Carolina Beach State Park, NC

A hike on December 24, 2018 in the trail system of Carolina Beach State Park, NC. This wonderful state park is located 20 minutes from where I grew up in Wilmington, so I decided to revisit the park on the morning of Christmas Eve. In the past my parents and I primarily walked the Sugarloaf and Flytrap Trails, ignoring the rest of the trails in the park. My goal was to explore most of the trails and areas of interest I've skipped, creating a big loop using the Sugarloaf and Sand Live Oak Trails. In addition to many large white dunes and views of the Cape Fear River, this park includes a variety of ponds and forests providing an excellent representation of the Coastal Plain environment.

Starting at the marina, I followed the Sugarloaf Trail south paralleling the Cape Fear River. Although the weather started cold and windy, I could not have asked for better skies for this hike. There are numerous beaches with open views of the mammoth river as it empties into the Atlantic Ocean a few miles downstream. I did an out-and-back on the Swamp and Flytrap Trails, but did not include any video clips. Honestly the swamp scenery along the Flytrap Trail was underwhelming compared to other areas of the park, and the Swamp Trail is simply a connector passing through dry longleaf savanna.

Arguably the highlight of the hike is the out-and-back on the Oak Toe Trail, which follows a narrow strip of white sand between the river and brackish marsh. After returning to this trail junction the Sugarloaf Trail climbs Sugarloaf Dune, which rises more than 50 feet above the river. Next up was the Sand Live Oak Trail, which continued following the river before turning inland, passing through an expanse of dunes. I left the trail to bag the Pleasure Island high point, then returned to the trail to see an unnamed pond outside the boundary of the park. Beyond the pond the trail passed over the high point of Sand Live Oak Dune and rejoined the Sugarloaf Trail. From there I passed by the three named ponds in quick succession: Cypress Pond, Grass Pond, and Lily Pond. Surprisingly, these three limesink ponds have remarkably different vegetation that gives the ponds their names. The last leg of the Sugarloaf Trail before the marina crossed a boardwalk over a long stretch of cypress swamp, by far the most scenic swamp of the day.

Distance - 7.3 miles
Elevation gain - 245 feet
Time - 3 hours and 40 minutes

Hike location
https://goo.gl/maps/d2ycTpcM4YWPHPYy6

Carolina Beach State Park website
https://www.ncparks.gov/carolina-beac...

North Carolina State Parks Passport Program
https://www.ncparks.gov/passport-program