Croatan Forest Hikes

On Black Friday, we left Raleigh to #optoutside on the coast.  We left in the morning and first stopped at Cedar Point Recreation Area in Croatan National Forest.  Here we hiked the scenic Tidelands National Recreation Trail.

The trail was a mix of natural surface and boardwalks through forest and over the beautiful tidal marshes along the mouth of White Oak River.

There were blue Juniper berries on the red cedars.

In contrast, the yaupon holly had bright red berries - both are a winter food source for birds.

Turning right, we hiked the longer loop.  The boardwalks had arches to allow paddlers to go under.

There was a viewpoint at the far end of the loop where Dubling Creek flowed into White Oak River.

At another overlook a little further, the creek really opened up and we could see Swansboro in the distance.

We saw a great egret out in the shallow waters.

The salt marsh here was really beautiful.

On the way back, I went out on the short loop boardwalk to finish the double loop.

Then we returned to the car and headed on.

Our next stop was at Patsy's Pond between Cape Carteret and Morehead City.  The trail is a collaboration between the forest and the NC Coastal Federation.  A series of three loop trails lead through the longleaf pine flat woods.

Bob's sinkhole was right at the start.

Hiking the loop counterclockwise, we passed a few smaller unnamed ponds and Lily Pond.

Then we came to the larger Patsy's Pond.

The Yellow Trail made a big loop around the pond and through the longleaf pine flatwoods.

One pine in particular was contorted and growing almost in a knot.

On the hike back, we took a detour on the Blue Trail to hike along the south side of Patsy Pond.

There were some beautiful views of the pond from here.

This trail then looped back to connect up with the combined trails and headed back to the trailhead.

From here, we drove to Atlantic Beach and stopped at Hoop Pole Creek Preserve, another Coastal Federation property.  The trail started out as boardwalks through a dense maritime forest.

Lots of live oaks growing here, with their twisting branches a testament to the difficulty of living by the sea.

Some shining sumac was still showing brilliant fall colors.

We also spotted some more yaupon holly berries.

The boardwalks ended shortly and turned to a paved trail.  A spur crossed a small dune and led to a view of the salt marsh.

The main paved trail continued out to where Hoop Pole Creek flowed into Bogue Sound.

It was a really nice area and we took a short break out here.

We got some pictures then headed back.

We were getting hungry by this point and stopped at Idle Hour Biergarten near the boardwalk for dinner.  They have very dog-friendly outdoor seating.  After dinner, we took Alex for a short walk on the beach.  It was very pretty in the evening light.

Then we headed back to the mainland and to Oyster Point at Croatan National Forest.  Although we had a reservation, our site was occupied.  We spoke with the campground host and arranged for us to have a different spot so the other people wouldn't have to move.  The other site was just as nice as the one we reserved.  We set up camp and made a small fire before going to bed.