The 10 best farmers markets in the Charlotte area

Farmers markets around Charlotte run from a state-run market near the airport that is open five days a week to a nonprofit market in an Uptown church parking lot and a Saturday market at Atherton Mill in South End. This list covers 10 markets in Charlotte, Matthews, Davidson, Waxhaw, Mount Holly, Concord, Gastonia and Fort Mill, including several where every vendor must grow, raise or make what they sell. It is for weekly shoppers, SNAP households looking for matching dollars and anyone planning a Saturday morning. Each entry has the 2026 schedule, which matters this time of year because several markets switch to winter hours or wrap up the season in November, plus tips on parking, pets or payment. Entries are listed alphabetically, not ranked.

How we chose

Every market here has a posted 2026 schedule or 2026 market dates, from the market, a town or city, a state farmers market program list or the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, and each one’s 2026 season runs at least through October. Picks are based on how long each market has operated, the rules vendors must follow, the number of vendors and programs such as SNAP matching, along with coverage from the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, Charlotte Magazine, News of Davidson and N.C. Cooperative Extension. Markets whose 2026 season ended before October, or that could not show a 2026 schedule, were left out. No market paid to be included.

Charlotte Regional Farmers Market

West Charlotte, 1801 Yorkmont Rd., near Charlotte Douglas International Airport

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services runs Charlotte Regional Farmers Market, which is open year-round Wednesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. After October, the Yorkmont Road market is the only one on this list with weekly weekday hours.

Produce, pork, grass-fed beef, goat milk cheese, baked goods, jams, cut flowers and plants are among the goods sold here, and the market’s online vendor profile lists 92 vendors. In 2026 the market held a first Blueberry Day on May 31, and the annual Watermelon Day returned on June 28, when the N.C. Watermelon Queen handed out samples, according to the state agriculture department.

Admission and parking are free. The market is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and leashed pets are allowed in outdoor areas but not inside the market buildings, sheds or shops.

Davidson Farmers Market

Downtown Davidson, 120 S. Main St.

A volunteer committee started planning in 2007, and Davidson Farmers Market opened in 2008 with 12 vendors, according to the market, which now has nearly 50. Every vendor must grow, raise, bake or create what they sell within 100 miles. The tables carry milk from grass-fed Jersey cows, lamb and lamb charcuterie, honey, cut flowers and seasonal and greenhouse produce.

Saturday markets run from 9 a.m. to noon every week through November 21, with live music sponsored by the Town of Davidson. Winter markets follow on December 12 and 19, then mostly on the first and third Saturdays through March. SNAP shoppers pick up wooden tokens at the red market tent, matched up to $20.

Pets are not allowed, apart from service animals, and shopping starts when the market bell rings. Park along Main or Jackson streets or in the church lot at Depot and Jackson streets, not the drugstore lot, News of Davidson advised in 2024.

Fort Mill Farmers & Artisans Market

Downtown Fort Mill, S.C., Veterans Park, 106 N. White St.

The 2026 season is the seventh for Fort Mill Farmers & Artisans Market, according to the Town of Fort Mill, which lists the market on the town website. Vendors must sell locally grown produce, farm and agricultural products or handmade goods, and every approved vendor attends a meeting before the season starts, according to the town.

Farm vendors and makers of handmade goods sell side by side, so a visit can cover groceries and gifts. Special days in 2026 included a stop on South Carolina’s Ag + Art Tour on June 6, a Christmas in July market with holiday workshops, live music and Santa on July 25 and National Farmers Market Week in August.

Markets run Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon in Veterans Park. The 2026 season ends October 31, so October 24 and October 31 are the last two markets of the year.

Gastonia Farmers Market

Downtown Gastonia, 410 E. Long Ave.

A nonprofit farmers market association runs Gastonia Farmers Market under an agreement with the City of Gastonia, and the market began informally in the 1970s, according to the city. The market building was dedicated in May 1995 and is named for Dougie Henry, a lifelong Gaston County resident and market supporter.

In 2018 the city reported that only goods grown or produced by local vendors were allowed, with on-site inspections by the association, and that vendors came from Gaston, Lincoln, Cleveland and York counties. Craft vendors sell here too. The market opens at 7:30 a.m., earlier than any other market on this list.

Tuesday and Thursday markets continue through the end of October, and in November the market runs Saturdays only, until 12:30 p.m. EBT and Double Bucks tokens work for eligible food and plant purchases but not at craft tables. Saturdays are the busiest day.

Matthews Community Farmers’ Market

Downtown Matthews, 188 N. Trade St.

Founded in 1991, according to a Charlotte Magazine guide, Matthews Community Farmers’ Market started after a decade in which commercial development displaced much of the town’s farming community, according to the market. The market is producer-only, so everything except fish must be grown, raised or made locally, and the fish is caught off the N.C. coast and brought in by the fisherman, according to the market. The 52 listed vendors sell grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork and chicken, mushrooms, strawberries and, in late fall and winter, pecans.

