South Mountains State Park preserves 20,949 acres of rugged foothill terrain in Burke County, where steep ridges, deep streams, and peaks rising to 3,000 feet give the South Mountains a distinctly mountainous character. Long an important corridor through the Catawba Valley and western gaps, the area also lay between Cherokee and Catawba peoples and later attracted European farmers along the Catawba River. Gold discovered at Brindle Creek in 1828 sparked a mining rush that lasted into the early 20th century. In the 1930s, Civilian Conservation Corps workers began modern development, and after land purchases started in 1974, the park grew into a major site for preserving landscape, history, and outdoor recreation.