Located about 30 minutes north of Charlotte in Mooresville, Carrigan Farms is a 5th generation family-owned farm. With pick your own strawberries in the summer and pumpkins and hayrides in the fall, it is one of several farms to choose from in the Charlotte area for a fun family outing. But Carrigan Farms also has a feature that is completely unique – a natural, spring-fed body of water known as The Quarry.
In the 1960s, this area of the farm was quarried for granite stone used to build I-77. After mining half a million tons of granite, they struck a spring and the quarry filled with some 10 million gallons of water. The result is a beautiful natural pool surrounded by gorgeous tree-lined granite cliffs. We arrived just before the quarry opened to swimmers. It was a gorgeous view.
The Quarry has open swim hours on set days of the year. (See their website for the current year’s calendar.) On other days it can be rented out for weddings or private parties. Entrance to the quarry is $15 per person, whether you intend to swim or not. Note that credit cards are not accepted, so bring cash or a check.
In addition to the natural swimming pool, the quarry area has a small white sand beach, a sand volleyball court, a grassy area, and a covered pavilion. You can bring blankets and chairs and set up on the grass, or grab a table under the covered pavilion for some shade. Food and beverages can be brought in, but alcohol is not allowed.
For open swim, all swimmers must have a signed waiver in order to enter the quarry. Waivers can be printed out from the website ahead of time or are available at two long tables just inside the entrance from the parking lot. After filling out your waivers and paying, you can grab a life jacket from the rack and head into the quarry.
Children 11 and under are required to wear a life jacket. Children 12 and up (as well as adults) can opt to take the swim test. The test involves jumping off the rocks into the water, swimming to the floating dock, treading water for one minute, and then swimming back to the exit ladder. Life guards posted at the dock and at the exit evaluate your swimming abilities and determine whether or not you pass the test. If you pass, you get a wristband to swim without a life jacket. If you do not, you must wear a life jacket. I didn’t bother to take the test as I didn’t plan to be in the water too much and there was a decent line of people waiting to take the test. I did see the life guards tell several people they did not pass and would have to wear a life jacket so it was definitely something that was taken seriously.
The boys didn’t mind having to wear a life jacket and I was much more comfortable knowing they had them on. The water is 25 feet deep so the life jackets gave me peace of mind. And as it got more crowded, there would often be a line to use the ladder to climb out. Without life jackets they would have had to tread water for decent amounts of time while waiting. The life jackets definitely made it easier for them to enjoy themselves and easier for me to watch them. Between the life jackets and the dozen or so life guards stationed around the quarry, it felt very safe. (Note that the swim test and other safety requirements were implemented in 2014 after the tragic drowning of a 19 year old at the quarry in 2013.)
The boys anxiously awaited the 11 am opening. When it was a few minutes past 11 and no whistle or announcement had been made, we asked the life guards and they said we were free to go in. There is a small beach at the end nearest to the entrance where you can walk into the water, but for the most part people just take the plunge from the side of the rocks. The boys were nervous that it would be cold but ultimately decided not to walk all the way down to the beach and to just go for it. After a game of rock, paper, scissors to decide who would go first, the boys were the first two swimmers of the day to jump in.
The consensus was that the water was not too cold (I think the water temperature averages in the high 70 degrees in the summer) and the boys were immediately thrilled. They quickly swam to the side and climbed out to find their next jumping spot.
There are a handful of designated jumps – a specific rock that juts out over the water or a small deck built out over the water – but for the most part it is a free-for-all on where you could jump. With the exception of a few spots where the lower rocks came out too far, you could safely jump in just about anywhere. The plus of that is that there were many places to jump, offering a variety of heights and experiences. The minus of that is that it can potentially be chaotic as people could be literally jumping almost everywhere and lifeguards can’t be at ever single spot that someone might jump from. I will say that when we were there, everyone seemed to be respectful and careful of others. But parents should watch their kids to be sure that the spot they are jumping from both has enough clearance from the rocks below and is free of other swimmers immediately beneath them.
The boys soon found their favorite spots and jumped over and over again. They had an absolute blast.
In addition to just jumping off the rocks, there is also a rope swing that you can use to jump into the water. Located near the entrance and close to the beach, you had to be a certain height and be able to do a full pull-up in order to use the swing. My boys didn’t do it but it looked like a blast.
There are three exit points – the beach near the rope swing, a ladder near the end of the swim test, and a ramp near the corner of the far end. Once it started to get crowded, there was a line to get up the ladder. The ramp was not crowded but was slippery so be sure to hang onto the rope or railing as you climb out.
We spent about 2 hours there. The boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves and that seemed like the perfect amount of time for them. They were tired and ready for a break by that point. If we had packed a lunch and taken a rest, they might have been up for round 2 but we had plans for later that afternoon and couldn’t stay that long. It definitely got more and more crowded as the day went on so I was glad we went right when it opened. It was virtually empty at the beginning and they could jump in again and again without waiting to climb out or to jump again. After a fantastic morning there, the boys had two questions for me: why hadn’t we done this sooner and when can we come again?
