15 Things to Do in Matthews NC: Local Favorites Buyers Love for 2026

If you are relocating to the Charlotte area, one of the first questions you will ask is simple: what is there actually to do here on a normal weekend? When buyers ask me about things to do in Matthews NC, I tell them this is one of the easiest South Charlotte suburbs to fall for, because the fun is not hidden behind a long drive. Matthews sits about 11 miles southeast of Uptown Charlotte, and it has held onto a real downtown, walkable shops, parks, greenways, a working farmers market, and a festival calendar that locals plan their year around.

I am Steve Jarrell, a licensed agent here in South Charlotte, and I live just down the road in Weddington. I have spent years showing relocating buyers around this town, and I wrote this guide to answer the things to do in Matthews NC the way I would on a tour. Below you will find the parks, the greenways, the downtown blocks, the breweries, the stops for kids, and the annual events that make people decide Matthews is where they want to land.

By Steve Jarrell, The Longleaf Group at eXp Realty | 14 minute read | Updated June 2026

What This Guide Covers

• Where Matthews Sits and Why There Is So Much to Do
• Downtown Matthews: Trade Street, Shops, and Sidewalk Dining
• Things to Do in Matthews NC Outdoors: Parks and Greenways
• Breweries, Restaurants, and Where Locals Eat
• Things to Do in Matthews NC With Kids
• Festivals and Year-Round Events
• Things to Do Near Matthews NC: Easy Day Trips
• How to Spend a Perfect Saturday in Matthews
• What All of This Means If You Are Relocating
• Frequently Asked Questions

Where Matthews Sits and Why There Is So Much to Do

Matthews is a town of roughly 30,000 people in southeastern Mecklenburg County, tucked between Charlotte proper and the Union County line. The drive to Uptown Charlotte is about 11 miles, which usually runs 20 to 25 minutes off-peak and longer at rush hour, mostly on US-74 (Independence Boulevard, the main commercial artery) and I-485 (the outerbelt loop). That location is the quiet reason there are so many things to do in Matthews NC without ever feeling like you live in a big city.

What surprises most relocating buyers is that Matthews never got bulldozed into a generic strip-mall suburb. The town grew up around a railroad depot in the late 1800s, and the original downtown is still standing and still in use. So instead of one big shopping center, you get a walkable historic core, a network of parks and paved greenways, and a calendar of community events that runs all year.

That mix is what I point out on tours. A buyer can spend Saturday morning at the farmers market, walk to lunch, take the kids to a park in the afternoon, and end the night on a brewery patio, all within a couple of square miles. When people weigh things to do in Matthews NC against other South Charlotte suburbs, the walkable downtown is usually what tips the scale.

It helps to understand the geography a little. Matthews is bordered by Charlotte to the west, Mint Hill to the north, and Stallings and Indian Trail (both in Union County) to the east. Independence Boulevard cuts through town and carries most of the commercial traffic, while the historic core sits just south of it, protected from the four-lane bustle. That separation is intentional, and it is why downtown still feels like a small town even though Charlotte keeps growing toward it.

Downtown Matthews: Trade Street, Shops, and Sidewalk Dining

Downtown runs along Trade Street and John Street, two blocks of brick storefronts, local shops, coffee, and restaurants that you can cover on foot. This is the part of town I take relocating buyers to first, because it answers the things to do in Matthews NC question in about five minutes of walking. You will find independent boutiques, antique and home shops, a barbershop or two, and patios that spill onto the sidewalk on a nice evening.

The Matthews Community Farmers Market

The anchor of downtown weekends is the Matthews Community Farmers Market, the Charlotte area’s oldest and largest producer-only market, which means every vendor grows or makes what they sell. It runs Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon, year-round, rain or shine, in historic downtown at the corner of John and Trade Streets. Locals show up for produce, flowers, pasture-raised meat, bread, and coffee, and it doubles as the town’s weekly social hour. If you only do one of the things to do in Matthews NC your first weekend, make it this.

The Matthews Heritage Museum

A block away sits the Matthews Heritage Museum, housed in the 1879 Massey-Clark House. Admission is free, and it is open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The exhibits walk you through 150 years of the town’s history, from its railroad and farming roots to its civic life. For a relocating buyer trying to get a feel for a place, an hour here is a fast way to understand why downtown looks and works the way it does.

