Cedar Point Tidelands

While you can complete the Cedar Point Tideland Trail in less than an hour, you may want to spend a full day here. This loop through the Croatan National Forest on the central North Carolina coast treats you to beautiful views and abundant wildlife sightings. Smell the salt air of this coastal marsh just a couple miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean and you'll be transported to seaside dreams from your childhood. Watching your canine companion frolic along the boardwalk will only heighten the sense of nostalgia and timelessness you'll experience at Cedar Point.

The Tideland Trail passes through diverse scenery. Gnarled logs rise from marsh grasses. Coastal weather patterns all but guarantee beautiful skies with shifting layers of colorful clouds. From the boardwalk, look for wading birds like egrets and herons and for turtles and alligators surfacing to sun themselves. Your dog will be just as fascinated as you as several species of dragonflies buzz overhead and crabs scurry along the sand. Interpretive signs will give you insight into the area's natural history and fauna.

Aromatic needles carpet your path as you enter the forest, where you might spot a wandering deer. Curious Carolina chickadees flicker past. Pileated woodpeckers provide percussive accompaniment to the cheerful songs of bluebirds. As you walk along the banks of the White Oak River, note its lazy rhythm. Despite its name, it is a blackwater river, so named for the tannins that leach into and color its slow-moving waters. Bald cypress and longleaf pine, iconic trees of the Carolina lowlands, grow along its banks.

This trail is popular with local and vacationing families and their pups. There are many amenities in the Cedar Point Recreation Area where the trail is located, including campgrounds, potable water, bathrooms, and trash cans. The day you'll spend here will be easy and relaxed, as well as enlightening. Whether you take time to read about the species that call this place home, or respond to them with the same simple delight as your four-legged explorer, you'll go home feeling much more connected to the natural world around you.