North Carolina's 'Little French Town In The Uwharries' Is A Walkable Mountain Gateway Full Of European Charm
North Carolina has mountains, coastal escapes, and historic villages, but few places have the character of Badin: an unlikely crossover between rural Appalachian scenery and a French-shaped community. Stroll through the town, and you'll see brick facades in a historic district and stone-laid sidewalks arranged in a relatively compact village layout. Just beyond its French-influenced streets, Badin Lake sparkles, a retreat for fishing and boating. To the east of the town are the Uwharrie Mountains, which lend Badin its nickname of the "Little French Town in the Uwharries," a perfect summary of its mix of European charm and access to nature.
Badin's Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and preserves the character of its early 20th-century French beginnings. The town owes its roots to a French aluminum company (L'Aluminium Français) that set up in the area in 1913. The company operated on the Yadkin River only for a couple of years before the arrival of World War I, but it had already built numerous homes with a French Colonial flair.
Today, it's easy to see the historic buildings of Badin on a walk, taking just about 15 minutes to stroll across the historic district without stopping. The town's center is filled with sidewalks and greenery to help shade some of the sun on a hot North Carolina day. You could make a day of wandering its winding streets — with a museum complex to stop at — before hiking in the Uwharries or taking a dip in the lake.
Stroll through the French-shaped streets of Badin
A unique distinction of Badin from other company towns of North Carolina — such as Canton, a resilient town with its own historic main street — is how it was planned as a European-style village. The French owners of L'Aluminium Français had a vision of making Badin both aesthetic and modern. Even when the company itself left during World War I, the vision stayed as the town was completed.
On a walk through the Badin Historic District, you'll see French-inspired details like meandering streets and slope-roofed quadruplexes. A good example of Badin's French-built architecture is the 1913 Badin Inn, one of the original structures completed by L'Aluminium Français. It was made by the company as a clubhouse for bachelors. Today, it's a three-star inn with a wraparound porch and tiered, gable roof.
If you start at the 1913 Badin Inn, whether you have a room there or just to view the property, you could walk about seven minutes to the Badin Historic Museum. Consisting of three separate buildings, the museum is a worthwhile stop for learning more about Badin's history or getting another perspective on some of its early French architecture. One of its buildings is an original French quadruplex, which you can explore inside to see how it might have looked for one of the 20th-century company families. "[It] truly felt like stepping back into the early 1900s," one previous visitor said of the museum. The museum is open on Tuesdays and Sunday afternoons, with free admission.
Base yourself in Badin for a mountain getaway
Badin's location at the edge of the southern Uwharries gives travelers a chance to pair a historic village stroll with nearby outdoor exploration. The Uwharries are one of America's oldest mountain ranges, full of adventure opportunities. You might head to Morrow Mountain State Park, under a 10-minute drive from town, to access 54 miles of hiking trails around one of the Uwharries' tallest mountains. Travelers who prefer horsepower to hiking boots could drive 40 minutes to the Badin Lake OHV Trail Complex. The area has about 17 miles of trails for off-highway vehicles like mountain bikes and ATVs, climbing rocky hills and through wooded valleys in the Uwharrie National Forest.
One area where Badin is limited, for visitors coming to explore the nearby mountains, is outdoor gear stores. But finding one in the area isn't hard — Hwy. 49 Sporting Goods in New London (about a 15-minute drive away) or Eldorado Outpost in Troy (a 30-minute drive) are two well-reviewed options to get gear or licenses. Besides being close to outdoor recreation and shops, Badin is also convenient for travelers to reach from Charlotte, which is just over an hour away by car. That makes it an easy weekend escape from Charlotte's urban pace to spend time in the mountains while having the comforts of a walkable village at hand.