rather the remnant of a former mountain range which eroded long ago.

Merchants Millpond State Park	[24]	Coastal Plain	Gates	3,447 acres (13.95 km2)	1973	Open	The park protects a unique, cypress filled millpond and the Lassiter Swamp.

Morrow Mountain State Park	[25]	Piedmont	Stanly	4,496 acres (18.19 km2)	1935	Open	At 936 foot (285 m), Morrow Mountain is the fourth tallest peak of the Uwharrie Mountains, and the park encompasses several peaks of the range, just west of the Yadkin / Pee Dee River.

Mount Mitchell State Park	[26]	Mountains	Yancey	1,996 acres (8.08 km2)	1916	Open	The first North Carolina State Park, it protects the summit of Mount Mitchell the highest point in the eastern United States.

New River State Park	[27]	Mountains	Alleghany, Ashe	2,911 acres (11.78 km2)	1975	Open	This park preserves the landscape along the New River, which is Wild and Scenic River and a State River.

Pettigrew State Park	[28]	Coastal Plain	Tyrrell, Washington	5,830 acres (23.6 km2)	1936	Open	The park protects the banks of Lake Phelps, the state's second largest natural lake, and the Scuppernong River.

Pilot Mountain State Park	[29]	Piedmont	Surry, Yadkin	3,735 acres (15.12 km2)	1968	Open	The park encompasses the western end of the Sauratown Mountain range, including Pilot Mountain, as well as an island filled segment of the Yadkin River.

Raven Rock State Park	[30]	Piedmont	Harnett	4,694 acres (19.00 km2)	1970	Open	Located along both banks of the Cape Fear River, the park encompasses a rock outcropping where the river crosses the Fall Line.

Singletary Lake State Park	[31]	Coastal Plain	Bladen	649 acres (2.63 km2)	1939	Limited Access	The park surrounds Singletary Lake, which is a State Lake and a Carolina Bay lake. The park's facilities are usually reserved for registered group campers, but limited day use may be allowed while the camps are unoccupied.

South Mountains State Park	[32]	Mountains	Burke	19,830 acres (80.2 km2)	1978	Open	Under redevelopment; The largest unit of the state park system, it encompasses a large part of the South Mountains range, which is a branch of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Stone Mountain State Park	[33]	Mountains	Alleghany, Wilkes	14,351 acres (58.08 km2)	1969	Open	Adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway, this large park's centerpiece is a granite dome named Stone Mountain.

William B. Umstead State Park	[34]	Piedmont	Wake	5,599 acres (22.66 km2)	1945	Open	This large, forested park is in the heart of the Research Triangle.

Sentence(s)

Elk Knob State Park is a 3,680-acre (14.9 km²) North Carolina state park in Watauga County.

final_sentence: Elk Knob State Park is a 3,680-acre (14.9 km²) North Carolina state park in Watauga County.