NC Coastal Plain - Wetland Treasures

Bluff Mountain Fen

  • Location: Bluff Mountain Preserve in Ashe County, NC
  • Wetland Type: Southern Appalachian Fen
  • Owner: The Natural Conservancy
  • Unique Feature: Only known wetland type in the region
  • Factsheet
  • Directions 

Photo provide by The Nature Conservancy

Croatan National Forest

  • Location: Craven, Carteret, and Jones counties, NC
  • Wetland Types: Pocosins, Carolina bays, salt marsh and more
  • Owner: U.S. Forest Service
  • Unique Feature: Approximately 75% of the Croatan may be considered wetlands with pocosins comprising the majority of the wetland acreage.
  • Factsheet
  • Directions


Photo by David Blevins

Merchants Millpond

  • Location: Gates County, NC
  • Wetland Type: Cypress Gum Swamp (Blackwater)
  • Owner: North Carolina State Parks
  • Unique Feature: Created 190 years ago, coastal pond and southern swamp forest mingle, creating one of North Carolina’s rarest ecological communities.
  • Factsheet 
  • Directions

Photo courtesy of Chuck Richardson

Santee Coastal Preserve

  • Location: Charleston County, SC
  • Wetland Type:
  • Owner: South Carolina Division of Park and Recreation
  • Unique Feature: Once a rice plantation, this reserve provides essential habitat for many species of wildlife, including migratory and wintering waterfowl, shorebirds and wading birds, and Loggerhead sea turtles.
  • Factsheet 
  • Directions 

Photo by Charles Slate

Woods Bay 

  • Location: Florence, Clarendon, and Sumter counties, SC
  • Wetland Type: Carolina Bay
  • Owner: SC Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism
  • Unique Feature: The park is the home to one of the last remaining, relatively undisturbed, large Carolina bays on the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain.
  • Factsheet 
  • Directions 

Photo courtesy of Regina Huff

Antioch Bay

  • Location: Hoke County, NC
  • Wetland Types: Southern Appalachian bog, swamp forest-bog complex, semi-permanent impoundment
  • Owner: The Natural Conservancy
  • Year Nominated: 2016
  • Threats: Agricultural Runoff containing agrochemicals and nutrients could affect the integrity of the plant community. 
  • More Information: Antioch Bay Factsheet 
  • Plan a Visit: This  preserve  is  not  open  to  the  public  due  to  the sensitive nature of the ecological community present.


Black River Swamp

  • Location: Bladen, Pender and Sampson Counties in North Carolina
  • Wetland Types: Riverine swamp forest, bottomland hardwood forest, pine flat, pocosin and seep 
  • Owners: The Nature Conservancy, NC Coastal Land Trust, NC Wildlife Resources Commission
  • Year Nominated: 2018
  • More Information: Black River Swamp Factsheet (updated 9/20/2023)
  • Plan a Visit: Directions


Carolina Beach State Park

  • Location: New Hanover County, NC 
  • Wetland Type: Pocosin Swamp; Limesink Pond; Brackish Marsh
  • Site Owner: North Carolina State Parks
  • Year Nominated: 2021
  • Unique Feature: Home to carnivorous plant populations including the Carolina Venus Fly Trap, Yellow and Purple Pitcher Plants, and Butterwort. 
  • More Information: Wetland Treasure Factsheet
  • Additional Resources:
  • NC State Parks
  • NC DWR Video


Croatan National Forest

  • Location: Craven, Carteret, and Jones counties, NC
  • Wetland Types: Pocosins, Carolina bays, salt marsh and more
  • Owner: U.S. Forest Service
  • Year Nominated: 2019
  • Unique Feature: Approximately 75% of the Croatan may be considered wetlands with pocosins comprising the majority of the wetland acreage.
  • More Information: Factsheet
  • Plan a Visit: Directions


Green Swamp

  • Location: Brunswick County in North Carolina
  • Wetland Types: Pine savanna, high/low pocosin, bay forest, Atlantic white cedar forest 
  • Owners: The Nature Conservancy
  • Year Nominated: 2016
  • Threats: Spread of invasive species, altered hydrology, and altered water quality. Poaching of carnivorous plants.
  • More Information: Green Swamp Factsheet 
  • Plan a Visit: Directions


Goose Creek State Park 

  • Location: Beaufort County, NC
  • Site Owner: North Carolina State Parks
  • Year Nominated: 2023
  • Wetland Types: Saltwater and tidal freshwater marshes, swamp forest 
  • Unique Feature: Goose Creek State Park contains several distinct ecological communities providing important habitat and food sources for a diverse group of animals and providing important wintering areas for several species of waterfowl.
  • More Information: Wetland Treasure Factsheet 
  • Additional Resources: 
  • NC State Parks
  • NC Department of Environmental Quality YouTube Video


Merchants Millpond

  • Location: Gates County, NC
  • Wetland Type: Cypress Gum Swamp (Blackwater)
  • Owner: North Carolina State Parks
  • Year Nominated: 2019
  • Unique Feature: Created 190 years ago, coastal pond and southern swamp forest mingle, creating one of North Carolina’s rarest ecological communities.
  • More Information: Factsheet 
  • Plan a Visit: Directions



Phelps Lake Shoreline

  • Location: Washington County, North Carolina
  • Wetland Type: Natural lake shoreline swamp
  • Owner: North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation
  • Year Nominated: 2016
  • Unique Feature: This site is part of Pettigrew State Park and comprises more  than  550  acres  of  state-designated  Unique Wetlands along the north shore of Lake Phelps. The site contains bald cypress trees that measure 10 feet in diameter. 
  • More Information: Factsheet 
  • Plan a Visit: https://www.ncparks.gov/state-parks/pettigrew-state-park


Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge 

  • Location: Hyde and Washington Counties, NC 
  • Wetland Types: Pocosin, Bay Forest, Mixed Pine Flatwoods, Hardwood Swamps 
  • Site Owner: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • Year Nominated: 2020
  • Unique Feature: Distinct peat dominated wetlands and substantial birding opportunities. 
  • More Information: Fact Sheet (updated 9/20/2023)
  • Additional Resourcs:
  • US Fish and Wildlife Service
  • NC Wildlife Resources Commission


The Pocosin National Wildlife Refuge supports 200 bird species, 40 mammal species, 40 reptile species and 36 amphibian species.


Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge

  • Location: Bertie County, NC 
  • Site Owner: US Fish and Wildlife Service 
  • Year Nominated: 2022
  • Wetland Types: Protected forested wetlands consisting of bottomland hardwoods and swamps 
  • Unique Feature: Home to over 200 species of birds, including 88 breeding resident species and a diversity of fish species, including the endangered Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum), all connected to each other through the shallow water tables and refuge flooding frequency. 
  • Wetland Treasure Factsheet 
  • More Information: 
  • US Fish and Wildlife Services 
  • Roanoke/Cashie River Center 
  • Roanoke River Partners


Theodore Roosevelt State Natural Area

  • Location: Carteret County, NC 
  • Site Owner: North Carolina State Parks 
  • Year Nominated: 2022
  • Wetland Types: brackish salt marsh, freshwater pond, tidal flat 
  • Unique Feature: This 292-acre preserve was donated to the state of North Carolina by the Roosevelt family in 1971 and is one of the few remaining tracts of old-growth maritime forests along the North Carolina coast. Its hiking trails feature views of Bogue Sound, maritime forest, salt marsh and an ancient dune ridge. 
  • Wetland Treasure Factsheet 
  • More Information: 
  • Fort Macon State Park