LAKE NORMAN STATE PARK- North Carolina's largest man-made lake is experiencing such low water levels its public beach has been closed.

It couldn't come at a more inconvenient time as people head to Lake Norman for relief from the heat. But with the water down about three feet at the designated swimming areas, state park officials made the decision to close the beaches.

Brenda Fields and her 3-year old granddaughter, Chelsea, were ready to swim Friday but the fun was quickly cut short.

“That's where we swim in, there's no water left. We don't get to go swimming,” explained the grandmother. “But I want to go swimming,” replied the little girl.

It's news that's hard to take during the long hot summer days. The only public beach on Lake Norman is closed.

“The problem is just the drought, it hasn't rained here in a long time,” said Clay Veasey, a park ranger at Lake Norman State Park. “We've been getting some scattered thunderstorms but it's just not enough to keep the water levels up.”

“I figured it wouldn't close until the first of September. Boo hoo,” said Brenda.

Veasey said, “We're going to have a lot of disappointed people. This is one of our really popular times of the year. It's hot as everybody knows and they really love to get out here and get in the water and we sure are sorry.”

Chelsea doesn't like it at all but plans to just splash around in her little pool at home.

Until Mother Nature cooperates and drops some rain the Lake Norman beach won't be a source of relief in the final dog days of summer. North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation also closed the Lake James swimming area, which is about 45 miles east of Asheville. The beaches on Lake James and Lake Norman are the only public swimming areas on the seven Catawba River basin lakes.