North Carolina Resort, Outer Banks Tours, North Carolina Kayaking Tours, Pine Island Audubon Sanctuary

Kayaking Tours

Northern Outer Banks Tour

Leaves right from The Sanderling's Soundside Gazebo Dock...

Between the villages of Duck and Corolla is the pristine marsh of the Pine Island Audubon Sanctuary. Miles of secluded water trails make this arguably the most intricate marsh maze on the Outer Banks (8 square miles). The National Audubon Society has preserved a piece of the Outer Banks as it was before man arrived. In their goal to save wildlife habitat they have also created a kayaker's dream.

The Sanderling Spa and Resort has partnered with Coastal Kayak to offer this tour of one of the Outer Banks least traveled and most sought after wildlife sanctuaries. Departing from The Sanderlings's soundside gazebo dock, your guide will lead the way to the marsh maze where you will enjoy the solitude of the Pine Island Audubon Sanctuary. It is one of the best tours for sighting river otter and osprey.

This tour runs from March through October and departs from The Sanderling's soundside gazebo.

Maritime Forest & Marsh

Ideal for Kids...

Kitty Hawk Woods Coastal Reserve is one of the few remaining maritime forests in the world. Over 1800 acres are protected providing a vital habitat for various migratory birds, mammals and reptiles. This tour meanders up Ginguite creek which is lined with loblolly pine and twisted live oak draped in Spanish moss. This sheltered creek remains very calm on even the windiest of days making it ideal for the first time kayaker or someone looking for a very relaxed nature filled tour.

This tour ventures into the heart of the maritime forest all the way to a covered bridge (the bridge to nowhere). This bridge was actually built by a developer who was poised to develop this desirable land. The Nature Conservancy purchased this property after the developer went into bankruptcy. Thanks to this acquisition, bald eagle and osprey, two formerly endangered species have begun to nest here again. In season (March - August), osprey sightings are a daily occurrence. Eagle sighting are less common, but have been on the rise since we started our tours here in 1999.

This tour is available from March through December and meets at the Dare County boat ramp on Bob Perry Rd. in the morning and a few hours before sunset.

Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

Our Most Popular & Wildest Tour...

The Algonquin Indians identified this habitat as a "pocosin", meaning "swamp on a hill". Bald cypress loom overhead, feeding the narrow creeks with tannins giving the water a mysterious black coloration. The winding creeks lead to mirror-image lakes where alligators can be seen as they sun on the floating grass fields (slough grass) or a protruding cypress stump. This refuge is home to the world's only wild population of red wolves, which we sometimes hear on our wolf howlings. Last year we also had sightings of river otter, bobcat, black bear, American bittern, barred owl, and colonies of egret and ibis.

This refuge is a must see. Just 20 minutes from Nags Head, down old Buffalo City Road we set out on these black waters to learn of a time when loggers and moonshiners called this place home. There is little evidence of Buffalo City or the moonshine known as East Lake Dew today, but you will get a glimpse of what it must have been like in the logging and prohibition days.

We conduct this tour from March through December. This tour meets in the mornings and four hours before sunset at mile post 9 on the west side of Rte. 158 in the western parking lot of Walgreens Pharmacy. From here you may drive in our van or follow us out to the refuge (30 miles).

Sanderling Guest Pricing - $45/Adult
$25/Child 12 and younger in a two person kayak with adult
Sanderling Guest Pricing including transportation - $50/Adult
$25/Child 12 and younger in a two person kayak with adult

Pea Island National Wildlife Rescue

Hatteras Island Tour...

Located on the northern section of Hatteras Island, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge consists of 5,834 acres of land and 25,700 acres of water. Kayaking is the best way to explore this "birders paradise". The official list of birds sighted on this refuge is 365 species long.

The tour starts at a location named New Inlet which closed in the 1930's. With every passing storm and hurricane the inlet threatens to reopen. We kayak under the old wooden bridge which was built to allow car traffic to cross the inlet. Ironically, the inlet closed before its completion. Today, the remains of this structure provide a reminder of the volatility of this island and a resting spot for brown pelican, osprey, cormorants and royal tern. As we navigate in and around the many marsh islands which make up this refuge we will talk about the migrating nature of the Outer Banks and how it was formed some 12,000 years ago.

This tour has the clearest waters of any of our tours, which allows us to view a wide variety of aquatic life beneath our kayaks including stingray, oysters and hermit crabs. Along our tour route it is also possible to land our kayaks on a sandy beach where we can explore the shallow waters on foot or take a swim.

You can enjoy this tour from March through November. Tours depart from the New Inlet parking area 6 miles south of Oregon Inlet at mile post 34 in the mornings and a few hours before sunset.

Cancellation is 24 hours prior to scheduled trip.

For additional information please contact the Sanderling concierge at 252.261.4111

or learn more at the Coastal Kayaking Tour Company website at www.outerbankskayaktours.com