While the state funded and installed the trail signage this past spring, Southern Sites Specialist Morgan Penrose wants the public to come out, enjoy them, and share feedback while they’re there.
Zeke’s Island paddle trail is a three-mile loop around the island for kayakers and paddleboarders. The 1,600-acre island, located between Fort Fisher and Bald Head Island, is surrounded by marsh and has a barrier-island beach.
The new paddle trail starts at the Federal Point Boat Ramp on the southern end of Pleasure Island, near the Fort Fisher ferry port.
Penrose said, “If you're going towards the [Fort Fisher] Aquarium and just keep following that road all the way until the road runs out, you're basically looking at the island reserve once you hit that dead end.”
Zeke's was established as part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve in 1985. The North Carolina Reserve manages ten coastal sites, but four are managed by the southern sites team, including Zeke’s and Masonboro, as well as Bird Island near Sunset Beach and Bald Head Woods Reserve.
Penrose said Senate Bill 257 funds future site maintenance for all ten of the NC Coastal Reserve’s sites, allocating $200,000 annually for maintenance and improvements.
Penrose said what species paddlers might see at Zeke’s: “I was just recently out this past week, and I saw a group of cownose rays, which was really cool. Depending on the time of year, you may even see sea turtles or diamondback terrapins. Zeke's is also really important bird habitat, so you'll run into numerous species of wading birds, such as herons, certain species of ducks.”
In celebration of National Estuaries Week, the NC Coastal Reserve would like the public to get out there and experience the paddle loop.
“There's even a survey that's at the boat ramp, so if people paddle the trail and they have comments or suggestions, they can scan that QR code, and then that comes to me, and I review that feedback,” Penrose said.
