Asking for a friend.

Just kidding. I recently moved near Charlotte and am disappointed at what I'm seeing on Google maps. I've been scouring the area and have only come up with a few quarries with limited access.

All I need is a secluded spot, a non-suspicious place to park, standing water to clean off in, and TONS OF CREAMY MUD to get off in. Is that too much to ask?

Examples of the type of mud I (sometimes literally) dream about:

I can't confirm these are good spots, but I have suspicions they maybe:

York Hill Yadkin River Access
Off I-85, just north of Salisbury

Goose Creek at Lawyers Road
13699 Lawyers Rd, Mint Hill, NC 28227

Killian Road on Mt. Island Lake
1098 Killian Rd, Stanley, NC 28164

Thanks for the ideas! That Mint Hill location looks like gold. I don't see standing clean water to wash off in, but probably after rain there is.

My dream is to try the area at State Road 1801, but it's nearly 2 hours from Charlotte! And parking at the tiny church nearby would probably raise all sorts of suspicions. Small-town folks are curious and very protective. It looks like an endless clay utopia, though...

I'd love to see you in some of that thick, deep, creamy clay (especially in that quarry that's two hours from you...that place looks like an adult mud lover's playground!). mmm...what's that big hard lump in my underwear? Using street view, you can actually see the mud from a distance, and it certainly looks like a great spot:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.9352864,-79.9325054,3a,60y,23.88h,89.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPAamatefe6zwU2CQUpOgaw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Though yes, there really aren't any good inconspicuous places to park nearby, sadly.

I'll take a look around Charlotte for you. I've been pretty successful at finding good spots. Good luck!

Thanks a bunch! I've been looking more today and am just not finding anything. So much potential, but none of the sites have decent access or are secluded.

I poked around street view at that site, too - looks like heaven to me.

Oh.. dear god...please find this man some mud to play in!!!!!

Might want to check out the Mud Map:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Wow49QZT6J-OOwoLE0HLq-njpkGg9HLj&usp=sharing

And if you want to add places to the map, see the thread here:
https://www.quicksandfans.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=17493

Oooh, that's right! I found this a long time ago and forgot how to get to it (honestly forgot it existed, too). It's not pulling up on my phone, so I'll have to try on my computer soon. Thank you!

On trying out Goose Creek at Mint Hill the only thing I can say is don't.

That part of Goose Creek is on private property - very private property. The whole area is fenced in with a few no trespassing signs. That part of Laywers Rd is a major thoroughfare for East Charlotte. There is always traffic coming by. There's no place to park a vehicle and try and sneak in.

But even more importantly - that whole area ( and I'm thinking much of Goose Creek ) in under a multi - multi year(s) environmental impact study by the government.
It seems there is a extremely rare striped mollusk that is only indigenous to that area and Goose Creek. A developer spent millions and millions buying up the land to put in a large strip mall. That is on hold indefinitely.

Seriously ... just don't.


a service message from your friendly neighborhood Wammer.

Yikes, thank you for the information. Sounds like a definite no-go. And with that, Charlotte gets even worse for mud, just when I thought it couldn't!

There is almost certainly good mud at the Lilesville quarry. And, for a quarryman, there is almost always a way to figure out how to get at mud surreptitiously.

Since it is usually problematic to park a car without drawing attention in rural areas, quarrymen usually access this type of place in one of two ways. As a team, someone drives you by the quarry and drops you off and then picks you up again later. By riding a bicycle from where you park your car in a less conspicuous place. I've found that most convenience stores will let you park in the back corner of their parking lot if you offer the clerk $5 and say you want to do a 20 ride away from the city. The away from the city part is important to mention as that sort of explains why you'd want to do such.

I presume however that you and/or your friend are not quarrymen as trespass is part of the package...

I appreciate the tips you posted above! There's no argument against trespassing being part of the package. I just prefer to do it without witnesses or folks catching on after repeated visits. I've been doing this for years but admittedly was spoiled with ideal, private circumstances in every town I lived.

I also don't have a bike (yet) which I know would make things so much easier. That will change soon!

P.S. Long-time fan of your pics and videos! But you probably remember that from last time we talked.

Roger that! Actually, I've been wanting to do a mud expedition to the kaolin clay mines around Sandersville, Georgia and if I ever do, wouldn't mind going a little further to so that quarry in Charlotte with you...

Please get a bike, so that you can also get a tight spandex cycling suit -- then you can bike to the quarry, and slowly strip off the spandex in the mud...

Those do look nice. And from google maps easy acces / no fences or real signage in some places.

What I've often done it park away from the site a bit at a bridge crossing or other natural area and then leave a note on the dash of my car saying I'm out doing nature photography and the car is not abandoned.

The bike idea is great as well and one I've thought of doing myself.