- Civil War Series - In the early stages of the Civil War in 1862, Union forces quickly seized the Outer Banks of North Carolina during the so-called Burnside Expedition, which led to the creation of a Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island, a safe haven for hundreds of runaway slaves in the region. While the …
Continue reading Freedom Trail (Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, NC)
Now a bustling tourist site on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Roanoke Island was the site of the first English settlement in the New World, established in 1585. For one of the expeditions to the island, English explorers brought along Thomas Hariot, a talented scientist and mathematician tasked with studying and cataloguing the natural resources of …
Continue reading Thomas Hariot Trail (Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, NC)
Situated on Hatteras Island in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Buxton Woods is one of the last undeveloped forests in the area and remains rich in plant and animal life. The Buxton Woods Trail in Cape Hatteras National Seashore provides a short preview of the terrain, forming a 7/10-mile stem-and-loop through the maritime forest. Countless signs …
Continue reading Buxton Woods Trail (Cape Hatteras National Seashore, NC)
The start of the new year offers a time to reflect on the year that was: although other commitments slowed my rate of production in 2018, I still managed to add 37 new posts during the year to Live and Let Hike. Like usual, the quest for hiking had me crisscrossing the country in 2018—from …
Although lacking the allure of the nearby Tracks in the Sand Trail, the Soundside Nature Trail in North Carolina’s Jockey’s Ridge State Park offers a pleasant and easy stroll through diverse terrain. The dunes of Jockey’s Ridge—the highest on the East Coast—are visible from the path, but the circuit hike largely keeps its distance from …
Continue reading Soundside Nature Trail (Jockey’s Ridge State Park, NC)
Jockey’s Ridge State Park in eastern North Carolina boasts a surprisingly impressive distinction: the highest sand dunes on the East Coast. With dunes reaching as high as 60 feet above sea level, this is no ordinary beach: Jockey’s Ridge is a wild and rugged sandscape that runs down to the banks of Roanoke Sound on …
Continue reading Tracks in the Sand Trail (Jockey’s Ridge State Park, NC)
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