Island Creek

The 247-acre Jones County property lies adjacent to a portion of the Croatan National Forest located to the southwest of New Bern. The property includes almost 2.5 miles of frontage along Island Creek, a tributary of the Trent River.

As an extraordinarily rich natural area, this property not open to public access. According to NC Natural Heritage Program, “the natural area contains, by far, the most extensive exposure of marl in North Carolina. The marl that underlies the natural area gives the site a very rich flora associated with basic soils, including many rare species and many species typically found only in the mountains and Piedmont of North Carolina.” The property hosts mature upland and wetland hardwood forests.

This beautiful property is part of the viewshed that can be seen while hiking the Island Creek Walk, which contains a few miles of easy trails within the Croatan National Forest.  Click the map to the right for driving directions.  There are a few parking spaces at the trailhead and no amenities, so plan accordingly.

The Coastal Land Trust, which received $7.3 million as part of the Havelock bypass settlement in April 2018, has used a portion of these funds to purchase 247 acres of “Island Creek,”. Read the full press release here.

To support the protection of future projects like Island Creek, you can donate here.

PC: Michael Schafale