Masonboro Island sits just five miles southeast of Wilmington, NC and is the largest undisturbed barrier island along the southern part of the North Carolina coast. Surrounding the island are the Intracoastal Waterway on the west, the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Carolina Beach Inlet on the south, and Wrightsville Beach Inlet on the north.
As part of the protected NC Coastal Reserve & Estuarine Research Reserve, diverse flora and fauna abounds on and around the island. The 5,600 acre landscape is over 8 miles long, covered by tidal flats, marsh, sand dunes, maritime shrubs, and pristine sand beaches.
Several types of sea turtles visit the coast of North Carolina around Wrightsville Beach & Masonboro Island Preserve. Loggerheads are the most frequent visitors to nest on the island. Green turtles, leatherbacks, and Kemp’s ridleys also come ashore to nest on Masonboro Island each year between May and August. Careful observers may find diamondback terrapins in the tidal salt marshes along the Intracoastal Waterway side of the nature preserve.
A surprising plethora of wildlife lives within the diverse coastal ecosystem of Masonboro Island Reserve. In addition to the many types of birds and turtles, keep an eye out for an occasional white-tailed deer, red fox, opossum, raccoon, marsh rabbit or cotton mouse scampering through the shrub thicket.
Masonboro Island is a favorite of local boaters, surfers, fisherman, kayakers, and nature lovers. Though accessible only by watercraft, it’s proximity to the mainland makes it easily reachable not only by motor boat, but by kayak, canoe or paddleboard.