Nature Trails
The federation offers guided and self-guided nature trail walks at Hoop Pole Creek in Atlantic Beach and Patsy Pond in Ocean. Our nature trails provide people with a firsthand look at North Carolina's longleaf pine and maritime forest ecosystems.
Hoop Pole Creek
In the first acquisition of its kind in state history, the federation used a $2.5 million grant from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund to buy 31 acres of prime waterfront property along Hoop Pole Creek in Atlantic Beach. The preserved maritime forest enhances water quality in the creek and maintains the ecological integrity of the local aquatic community. The Hoop Pole Preserve is a vital buffer between the surrounding developed land and the creek’s productive shellfishing waters. The tidal creek is one of the few in Bogue Sound where shellfish beds consistently remain open for harvest. The maintained trail provides the public access to the creek. The trail is open every day during daylight hours. For a self-guided walk, brochures (pdf) with trail maps (pdf) are available online and at the trail entrance off N.C. 58 in Atlantic Beach.
  
Patsy Pond Trail
The Patsy Pond Nature Trail is part of the Croatan National Forest and winds through an ecological area known as longleaf pine flat woods. It is an open woodland of longleaf pines with low growing plants and shrubs. Fire is a natural influence in this forest community. Many of the plants and trees have adapted to survive fires and are actually healthier after fires. Examples of animals and birds in this forest include: White-tailed deer, gray fox, gray squirrel, flying squirrel, black bear, osprey, egret, turkey, wading birds the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, reptiles and amphibians. The trail is open every day during daylight hours. For a self-guided walk, brochures (pdf) and trail map (pdf) are available online and at the trail entrance on N.C. 24 across from the federation headquarters in Ocean.
  
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