Shops, Coffee, and Antiques

Downtown is also where the slow-browse afternoon lives. You will find independent boutiques, home and gift shops, and antique stores that reward a wander, plus locally owned coffee. None of it is a big-box experience, and that is the point. Among the underrated things to do in Matthews NC is simply grabbing a coffee, walking the two blocks, and ducking into whatever shop catches your eye. On a first visit, this is the easiest way to feel whether a town fits you.

I tell relocating buyers to do this walk on a weekday and again on a Saturday, because the town shows two different faces. Weekdays are quiet and easy. Saturdays during market season are buzzing with the farmers market crowd spilling into the shops and patios. Seeing both helps you judge whether the energy matches what you want out of a downtown.

Things to Do in Matthews NC Outdoors: Parks and Greenways

If you like to be outside, this is where Matthews earns its reputation. The town and Mecklenburg County have built out a strong network of parks and paved greenways, so a lot of the best things to do in Matthews NC cost nothing and sit a few minutes from any neighborhood. For relocating buyers who walk, run, or bike, this is often the deciding factor, so it is worth touring the parks in person and not just on a map.

Stumptown Park

Stumptown Park at 120 South Trade Street is the town’s gathering green, right on the edge of downtown. It has a performance stage, a playground, open lawn, and picnic areas, and it hosts free outdoor concerts, movie nights, and seasonal events through the warmer months. Because it is walkable from the shops and the farmers market, it ends up being the hub that ties a downtown day together.

Squirrel Lake Park and the Four Mile Creek Greenway

Squirrel Lake Park at 1631 Pleasant Plains Road is a 36-acre park with a fishing pier on the pond, two shelters, restrooms, a playground, and a 12-hole disc golf course. From there you can pick up the Four Mile Creek Greenway, a 2.3-mile paved trail that follows the creek and connects toward downtown. It is flat, shaded, and stroller and bike friendly, which is why you see it busy on almost any decent-weather day.

Mecklenburg County Sportsplex at Matthews

For something bigger, the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex at Matthews at 2425 Sports Parkway is a 161-acre county facility with eleven lighted multipurpose fields, a stadium, playgrounds, and about two miles of paved walking trails open to the public. It draws amateur, college, and tournament soccer from across the region, and even if you never kick a ball, the trails make it a solid spot for a long walk or run.

Crews Recreation Center and Nearby Parks

Indoors, the Crews Recreation Center on Crews Road is the town’s recreation hub, with a gym, fitness space, and programming run by the Matthews Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources department. It is a useful one to know about for the rainy stretch of the year. Just north of town, Mecklenburg County’s Idlewild Road Park adds more athletic fields, trails, and a playground if you want to expand the rotation. Add it all up and the outdoor things to do in Matthews NC easily fill a season of weekends without repeating yourself.

Breweries, Restaurants, and Where Locals Eat

Food and a good patio are a big part of the things to do in Matthews NC, and downtown delivers more than its size would suggest. You can park once and reach most of it on foot, which is exactly how locals do a Friday night.

Seaboard Brewing

Seaboard Brewing, Taproom and Wine Bar at 213 North Trade Street is the downtown anchor for a relaxed evening. It pours its own craft beers, keeps a deep wine list, and has a large patio, and it shares space with The Exchange Pizza Depot for food. On a warm night the patio is the unofficial living room of downtown Matthews.

Downtown Restaurants

For a sit-down meal, Sante at 165 North Trade Street is the long-running fine-dining spot, serving French-influenced American plates with local ingredients. A few doors down, The Loyalist Market is a cheese and charcuterie shop that builds cut-to-order boards and gourmet sandwiches and pours craft beer and wine. Grace O’Malley’s Irish Public House on North Trade rounds out the pub side. Between them you can cover date night, a casual lunch, and a low-key beer without moving your car.

This is also the real draw, and it is one of the things to do in Matthews NC that keeps people coming back: the downtown dining scene is small enough that the owners recognize regulars, but deep enough that you are not eating the same meal twice. For a relocating buyer used to chain-restaurant suburbs, that texture matters.

Coffee and Casual Bites

Mornings and quick stops are covered too. Locally owned coffee shops anchor the downtown blocks, and you will find bakeries, casual lunch counters, and the market vendors for a fast bite. If your idea of the best things to do in Matthews NC starts with a good cup of coffee and a slow walk, downtown is built for exactly that. I always tell buyers to pick a coffee spot first, because it tells you how a neighborhood actually lives day to day.

