Places

The largest of the three N.C. Coastal Reserve sites on the Outer Banks, Kitty Hawk Woods has foot and kayak trails, but the main focus here is and always has been protecting the natural environment.

All North Carolina state parks, including those on the coast, are hosting First Day Hikes on New Year’s Day, which rangers describe as an opportunity to begin 2020 on the right step.

Cedar Point in Carteret County is set to open for the first time its new 56-acre park and hiking trails on the White Oak River, with features to protect and enhance water quality.

Staff at Jockey’s Ridge State Park are planning major improvements to the visitor center last updated in 2001, but a possible delay could mean the park will be closed much of next summer.

Pettigrew State Park is sometimes overlooked among North Carolina’s state parks, but those who venture off the beaten path will discover its convergence of wildlife, nature and history.

Visitors to national parks on the N.C. coast spent more than $225 million in their surrounding communities, pouring about $280 million into the local economies, according to a recent analysis.

The staff at Cape Lookout National Seashore recently announced activities and schedules for the 2019 season to help visitors plan their escape to the park’s 56 miles of undeveloped beach.

Once planned for demolition, the National Park Service instead restored the early-1960s modernist visitor center at the Wright Brothers Memorial, which recently reopened after the two-year, $5.8 million project.

State Parks and the Croatan National Forest offer hikers miles of trails through a variety of habitats, from maritime forests to sand dunes, and the chance to learn some history and get a glimpse of rare plants or endangered critters.