Nags Head Woods Preserve is the largest remaining maritime forest on the east coast, according to The Nature Conservancy, the agency that protects and manages the land. Nags Head Woods Preserve covers 1,400-plus acres just west of Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I rode my Surly bicycle through there on its gravel access roads one day and returned the next to walk the trails.
The first day I left my car at a park in Kitty Hawk and planned to ride south to the Bodie Island Light Station at the northern section of Cape Hatteras National Seashore. At Kill Devil Hills I entered Nags Head Woods Preserve on Old Nags Head Woods Road on the north end. I followed the shaded gravel road beneath the canopy of pines, oaks, hickory, and other trees. The air smelled of composting vegetation and salt water. I listened to the crunching of gravel beneath my tires and Northern Mockingbirds and warblers sing. After three quarters of a mile, I reached the road to the Visitor’s Center, West Ocean Acres Drive.
I stopped at the Visitor’s Center for a brochure on hiking trails. The Nature Conservancy permits bicycles on gravel access roads only. I continued on the winding, hilly road south for another two and a quarter miles to the end of the gravel road. From there I found my way back to the main road and continued south to the Bodie Island Light Station.
The next day, I returned with my wife to hike almost 6 miles of trails. Nags Head Woods Preserve has eight trails, each named. We began on Center Trail, a short loop (0.25 miles) beginning at the Visitor’s Center that leads to Sweetgum Swamp Trail (2.0 miles) and Blueberry Ridge Trail (3.0 miles). These shaded trails traverse dense woods with many elevation changes. Warblers flit about tree branches and Northern Mockingbirds and Northern Cardinals sing from the canopy above the trails.
We saw four snakes, including a Southern Black Racer. The air smelled fresh with scents of pine, wildflowers, rich soil, and the coastal breeze. The trails pass several Fresh water ponds where Yellow-bellied Sliders slip into the water from logs at our approach. Yellow, black, white and blue butterflies continuously crossed our path. These trails are not difficult for those accustomed to walking. Other trails better suit most walkers.
The three trails, each a loop, brought us back to the Visitor’s Center. From there we walked to Roanoke Trail (1.5 miles round-trip), which winds through the woods and across a salt marsh and ends at a small beach on the shore of Roanoke Sound. We sat on a bench there and watched an Osprey gliding overhead, fishing. Roanoke Trail passes through the site of an old homestead. From this trail, we walked back toward the Visitor’s Center and took Discovery Trail.
Discovery Trail is a short loop near ponds and through forest with access to Roanoke Trail. We covered almost six miles on the five trails we walked. We skipped the ADA Trail (Americans with Disabilities Act) a 0.5 mile loop, the Nags Head Town Trail (1.6 miles round-trip), and the YMCA Trail (0.2 miles).
My ride on the gravel access roads and our hikes on the trails made for excellent experiences away from nearby areas busy with traffic. By walking, one covers more ground than by bicycle, as the trails are off limits for bikes.
Sounds like you hit the jackpot on a great place to enjoy nature.
There are some very nice places near here, Betty. I’m having fun exploring new places, and I continually find new trails, but I still think about Deep South Texas every day, probably because I lived there longer than any other place.