The U.S. National Whitewater Center is a non-profit outdoor recreation and athletic training facility for whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, mountain biking and hiking which opened to the public on November 4th, 2006. The Center is located in Charlotte on approximately 400 acres (1.6 km²) of land adjacent to the Catawba River. The USNWC is an official Olympic Training Site for whitewater slalom racing.

The creators of the Center were inspired by the Penrith Whitewater Stadiumbuilt for the 2000 Olympics. The Center’s primary feature is the world’s largest and most complex recirculating artificial whitewater river. The facility cost $38 million to build and costs $6.8 million per year to operate.The river channels were designed by three-time Olympian Scott Shipley.