Hiking/trails

Clubs and groups

The Cape Fear Ski and Outing Club is a nonprofit organization for anyone who enjoys skiing, hiking, boating, camping, cycling, golfing, tennis, kayaking, volleyball and any other types of outdoor recreation. They welcome those who want to learn new skills in a sport, or just want to eat and socialize with other Club Members in an enjoyable atmosphere.

Join here. Here is a calendar of events.

Trails

The trails listed below are found in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties.  More coastal trails can be found here.

Abbey Nature Preserve, Poplar Grove Plantation

Dedicated to the memory of Margaret Abbey Foy Moore, the Foy family has placed 67 acres of undeveloped land at the plantation into the Coastal Land Trust. The nature trail winds through old and new forests, past a 10-acre pond and through lowlands called "pocosins," containing peat bogs.

Bald Head Woods Coastal Reserve, Bald Head Island


This nature trail is in the center area of Bald Head Island, a 2.2 mile loop.

Bald Head Woods has extremely old, large trees - primarily live oak and laurel oak - in this maritime forest. The thick undergrowth consists of wild olive, American holly, yaupon, and catbrier. The lack of light favors shade-tolerant plants like ebony spleenwort. Cabbage palmetto appears throughout the forest.





Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve, UNCW campus

This 10-acre tract is located on the UNCW campus.  Set aside in 1972 as a preserve for native Southeastern NC plants, the trail offers an unspoiled haven in the middle of a rapidly-growing university.








Boiling Springs Lake Preserve, Boiling Springs, NC

This 6000+ acre preserve nature trail offers many rare flora and fauna, including the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, a variety of carnivorous plants and orchids. The trail begins at the Community Center just off Hwy 87. The trail is also part of the NC Birding Trail.










Carolina Beach State Park, Carolina Beach, NC

This very popular park offers six miles of diverse trails, ranging from pocosins to marshland to forest to shoreline.  The Sugarloaf Trail ends at a high natural dune, one of the highest points in the area.







Fort Fisher State Historic Site , Kure Beach, NC


Fort Fisher is a Confederate fort that enabled blockade runners to bring supplies to troops. It fell to a massive Federal amphibious assault in January, 1865, bringing an end to the Confederacy.
Visitors are invited to tour the remains of the fort's land face featuring an impressive reconstruction of a 32-pounder seacoast gun at Shepherd's Battery.

Shaded by gnarled live oaks, a scenic trail leads tourists from the visitor center past the gigantic earthworks and around to the rear of the fort.





Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach, NC


The Basin Trail starts at the parking area and meanders through the marsh. This 1.1 mile, out-and-back trail ends at an observation deck, which is a great location for bird watching. 

It also connects with the area called Hermit's Trail, where the Fort Fisher hermit - Robert E. Harrilll - lived in an old WWII bunker from 1955 to 1972.  Harrill became something of a celebrity, attracting many visitors to his adopted home and living off the fish he caught and the plants he grew.




Greenfield Park and Gardens, Wilmington, NC

This beautiful 250-acre park lies close to downtown Wilmington.  It features a 150-acre lake and a 4.5 mile trail around it for hiking or cycling. 









Green Swamp Nature Preserve

This preserve - 15,000 acres - is primarily pocosin land, which is marshy, nutrient-poor areas located near rivers or streams.  The preserve is rich in diversity of plants and wildlife.










Halyburton Park


This park in central Wilmington offers a 1.3 mile hiking/cycling trail that is handicapped-accessible.  A sandhills area, the park is dominated by longleaf pines, red oaks and turkey oaks.