Woods Bay State Natural Area

Woods Bay State Natural Area offers a close-up look at one of the last remaining large Carolina Bays on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Experience the splendor and diversity of the cypress-tupelo swamp first-hand from the 500-foot boardwalk, or paddle your way amidst towering trees on the 1-mile canoe trail.

Habitats at 1,590-acre Woods Bay also include marsh, sand hills, oak-hickory forest and a shrub bog. More than 75 species of mammals, reptiles and amphibians are found here, along with more than 150 species of birds, changing with the seasons.

Come see alligators from the boardwalk and hear the “cu-tuck, cu-tuck, cu-tuck” of carpenter frogs as their calls echo through the trees. Take a hike on the nature trail as it encircles the historic mill pond and imagine yourself back in the mid-19th century when water from the bay powered two wooden grist mills.

Visitors also enjoy fishing, wildlife-viewing, photography and picnicking at the park.

Carolina Bays, elliptical depressions of various size scattered along the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, are among the Earth’s natural mysteries. Come check out Woods Bay State Natural Area and try to decide for yourself what created these intriguing natural wonders.