Want the on-the-ground tour? I walk through where Matthews is headed and what is being built in my video Moving to Matthews NC? Big Growth and Future Plans Revealed, part of my Welcome to Charlotte NC channel where I cover South Charlotte for relocating buyers.

Things to Do in Matthews NC With Kids

Buyers who prioritize parks and activities for kids ask me about this constantly, so it earns its own section. The good news is that many of the best things to do in Matthews NC with kids are the same parks and downtown spots above, just used a little differently.

Playgrounds and Open Space

Stumptown Park and Squirrel Lake Park both have playgrounds, and the flat, paved Four Mile Creek Greenway is easy with a stroller or training wheels. Squirrel Lake’s fishing pier and disc golf course give older kids something to do besides the swings, and the Sportsplex trails are wide enough to learn to ride a bike without traffic.

The Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts

The Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts at 100 East McDowell Street runs mainstage shows, children’s theater, and summer camps and classes. It has been a fixture for more than two decades, and it is the kind of homegrown arts program that relocating buyers do not expect to find in a town this size. Catching a weekend matinee is one of the easy rainy-day things to do in Matthews NC.

The Saturday Market as a Family Outing

Do not overlook the farmers market as a kids’ activity. There is usually live music, dogs to pet, and snacks to sample, and it teaches younger kids where food actually comes from. Pair it with a playground stop at Stumptown Park next door and you have filled a whole Saturday morning for free, which is the kind of low-cost win that makes the things to do in Matthews NC so easy on a budget.

Festivals and Year-Round Events

A town reveals itself at its festivals, and Matthews has a full calendar. These events are a big reason the list of things to do in Matthews NC stays easy to answer no matter the season.

Matthews Alive

The signature event is Matthews Alive, a Labor Day weekend festival centered on Stumptown Park that raises money for local nonprofits. It features live music across multiple stages, carnival rides, a kids’ zone, food vendors, and one of the larger Labor Day parades in the region. The 2025 festival ran August 29 through September 1, and the 2026 event is expected over Labor Day weekend in early September, so confirm exact dates on the festival site closer to the season.

Concerts, Movie Nights, and Seasonal Markets

Beyond the big festival, the town programs free outdoor concerts and movie nights at Stumptown Park through the warmer months, plus seasonal and holiday markets downtown. For a fuller running list of what is on, the town’s Visit Matthews page keeps an events calendar. The takeaway for a relocating buyer is that the seasonal things to do in Matthews NC are almost always low-cost and within walking distance of downtown.

Things to Do Near Matthews NC: Easy Day Trips

Part of what makes the location work is everything that sits a short drive away. When you exhaust the in-town list, the things to do near Matthews NC open up fast. Uptown Charlotte is about 11 miles up Independence Boulevard, which puts pro sports, museums, the Charlotte Symphony, and a full restaurant scene within easy reach for a night out.

To the south, the Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill, South Carolina is a 2,100-acre nature preserve with hiking, mountain biking, paddling, and horseback trails, roughly 25 minutes away. Carowinds, the regional amusement park on the North Carolina and South Carolina line, is a similar drive. To the east, the small downtowns of Waxhaw and Monroe make for an easy antiquing afternoon.

I mention these because relocating buyers often worry a suburb will feel limiting. In Matthews it does not. You get the walkable, low-stress things to do in Matthews NC during the week, and a deep bench of bigger options within a half-hour radius when you want them. That balance is exactly what most of my out-of-town buyers are looking for.

How to Spend a Perfect Saturday in Matthews

When relocating buyers want to test-drive the lifestyle, I give them a single-day plan that strings the best things to do in Matthews NC into one easy loop. You can do the whole thing on foot and by short drive, and it answers the question better than any list could.

Start at 8 a.m. at the Matthews Community Farmers Market for coffee and produce, then walk the two downtown blocks while the shops open. Late morning, drive five minutes to Squirrel Lake Park and walk a stretch of the Four Mile Creek Greenway to work up an appetite. Head back downtown for lunch at The Loyalist Market or a downtown patio.

In the afternoon, let the kids burn energy at the Stumptown Park playground or catch a matinee at the Matthews Playhouse, then visit the free Matthews Heritage Museum before it closes at 4:30. End the day on the Seaboard Brewing patio with pizza from The Exchange next door. That loop covers most of the signature things to do in Matthews NC, and it is the day I want buyers to imagine living, not just visiting.

