The park features a community building that can be rented out for events, multiple hiking trails, and three picnic sites. For the mountain biking enthusiast, the Itusi Trail offers a great ride through the park. In addition, Lake Norman State Park has a swimming area with a beach. A bathhouse at the site offers concessions, bathrooms, changing areas, lockers, and showers. When lifeguards are present there is a fee to use the swimming area. Other popular activities on the lake are boating and fishing. The lake is particularly abundant with crappie, bluegill, and yellow perch. For those looking to rent a boat, Lake Norman Marina offers rentals. There are also 8 public access locations. If you're in the mood for going for a cruise, the Catawba Queen is an old-style riverboat that takes people up and down the lake.

Lake Norman, located near Charlotte, is the largest manmade body of water in North Carolina. Its immense size has gained it the nickname the "inland sea." There are four parks along the lake's 520 miles of shoreline, including Lake Norman State Park.