Discover Monroe

Monroe offers a range of ways to shape your stay: exercise on a loop trail, enjoy open space with a variety of facilities, learn through interactive exhibits, or explore theatre and local history. If you’re looking for hotels in Monroe, these interests can help you plan a stay around a particular theme. Each place offers different activities, so you can choose based on what you’d like to do.

Loop Trail and Parks

The Historic Downtown Monroe Greenway is a 1.5-mile loop trail for walking or running. Its length and loop route offer a clear guide if outdoor exercise is part of your travel plans. Check local conditions before setting out.

Belk Tonawanda Park offers a different focus: it includes several acres of open space and features an amphitheater, picnic tables, and a large picnic shelter. There’s also a playground, bocce courts, and an outdoor fitness station. Its facilities combine open spaces with specific options for picnicking, play, exercise, and events. Unlike the Greenway, which is described as a loop trail for walking or running, the park has several different facilities.

Hands-On Science

The Monroe Science Center has more than 30 interactive exhibit areas covering a variety of scientific topics. It offers hands-on learning experiences for children and adults. If science is a focus of your stay, its interactive exhibits set it apart from Monroe’s outdoor activities. The number and content of exhibits may change; check the current displays before your visit.

Free public parking is available at the Monroe Science Center. The parking lot can be accessed via East Franklin Street or East Windsor Street. Check current access information before your visit.

Theatre and History

The Dowd Center Theatre is an Art Moderne-style venue that opened to the public on February 9, 1940. The restored theatre has 560 seats and a multipurpose event lobby. Both spaces are used for films, concerts, and music and theatre performances. The theatre can be appreciated for both its architecture and history and the uses described here.

The Monroe Downtown Historic District includes the Old Union County Courthouse and about six blocks of commercial buildings. The district reflects Monroe’s development into a railroad hub and cotton trading center in the south-central Piedmont. Its defined architectural scope and its connection to the city’s economic development make this a place of both architectural and historical interest.

The Monroe Residential Historic District offers another perspective on local history: it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Together with the Downtown Historic District and the Dowd Center Theatre, this listing shows how Monroe’s history is reflected in the places covered here—in a commercial district, a residential district, and a theatre with an opening history dating back to 1940.

Explore more destinations: Indian Trail, Fairview.

For the broader travel overview: Union County.