What All of This Means If You Are Relocating

When buyers tour Matthews with me, the list of things to do in Matthews NC stops being a list and starts being a lifestyle they can picture. The reason this town holds its value is that the walkable downtown, the parks, the greenways, and the events are permanent fixtures, not a single amenity that could close. That kind of built-in quality of life is what supports a housing market over the long run.

Matthews also gives you options across very different neighborhood styles, from established tree-lined streets near downtown to newer construction on the edges of town, all within reach of the things to do in Matthews NC covered above. If you want to go deeper on the town itself, I have written a full pros and cons of living in Matthews NC guide and a closer look at downtown Matthews. If you are weighing agents, you can also see how I think about representing buyers in this market.

My job as your agent is to connect the things you love doing to the streets where you can actually afford to live, so you are not just buying a house, you are buying the weekend you pictured. When you are ready to turn this list of things to do in Matthews NC into a short list of homes, I am glad to help you map it out. You can start by reading my approach to buying in South Charlotte or by reaching out through my contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions About Things to Do in Matthews NC

What are the top things to do in Matthews NC?

The most popular things to do in Matthews NC are walking historic downtown along Trade and John Streets, shopping the Saturday Matthews Community Farmers Market, spending time at Stumptown Park and Squirrel Lake Park, walking or biking the Four Mile Creek Greenway, and grabbing a beer at Seaboard Brewing. The Matthews Alive festival over Labor Day weekend is the biggest annual event.

Is downtown Matthews NC walkable?

Yes. Downtown Matthews is one of the more walkable suburban cores in the Charlotte area. The shops, restaurants, the farmers market, the Heritage Museum, Stumptown Park, and Seaboard Brewing all sit within about two blocks of Trade and John Streets, so you can park once and cover most of it on foot.

What is there to do in Matthews NC for free?

Plenty. Browsing the Matthews Community Farmers Market, walking the Four Mile Creek Greenway, using the playgrounds and trails at Stumptown Park, Squirrel Lake Park, and the Sportsplex, visiting the free Matthews Heritage Museum, and catching the free outdoor concerts and movie nights at Stumptown Park are all no-cost things to do in Matthews NC.

What are the best things to do in Matthews NC with kids?

Younger kids gravitate to the playgrounds at Stumptown and Squirrel Lake Parks, the stroller-friendly Four Mile Creek Greenway, the disc golf course and fishing pier at Squirrel Lake, children’s productions at the Matthews Playhouse, and the farmers market on Saturday mornings, which usually has live music and snacks.

How far is Matthews NC from Uptown Charlotte?

Matthews is about 11 miles southeast of Uptown Charlotte. The drive is typically 20 to 25 minutes outside of rush hour, mainly via US-74 (Independence Boulevard) and I-485, and longer during peak commute times.

When is the Matthews Alive festival?

Matthews Alive is held over Labor Day weekend each year at Stumptown Park. The 2025 festival ran August 29 through September 1, and the 2026 event is expected over Labor Day weekend in early September. Check matthewsalive.org for the confirmed dates.

Does Matthews NC have a brewery?

Yes. Seaboard Brewing, Taproom and Wine Bar at 213 North Trade Street is the downtown craft brewery and wine bar, with a large patio and pizza next door at The Exchange Pizza Depot. It is one of the most popular evening things to do in Matthews NC.

Is Matthews NC a good place to live for people who like the outdoors?

It is a strong fit. Between Stumptown Park, Squirrel Lake Park, the 2.3-mile Four Mile Creek Greenway, the Sportsplex trails, and nearby county parks, a large share of the things to do in Matthews NC are outdoor and free. The flat, paved greenways are easy for walking, running, and biking, and most neighborhoods sit within a few minutes of green space.

About the Author

Steve Jarrell is a licensed North Carolina and South Carolina real estate agent with The Longleaf Group at eXp Realty, and he lives in Weddington, minutes from Matthews. He spends most weeks touring South Charlotte and Union County towns with relocating buyers, which is exactly why he can match the things to do in Matthews NC to the neighborhoods that fit how you want to live. You can reach Steve at 704-774-7170 or steve@jarrellhomes.com, or learn more at thelongleafgroup.com.