Thought I'd chime in. I am in the central part of NC, about 1 hour south of Raleigh. I am very close to Uwharrie and that is my "home turf", so to speak. I am up there regularly on weekends, when the trails are open. I even make it during a weekday here and there because I wind up in Troy for work once in a while.
If any of you are planning at any time to hit Uwharrie, give me a shout and I'll see if I can ride along with you. There are great campgrounds as well as camping along the trails. There are lakes and the Uwharrie river for fishing, boating, swimming. There are trails for your 4x4, dirt bike, atv, hiking horses and mountain bikes. Most of the trails for 4x4's are just trail riding, but there are a few decent obstacles adn difficult lines to take if you know where to look.
The trails open back up in April, I beleive, so give me a call if you'd like to try it out. 910-639-3856
Dominic, as a former Marine myself, let me thank you for your service to our country.
Semper Fi,
John