Quiet Water Paddling Trips in Eastern North Carolina

Nessie at Bear Island
Nessie at Bear Island, Hammocks Beach State Park, North Carolina

Eastern North Carolina is a great place for kayaking. The rivers, lakes, and sea in the eastern part of the state provide paddling for all levels of expertise. There are short trips and multi day trips. All of them are beautiful.

Bird taking off from beach
Bird
Pelicans flying
Pelicans
Kayaks on beach
Kayaks on Beach
Nessie at Hammocks Beach State Park
Nessie at Hammocks Beach State Park Kayak Launch

There are several good books listing some of the better places to paddle. These include:

Some of the places we've found are discussed below. We plan to add to the list as time goes on. See the menu for all the places we've paddled in Easter NC.

Paddling Eastern NC

Boats at Beaufort, NC

We've found that we can find a good paddling spot almost anywhere on the North Carolina coast. We just look for a NC Wildlife sign and a boat ramp. Then we take Nessie off the top of the Minivan and paddle off to see what's there. We usually see lots of birds. When we get tired of paddling, we jump into the water and cool off. We find sand dollars and other interesting things in the water.

When you're paddling on the coast, you need to pay attention to wind and tide. If you go somewhere at high tide, you can find yourself out of water at low tide. You then have to get out of your kayak and drag it to water. Not the most fun way to travel.

Paddling against the tide and/or the wind can be a real chore. It can take all the fun out of a day's paddle. On windy days, you can often find sheltered places to paddle if you stop in at one of the many paddling stores and ask. You might have to drive a bit further than you planned. But you can still get in your paddle.