SNAP purchases are matched dollar for dollar up to $50 per market day, the largest posted match on this list. The main season runs Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon through November 21, and winter markets run from 9 to 11 a.m. from December through March.

No pets are allowed other than service animals. Free parking is on Trade and Charles streets and in the grassy lot behind the market off Cotton Gin Alley, and popular items sell out, so come early.

Mount Holly Farmers Market

Downtown Mount Holly, 226 S. Main St.

The Mount Holly Community Development Foundation started Mount Holly Farmers Market in 2006 with three vendors, and the volunteer-run market became a nonprofit in 2015, the same year the market helped launch the Mount Holly Community Garden, according to the market.

Farm vendors work under a 75/75 rule: they must be within 75 miles and grow at least 75% of what they sell, and out-of-season produce is not allowed. The market inspects farms during the year. Shoppers find pork, poultry, eggs, vegetables, fruit, berries, honey and baked goods, and chefs give cooking demonstrations. SNAP shoppers get Double Bucks.

The regular Saturday season, 8 a.m. to noon, ends October 31, and the only market after that is a Thanksgiving pop-up on November 21. Leave pets at home; service animals are welcome.

Piedmont Farmers Market

Concord, 518 Winecoff School Rd., between Concord and Kannapolis

Saturdays year-round, the Winecoff School Road market of Piedmont Farmers Market is open, according to the market and the state’s 2026 Farmers Market Nutrition Program list. A volunteer board runs the market. The same group runs a Tuesday market at Rotary Square in downtown Concord and a market in Harrisburg. The mission is locally grown produce and products from Cabarrus and surrounding Piedmont counties, sold by farmers, producers and artisans.

N.C. Cooperative Extension in Cabarrus County scheduled 4-H Youth Market days, with young 4-H entrepreneurs, at the Winecoff market on August 8 and September 12, 2026. The market also takes vouchers from the state’s Farmers Market Nutrition Program, and the market calls the Winecoff site Cabarrus County’s only year-round farmers market.

From fall into winter, the market opens an hour later, at 9 a.m., and runs until noon. The market closed on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve in 2022, when both fell on Saturdays, so check before going over the holidays.

South End Farmers Market

South End, 2000 South Blvd., outdoors at Atherton Mill

Atherton Mill has hosted a market since 2010, when the year-round Atherton Market opened, and South End Farmers Market now runs outdoors under a North Carolina nonprofit that manages farmers markets, according to the operator. Eighteen anchor vendors sell pasture-raised pork, beef, poultry and eggs, heirloom produce, non-GMO grits, cornmeal and flour, pierogi, honey and, in season, boiled peanuts. Rotating artisan, wellness and craft vendors fill in around them.

Markets run Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. year-round. SNAP purchases are doubled up to $20 through the county’s DoubleBucks program, and anyone can buy $1 and $5 market tokens. Live music plays on some Saturdays.

Skip the car: the LYNX Blue Line’s East/West Boulevard station is less than two blocks away. On foot, enter from Tremont Avenue or near the light rail tracks.

Uptown Farmers Market

Uptown, 300 S. Davidson St.

Studies in Mecklenburg County on food insecurity, wellness and nutrition led to Uptown Farmers Market, a nonprofit founded in spring 2020 that sets up in a church parking lot on South Davidson Street, according to the market. The 58 listed vendors include eight produce farms and five meat, poultry and fish vendors, along with bakers and artisan food makers.

SNAP shoppers buy wooden tokens at the Welcome Tent, and since September 1, Market Double Bucks has matched EBT dollar for dollar up to $20 a week, with an extra match in the third week of each month. Families get a bonus: kids 4 to 12 who do the day’s craft receive $5 in tokens to spend on fruits and vegetables through the Radish Roots program.

Saturday markets run from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. through December 12. Parking is free in the church’s front lot during market hours, leashed and well-behaved dogs are welcome and pull carts can be borrowed beside the Welcome Tent.

Waxhaw Farmers Market

Waxhaw, 27283 Waxhaw Pkwy.

Handmade only is the rule at Waxhaw Farmers Market: vendors must make it, bake it or grow it, according to the market. The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority’s March 2026 guide describes Waxhaw as a producers-only market running since 2001. The 48 vendors, 36 of them full time, sell produce, mushrooms, berries, cut flowers, pierogi, baked goods and jams.

Saturday markets run from 9 a.m. to noon into December, and the 2026 season ends with a Christmas Evening Market on Tuesday, December 22. Holiday shoppers also get a handmade-only Winter Holiday Market on Sunday, December 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., before the Waxhaw Christmas Parade.

SNAP shoppers get tokens at the Information Table that never expire but work only at this market. Dogs are not allowed, except trained service animals, and parking is free in the market lot or along the street when the lot fills.

This list was last checked on October 20, 2026. Spot something out of date or a place that belongs here? Send corrections through our contact form.