Masonboro Island Reserve Image
North Carolina has 44,000 acres of coastal and estuarian reserves preserved in 10 sites ranging from south of Bald Head Island to the Outer Banks, habitat for flora and fauna of ecological and historical importance to the state.
The sites are managed by the N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve, a program of the N.C. Division of Coastal Management. The Reserve is tasked with stewardship and preservation of the sites, with research, and to provide education opportunities.
The goal is to maintain the natural character of a reserve — to keep it wild. Human guests are encouraged to enjoy the natural world without causing harm to plants, animals and the environment. The best thing visitors can do while visiting is to be sure to leave no trace of themselves behind, including apple cores, trash or pieces of food.
Visiting a nature preserve takes a bit of thought and planning. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has excellent trail guides with lists of dos and don’ts for the 10 reserves. The online brochures are full of rules, regulations and suggestions.
Some allow hunting, some are only accessible by boat. Some allow camping, some have dangerous animals and are best observed from afar. One of the biggest nature reserves is right in our own backyard, Masonboro Island, but unless you have access to a watercraft, you likely have never set foot on it.
Following is a brief look at the 10 coastal and estuarian reserves in North Carolina from north to south, which might inspire a new coastal adventure.
More detailed visiting instructions are available at each reserve’s website. Learn more from DEQ.NC.GOV.
Currituck Banks Reserve
Currituck Banks is the northernmost site and is part of a barrier spit just north of Corolla in the Outer Banks. Its 965 acres are composed of grasslands, sand dunes, beach, forest and marshes.
Due to natural shoaling, many inlets to Currituck Sound have closed. The resulting low-salinity marshes are characterized as oligohaline, allowing freshwater species of plants and animals not common in other coastal marshes.
The mixing of water temperatures — the warm Gulf Stream and the cool Labrador Current — allows many species to be found near the limits of their range. Feral hogs, wild horses and bobcats are among the animals that live in the reserve. There is a .3-mile handicap accessible boardwalk from the CBR to the sound. Hunting is allowed.
Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve
NC Coastal Reserve
The varied topography of Kitty Hawk Woods provides protection for a variety of plants, birds and other animals. The ridges and swales point to ancient shorelines leaving behind some 30-foot-tall sand dunes.
The 1,890-acre site is bordered by Albemarle Sound and Kitty Hawk Bay. The KHWR is home to several globally rare plant communities, including maritime deciduous forest, maritime swamp forest and interdune ponds.
Being a quarter mile from the beach helps shelter delicate orchids and seven protected plant species: coastal goldenrod (endangered), American featherfoil and wooly beach heather (species of special concern), southern twayblade, marsh pink, shoreline sedge and wisk fern (watch list).
Horseback riding and biking trails are provided. Hunting is allowed.
Emily and Richardson Preyer Buckridge Reserve
Part of the East Dismal Swamp, the 29,334-acre Buckridge Reserve is the largest Coastal Reserve property and the only inland site. It is located in Tyrrell County, between the Pamlico and Albermarle sounds.
The site contains mostly non-riverine swamp forest, peatland Atlantic white cedar forest, and pond pine woodlands. Living within this swampy wonderland are bear, deer, fox, red wolves, alligators, endangered birds and four identified types of venomous snakes. Migratory warblers and other birds depend on forested wetlands of the coastal plain for breeding.
Tree spotters will see a remnant of bald cypress, Atlantic white cedar, loblolly pine, tupelo and sweet gum. Seasonal hunting is allowed.
Bald Head Wood Reserve
Located chiefly on Bald Head Island, a boat or the ferry is the best access (or a 17-mile bike ride or walk from Kure Beach at low tide). No cars are allowed on Bald Head. The 191-acre reserve includes Bald Head, Middle and Bluff Islands, which are three forested dune ridges separated by salt marshes.
An old tree canopy of pine, laurel and live oak contributes to the rich plant life in the maritime forest. Thick undergrowth consists of catbrier, yaupon, wild olive and American holly. Shade-tolerant plants like ebony spleenwort and cabbage palmetto are plentiful. Dune bluecurls, a mint rare in North Carolina, can be found along reserve trails.
Rachel Carson Reserve Below:
By Christine R. Gonzalez
Published June 2022 Wrightsville Beach Magazine
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