Sandy Ridge Wildlife Trail, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

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Sandy Ridge Wildlife Trail, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

A stop at the Sandy Ridge Wildlife Trail on the way home from an Outer Banks trip offers a quick and easy opportunity to get a different look at North Carolina’s coastal waters. The half-mile trail (one-way) is off of U.S. 64 east in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge about 10 miles from Manteo.

The trail cuts through a cypress swamp, mostly via boardwalk. Taking our time, we covered it in an hour late one afternoon in December 2012.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which administers wildlife refuges, says “the trail is very appropriate for wheelchairs or baby strollers; however, it is not advertised as universally accessible due to several 1- to 2-inch steps.”

The trail runs alongside a portion of the Milltail Creek Paddle Trail, which has four plotted segments covering about 15 miles. There’s a put-in adjacent to the parking area and the Sandy Ridge trailhead. From there you can make your way out to a lake-size portion of the creek (below) or paddle into the swamp.

A short path leading opposite from the Sandy Ridge trailhead cuts through the woods to an overlook on Sawyer Lake.

The sign identifies the American Alligator, which as adults average 6 to 12 feet in length.

In addition to alligators, which we didn’t spot, the area is home to Sphagnum moss beds, Atlantic white cedar, sundews and prothonotary warblers, the Fish and Wildlife Service says. We saw cockaded woodpeckers (which were too fast to photograph) but not much other fauna.

Mostly it was simply a pleasant stroll through the swamp.

Below, note the paddle trail marker at a turn in the creek.

Always good to keep in mind that wildlife refuges allow hunting during specific seasons, and that recreation areas may abut game lands.

The refuge staff offers guided canoe tours on Milltail Creek for a nominal fee from May to September. Check at the Coastal N.C. National Wildlife Refuges Gateway Visitor Center.

The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge is on the mainland in Dare County. The Sandy Ridge Wildlife Trail is off of U.S. 64 at the end of Buffalo City Road. The Creef Cut Wildlife Trail, a half-mile, universally accessible trail, is also off of U.S. 64 near the Sandy Ridge trail. There’s an information kiosk and a universally accessible fishing platform adjacent to its trailhead.