We visited the Coast recently we are fortunate to be able to drive just 4 hours to the coast and with the pandemic renting a house and getting takeout makes it a safe option.
The fall and cooler months are wonderful as its less crowded, less mosquitoes and humidity and its a great time to Hike. Often we just visit the beaches but this area has some wonderful trails and unique landscapes and eco- systems.
It was inhabited by Cape Fear Indians from 6000 BC to the 1700's when the settlers fought with them and stole the land.
The Carolina Beach State park is wonderful, it has kayaks and bikes to rent, a marina and lots of trails.
We walked the sugar loaf trail from the site it states " Sugarloaf, a 50-foot sand dune near the bank of the Cape Fear River, has been an important navigational marker for river pilots since 1663. The dune was also of strategic significance during the Civil War when, as part of the Confederacy's defense of the Port of Wilmington, about 5,000 troops camped on or near Sugarloaf during the siege of Fort Fisher.
Carolina Beach State Park was established in 1969 to preserve the unique environment along the intracoastal waterway."
It also states on a sign at the park that after the civil war tourists would come from Wilmington on a steam liner and get off at sugar mountain and then take a train to the beach for the day. Sadly it was misused before becoming a state park with folks on four wheelers. This speaks to the importance of State and National parks and the importance of protecting these special places.
There were many birds in the trees here is my girl pointing at them.
Lovely wildflower this really excited me as we don't have leaves on the trees and its colder in this part of the state, I am already missing flowers.
The trails had amazing lichen, and reminded me of our woods in some ways, but it has a lot more pine trees, sandy areas and marsh land. So beautiful.
The area is also home to live oaks with Spanish moss a beautiful scene in the American south to me.
So if you are along the North Carolina Coast be sure to check out this wonderful state park, rest a while along the waters edge and listen to the birds.
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