Description:

An all-seasons park, Lake Tomahawk is tucked near a quiet residential area just north of downtown Black Mountain, North Carolina. Its namesake is a picturesque lake with a half-mile easy walking loop around it. A senior center, tennis courts and public swimming pool sit on the north end, along with a large covered picnic pavilion and a gazebo, while the southern end has a small wooded picnic area. Between the two sits a children’s playground and well-manicured garden spaces. Public fishing is permitted at Lake Tomahawk, with a North Carolina fishing license from the NC Wildlife Commission.

What makes this more than just another pretty lake is a backdrop that looks like something out of a movie or what you would see on a postcard: the Black Mountain range, which include the highest peaks in the eastern United States. Standing tall behind the north end of Lake Tomahawk is a stretch of the Black Mountains familiarly known as the Craggies, which can be accessed via the Blue Ridge Parkway north of Asheville as you head toward the highest point, Mt. Mitchell, at 6,694 feet. But the most well-known range in town is the Seven Sisters, seven peaks in a row above Lake Tomahawk.

The park hosts summer concerts on Thursday nights. It is also the finish line for the Black Mountain Marathon and the Mt. Mitchell Challenge, an ultramarathon race to the highest point in the eastern United States that takes place in February of all months.

Lake Tomahawk Park is maintained by Black Mountain Recreation and Parks.