An electric vehicle plugged in to charge (stock photo)

EV Drivers: Charge Before You Come, Because the Gorge Has Almost Nothing

Photo: CHUTTERSNAP / Unsplash

If you're arriving in an electric vehicle, the charging situation in the gorge is thin, and the time to solve it is before you leave home.

What's Actually Here

Lake Lure. There's one station, at Morse Park next to the Welcome Center and Town Hall: two Level 2 ports, open around the clock. It's paid, and it works through the ChargeUP Driver app. It was installed in June 2026 and replaced the Town's earlier free station at the same spot.

Two ports is not much, and the Town has previously posted notices about downtime, so don't make the plan depend on it being available.

Chimney Rock State Park. As of September 2026, we found no public charger on site. The Town's page lists only the Lake Lure station.

Where the Faster Options Are

Anything quicker than Level 2 means driving out of the gorge:

  • Hendersonville has a free ChargePoint lot downtown with Level 2 ports. It's ~40 minutes from Lake Lure by road. Both ports were showing available at our last check.
  • Asheville has a Tesla Supercharger site and a dealership lot with DC fast charging. It's ~52 minutes from Lake Lure.
  • Black Mountain has a small free station at the police department, but it needs an app and doesn't report live status.

Our EV charging guide lists each station with its network, port count, and connector type.

A Simple Plan

  1. Arrive with enough range to cover the trip in, the day's driving, and the trip out. Treat the Lake Lure charger as a bonus.
  2. Charge at your base town or on the way in. A Level 2 stop that fits a meal or a shopping stop is the easiest way to top up.
  3. Check port availability the day you travel. Station status changes, and these listings were last verified in late summer 2026.

Plan Your Trip

Trip PlanningEV Charging NearbyEvery station in range, with details.Insider TipsStaying Outside Lake LureDrive times from Asheville, Hendersonville, and Black Mountain.Insider TipsThe Drive Between Lake Lure and Chimney RockConstruction and how to build a buffer.Insider TipsAll Insider TipsMore non-obvious advice for Lake Lure and Chimney Rock.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there an EV charger at Chimney Rock State Park?
Not that we've found. We checked the Town's official charging page in September 2026 and it lists only the Lake Lure station, not one at the park.
Is Lake Lure's EV charger free?
No longer. A paid station was installed in June 2026, replacing the Town's earlier free one at the same spot.

Last updated: 2026-10-16