Greetings from the illustrious neighborhoods of Ballantyne in South Charlotte! We welcome you to this beautiful area with open arms and tips to have some fun, enjoy an evening, and make some memories south of Uptown Charlotte!

The Ballantyne area houses many of South Charlotte’s most highly sought-after neighborhoods, school districts, and some of the best food and shopping in the city! If you are looking for something to do down in our neck of the woods, you’ve come to the right place.

Charlotte is a larger municipality with many curved, winding roads. Our city has developed through the ages, with streets carved out by past Charlotteans traversing the area’s hills and trees, leading to a less designed layout of streets, compared to other pre-planned cities with grid patterns throughout. Oftentimes, one road from North to South can meander East, West, up and down, just to get from South End to SouthPark!

Photo courtesy of Pexels.com, John Hill

Finding our way around when we’re unfamiliar with different parts of Charlotte can feel a bit daunting. With such a large city and so many enjoyable neighborhoods, our Simply Camden Blog aims to assist by sharing our insight on what to look forward to finding when visiting the southern end of our metro!

South Charlotte has so much to offer for anyone looking to diversify their experiences in Charlotte. Many of our residents from Camden Ballantyne, Camden Stonecrest, and Camden Touchstone are experts in Queen City living, and as a resident myself, I consider myself one of them!

Photo courtesy of Camden

What’s New and Happening in the Ballantyne Area?

The Bowl at Ballantyne has been one of the most inviting additions to our neighborhood here. After opening in Autumn 2024, The Bowl has been the perfect spot for delicious food, coffee, shops, and events. You’ll also find The Bowl’s adorable creek-side Stream Park with slides for all-ages, hammocks, and benches to enjoy the sunset, or a warm and breezy afternoon.

The Bowl at Ballantyne also has its own outdoor venue, The Amp, where Charlotte residents and visitors can enjoy live music, festivals, seasonal markets, and even fitness gatherings.

For food at The Bowl, I always suggest Postino, Rooster’s Wood-Fired Kitchen, the Old Mecklenburg Brewery for a great selection of drinks and dinner, along Fly Kid Fly for my daily iced-Americano.

The Bowl is located right across the street from Camden Ballantyne, so it goes without saying that our residents have a front row seat to the action of the area!

Photo courtesy of Camden

Explore more Foodie Finds and Fun in South Charlotte!

Don’t forget about Ballantyne Village either. Their shopping plaza ranges from delicious steakhouses to Italian restaurants that are quite highly rated, and sure to impress. I’ve also enjoyed Mellow Mushroom Pizza, Blackfinn Ameripub at the end of a long day, and Coffee Republic before clocking in!

Hestia Rooftop is another can’t-miss location for rooftop views outside of the Uptown area. Lastly, I’ll mention Libretto’s Pizzeria for a delicious dinner menu and many delectably original sandwiches.

Another two plazas I frequent are Stonecrest at Piper Glen, and the Blakeney Shopping Center. Both of which you can find loaded with amazing food, fun, and shopping directly North and South of Camden Stonecrest, respectively.

Stonecrest at Piper Glen also has the grandiose Regal Cinema, including their IMAX, RPX, and 4DX theaters to immerse yourself and experience a film differently than you’ve ever imagined.

While stopping at the Stonecrest and Blakeney plazas, I’d like to suggest Firebird’s Wood Fired Grill and Super-Chix at Stonecrest, as well as Chopt, Brixx Pizza, and Greco Fresh Grille at Blakeney. You will not be disappointed!

Outside of the aforementioned shopping centers, be sure to grab a bite from The Butcher’s Market or Katz Deli for fresh-baked bread and their incredible array of meats for your new favorite sandwich. Katz Deli is family-owned and a can-not-miss eatery here in South Charlotte; add them to your list ASAP!

To highlight some other fun ideas down our way, Spare Time Arcade is always a blast for all ages, including Mission Laser for laser tag! Don’t forget to check out Carowinds when you’re in South Charlotte to enjoy their amusement park, roller coasters, and their giant water park as the summer rolls in!

What's coming next to Ballantyne?

We can't forget the plethora of grocery stores in the Ballantyne area that are conveniently located on every corner. We all know our local Harris Teeter and Publix, but have you ever heard of Sprouts or Wegmans Food Markets? Sprouts was my go-to when living in Colorado for all-things-organic, so I was beyond thrilled to find another here in Ballantyne.

To make our neighborhood even better, Wegmans will be opening here in Ballantyne later in 2026!

Wegmans Food Markets is a family-owned grocery chain from Upstate New York, headquartered in my hometown of Rochester, NY! They pride themselves on their customer service, which I can attest to, as I worked there for 6 years through high school and college. Wegmans will be a must-visit store for your home needs. It may sound silly, but after experiencing your first Wegmans, I promise you'll be back for more.

Photo courtesy of Camden

Parks, Greenways, and Natural Beauty in South Charlotte

Now, let’s talk parks! Charlotte has no shortage of beautiful trails, greenways, and parks to enjoy, especially here in the Ballantyne area.

Ballantyne District Park is sprawling with acreage and back-wood trails to venture through, a perfect place to take the family, friends, or your pets for some time in the trees. William R. Davie Park is also just up the road from Camden Touchstone with vast bike trails and plenty of open fields to enjoy. Some others to check out when you’re south of the city are Cullman Park and Flat Branch Nature Preserve.

Another favorite of mine is Big Rock Nature Preserve. Big Rock is home to just that, some big rocks! These ancient boulders were utilized by Native Americans as places to meet, hunt, and call home. Big Rock is a much smaller park compared to the others we've mentioned, but the preserve has detailed signage to provide information on the history of the site, along with trails lining the creek that easily connect to the local Ballantyne greenways.

The 6-mile Creek Greenway can also be found here in South Charlotte, along with the Lower McAlpine Creek Greenway, conveniently close to our residents living at Camden Touchstone!

Photo courtesy of Camden

Live in South Charlotte

Camden even has two new communities currently under construction in the South Charlotte area. We are incredibly excited to open the doors of Camden Blakeney and Camden South Charlotte as we get later into 2026. These communities will be fantastic additions to our Charlotte portfolio. We are highly eager to expand our South Charlotte footprint and welcome more new residents to the beautiful neighborhoods of Ballantyne.

For anyone interested, keep your eyes on our website through the rest of this year and into 2026 to be the first new residents of our gorgeous, newly built communities.

We look forward to seeing you soon in South Charlotte. Ballantyne welcomes you, and we hope that this article has helped to provide a heap of useful information regarding our amazing neighborhoods.

Remember to check back in on our website later this year and through 2026 for further information on our new communities opening soon! Our Camden leasing teams will be overjoyed to help you find the next home of your dreams. We look forward to seeing you!