Winter can be a good season to spot migrating cormorants at Cape Lookout National Seashore, but there are lots of other things to do, too/NPS
Summer's warm temps might be gone, but there is still lots to do at Cape Lookout National Seashore on the North Carolina coast. Here's a look at some ranger-led programs on the calendar.
Half-Day Event
Horse Sense and Survival Tour ' Saturday, November 15 & Saturday, November 22 ' Reservations required, fee for ferry transportation
The wild horses of Shackleford Banks are fascinating to observe but may be difficult to find. Join a Ranger for a half-day walking trip to find horses and watch their behavior. The park will arrange transportation by local ferries; there will be a charge for this ride. If you have your own boat, call the park for reservations and meeting locations. There is no charge for the walking program. Call (252) 728-2250 for reservations, more information on the program, ferry costs and other information.
Cape Lookout Lighthouse Area
The Light Station Visitor Center and the Keepers' Quarters Museum are located near the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. The lighthouse area is reached by boat. The Light Station Visitor Center and the Keepers' Quarters Museum are closed.
Lighting the Way (15 minutes) 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Lighthouse keepers played a very important role in protecting the coast. Come learn what life was like for them and what they had to do to keep the light in the Cape Lookout Lighthouse burning. Meet on the porch of the Keepers' Quarters Museum, by the lighthouse.
Ribbon of Sand (film) (16 minutes)
Travel through the Cape Lookout ecosystem, from the sound side marshes and estuaries to the protective line of islands of the Outer Banks and the ocean depths beyond. For your convenience, this film is open-captioned. Shown in the Keepers' Quarters Museum upon request.
Harkers Island
The National Park Service Visitor Center and the Ferry Gateway to Cape Lookout Lighthouse and Shackleford Banks is located at 1800 Island Road, Harkers Island, North Carolina, and is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. ' 5 p.m. all year. Holiday hours: closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Nature trails and picnic areas are open seven days a week during daylight hours.
Ribbon of Sand (film) (26 minutes)
Travel through the Cape Lookout ecosystem, from the sound-side marshes and estuaries to the protective line of islands of the Outer Banks and the ocean depths beyond. The film is shown upon request. For your convenience, this film is open-captioned, audio described, and assistive listening devices are available.
Sound-Side Nature Trail ' 4/5-mile self-guided nature trail
This loop trail winds along the eastern shore of Harkers Island through maritime forest and saltmarsh and features a boardwalk and observation deck overlooking Core Sound. You can stand on the edge of land and sea and imagine the forces that shape Harkers Island and her people.
- Willow Pond Nature Trail ' 1/3-mile self-guided nature trail
The loop trail winds around a restored freshwater pond with gorgeous views of wetland habitats and maritime hardwoods. The trail guide is available at the Core Sound Museum; the trail starts behind the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center.
Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center is located at 1785 Island Road, Harkers Island, North Carolina, 28531. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sunday from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. Holiday hours: closed Thanksgiving Day, closed December 24-26 and January 1. Call 252-728-1500 or visit www.coresound.com for more information.
Other Offerings
- Boy and Girl Scout Resource Stewardship Ranger Program ' Scouts can learn about the park and volunteer to do a service project while developing a sense of pride and stewardship for the nation's national park resources. Scouts attend educational programs and performfive hours of service for an attractive Scout Ranger Certificate and ten hours of service for a Scout Ranger Certificate and Patch. Check the information on the web.
- Cell phone tours ' Learn more about the park before, during or after your visit with ranger-narrated tours for your cell phone or smart phone. The tours are free; however, normal cell phone minutes and data rates will apply. Call (252) 838-7052 and select a stop number on a specific tour to hear a brief story. Available tours:
- Orientation to Cape Lookout National Seashore: stops 100 ' 107
- Harkers Island Nature Trails: stops 201 - 210
- Cape Lookout Light Station: stops 501-511
- Portsmouth Village: stops 940-950
- Junior Rangers and Junior Ranger Adventures ' A fun way to explore the park is to become a Junior Ranger. The Junior Ranger program is designed for ages 5 to 13 but everyone is welcome to participate. There are six different booklets and awards in the Junior Ranger and Junior Ranger Adventures programs: collect them all. Kids can also earn a Junior Ranger Patch by completing a booklet, watching the park movie, and attending a ranger or volunteer guided program. Be sure to have them sign your patch program sheet. Junior Ranger booklets are available at the Harkers Island Visitor Center, Beaufort Visitor Center, the Light Station Visitor Center, Great Island Cabin Office, Long Point Cabin Office and at Portsmouth Village.
Ask park staff about their 'by request' programs - these include Scouting Programs, Nature Trail Hikes, and programs on lighthouse keepers, wild horses and sea turtles. Call (252) 728 -2250, extension 3001 for more information.
Comments
Beach, I am so uninformed on the issue of the specific closures or the area in general, I hesitate to say much, I simply do not know. However I have much empathy with the effort to place restrictions on visitation if the scientific community feels they are necessary. I am not a person with any great creditability in the field of science, but neither am I a doctor, it pays to listen to them both. My overall experience with the NPS, over 50 years now, usually leads me to support their decisions. Most NPS employees weigh very carefully restricting access, they are our neighbors, relatives, friends etc. The economic consequences are a huge concern, but so is the effort to protect the resources the area was set aside for. It is a contentious balancing act.
Beach,
I can say with 100% certainty that no one knows the nuances of Park visitation year to year. There have certainly been some other big factors concerning CHNS visitation, ie if the only road to CHNS is open or threatened to be closed because of weather, being the single biggest factor on visitation IMO. And then there was a rare July 4th hurricane this year that had a profound affect on visitation.
The Cape Hatteras Anglers Club just conducted a very successful surf fishing tournament (using ORVS) in the Park claiming it to be the largest surf fishing tournament in the world. Now how did they do that?
http://www.capehatterasanglersclub.org/index.php?option=com_content&task...
Do resource protection closures and VFAs affect visitation? I'm sure they do at certain times of the year. Is it devastating to the local economy? not hardly.
I am not aware of any harm, injuries, or deaths of sea turtles, shorebirds, or any other protected species at Cape Lookout. Over the past several years sea turtles, piping plovers, red knots, oyster catchers numbers have all steadily increased. The current management plan is working just fine. The NPS is now proposing a plan for a solution where a problem doesn't exist.
It's virtually the same thing they did to Cape Hatteras, a solution for a problem that does not exist. Can someone show me something from the "scientific community" that studied Cape Lookout? I don't think you can. There are some questionably formed proposals from the USGS that are being applied blindly to all these seashores.
I believe the NPS is doing this to ONLY appease their eco-whacko dishonest friends at NPCA, Friends of the Earth, Audubon, and Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads.
The Park Service was mandated to do this by an executive order President Nixon signed in the 1970s, Beach. They're finally getting around to it.
That is BS Kurt, they could have just formalized their current existing plan and be done with it. Nixon's EO doesn't require them to do anything more or less. They modified the management plan in 2007 (which created some pedestrian only areas, modified resource management and which started the visitor decline), could just formalize that plan and be done with it. But they are inisistent on wasting lots of time and money making a grandious plan to fix a problem that does not exist, just like they did at CHNSRA.
No, it's the law, beach. They had to come up with an ORV-specific plan, not just insert a provision into the management plan.
Dont see anything about resource management or pedestrian only areas. They could have modified the existing plan(s) which already defined designated trails and ORV regulations, like speed limits and other rules. Instead they threw it all out and started all over.