Traveling The Coast 



Outdoors 



By Sarah Friday 



Get out your beach towel, dust off your 

 binoculars and put on some tennis shoes — 

 North Carolina's coast is waiting. Whether 

 you're a landlubber or a seafarer, take a detour 

 this summer from the motels, putt-putt courses 

 and arcades to see some of the state's natural 

 scenery. 



Herons, terns and ducks fly to the Pea Island 

 Wildlife Refuge. Fish swim to warmer waters 

 near Ocracoke. And deer and black bear roam 

 through the woods near the Alligator River. 

 Never mind the mosquitoes; pack your lunch 

 and join them in North Carolina's great out- 

 doors. 



■ Beaches. Three hundred twenty miles of 

 shoreline stretch along North Carolina's coast. 

 White, sandy beaches lie like a string of pearls 

 between Currituck and Calabash. Find one of 

 these jewels; and soak up some sun, fly a kite, 

 feel the sand between your toes or chase a crab. 

 Night or day, anytime of the year, North Caro- 

 lina's beaches offer a treasure trove of activities 

 to discover. 



■ State Parks. You don't have to wait until the 

 Fourth of July to enjoy one of the state parks in 

 eastern North Carolina. Overseen by the N.C. 

 Division of Parks and Recreation, each park 

 offers visitors acres of turf and surf to explore. 

 Camping, picnicking, swimming, hiking and 

 fishing are available at most sites. 



Be careful when you smell the flowers at the 

 Carolina Beach State Park. Venus' flytrap is 

 one of 30 varieties of plants, trees and flowers 

 along a self-guided park nature trail. 919/458- 

 8206. Fort Macon State Historic Park and 

 Recreation Area in Atlantic Beach houses a 150- 

 year-old restored fort used during the Civil 

 War and World War II. 919/726-3775. Allow 

 the beaches and live oaks draped with Spanish 

 moss to charm you at Goose Creek State Park 

 near Washington. 919/923-2191. 



Photo by ]. Foster Scott 



Raccoons are common 

 in North Carolina's state 

 and national parks 



Unspoiled beaches and nature areas high- 

 light Hammock's Beach State Park on Bear 

 Island, near Swansboro. 919/326-4881. Hike up 

 or hang glide over the East Coast's highest sand 

 dune at Jockey's Ridge in Nags Head. 919/441- 

 7132. 



Canoe through a different ecosystem at 

 Merchant's Millpond State Park, a southern 

 swamp forest near Gatesville. 919/357-1191. 

 The 16,600 acres of fresh air may lure you to 

 Pettigrew State Park near Creswell. If that 

 doesn't do it, the park's reputation as an 

 angler's paradise may. 919/797-4475. Whether 

 you're looking through a camera lens or a pair 

 of binoculars, you'll see the coast's natural 

 beauty at the Theodore Roosevelt Natural 

 Area at Atlantic Beach. Donated by the Roose- 

 velt family, this park offers visitors a unique 

 look at a brackish marsh and maritime forest. 

 919/726-3775. Park hours: April, May and Sep- 

 tember — 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. June, July and 

 August — 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. 



■ Croatan National Forest, Jones, Carteret 

 and Pamlico counties. Take a hike at the Croa- 

 tan National Forest. Thousands of acres of 

 f orestland and seven recreation areas offer vis- 

 itors miles of shaded woods to explore. In addi- 

 tion, boating, fishing, camping and swimming 

 facilities are available. 919/638-5628. 



■ Cape Lookout National Seashore. Let 

 Mother Nature amaze you with her beauty at 

 the Cape Lookout National Seashore. Fifty- 

 five miles along the Outer Banks, from Ocra- 

 coke Inlet to Beaufort Inlet, were reserved by 

 the National Park Service in 1966 to preserve an 

 area rich in natural and recreational resources. 

 The three islands in the seashore — Shackleford 

 Banks, Core Banks and Portsmouth Island — 

 can only be reached by boat or ferry. The trip is 

 worth it, however, for the chance to swim or 

 fish off quiet beaches, collect conchs or watch 



