It’s only two miles from busy U.S. 17, but Winnabow’s Rices Creek seems a world away from the relentless development and heavy beach traffic on the four-lane highway.
The creek’s deep, dark channel can accommodate small and moderately sized jon boats, but most of the traffic is kayaks and canoes.

Sweet gums, bays and tupelos dot the shoreline, but it’s the bald cypresses that stand out. Fred Fiss, a guide for The Adventure Co., said some of the towering specimens are believed to be 300 to 500 years old and were likely passed over by loggers generations ago because they were misshapen or subject to interior decay.
Yesterday’s “loss” is today’s treasure, as many of these trees harbor a variety of birds and other wildlife. Some died long ago and lost their interiors to fire, but still they stand like stubborn smokestacks.

Fiss and fellow guide Bill Walsek recently led a dozen kayakers along Rices Creek to its confluence with Town Creek a few miles upstream. A portion of the proceeds from the tour went to the N.C. Coastal Land Trust, which purchases land and conservation easements to preserve wilderness areas.

“Because it is so undeveloped and so untouched, it’s probably about the same as it has been forever,” said Emma Thomas, owner of The Adventure Co. “It feels like you have stepped back in time there.”

Fiss’ group saw kingfishers, ospreys, herons, turkey vultures and several species of songbirds. The highlight, however, was when the first set of paddlers crept up on a 10-to-12-foot alligator that was staking out his usual hole.

Thomas said she had also seen bald eagles and black bears along Rices Creek, as well as a whitetail deer that was swimming across the channel. “It’s also great for catfish and bass,” she said.

Parts of the creek are in such dense bottomland hardwood forests that the sounds of civilization fade away. Truck tires roaring on the road, car horns and clatter of construction are rarely heard.

The creek’s tannin-stained water also holds a variety of sunfish and American shad, according to the state Wildlife Resources Commission.

Rices Creek has a strategic position in Brunswick County’s long-range plans to create access points along Town Creek, Thomas explained.

The Brunswick County Nature Park includes hundreds of acres along Town Creek near N.C. 133. Trails and boat access are in the works. From the Rices Creek access, paddlers could make a day of it by heading upstream, into Town Creek, and then downstream along Town Creek to the nature park – roughly 18 miles, she said.

Those seeking an easier paddle will be able to put in at Rice’s Creek, paddle upstream into Town Creek, then pull out at the county’s planned Town Creek access near U.S. 17, about five miles total.

To reach the access ramp, take U.S. 17 north from Bolivia to Winnabow and turn east (right) onto Governor’s Road. Turn north (left) onto Gordon Lewis Road and follow it to the water.
There are no readily apparent canals or control gates along Rices Creek today, unlike Town Creek, where remnants of the former rice cultivation culture still stand.

Rices Creek is named after Nathaniel Rice of Old Town Creek, according to historical texts. A 1733 map of the area shows the plantation of “N. Rice” roughly at the confluence of Rices Creek and Town Creek – a first-order tributary of the Cape Fear River.

Rice was also listed as a homeowner at old Brunswick Town and considered a prominent planter in the Colonial and Revolutionary periods.

In 1729, Rice was one of four justices of county court, along with Roger Moore, William Dry and Jehu Davis. Brunswick was part of New Hanover County in those days. Rice was also on the losing side of a fight to keep the seat of pre-Revolutionary government at Brunswick Town. It was moved to Newton, now known as Wilmington.

The Coastal Land Trust considers Rice Creek a prime example of the types of habitats it works with landowners to conserve. For more information about the non-profit group, call 790-4524 or point your browser to coastallandtrust.org.

The N.C. Maritime Museum at Southport provided historical research for this article.