On Bald Head Island you’ll immerse yourself in a stunning variety of natural environments, including ocean beach, river beach, salt marsh, tidal creek and maritime forest. The developers of Bald Head Island have taken careful steps to protect these treasured landscapes for this and future generations. In fact, of the island’s total 12,000 acres, 10,000 acres are dedicated nature preserves—forever protected in their natural states.

South-, east- and west-facing beaches stretch for fourteen miles wrapping around the incomparable point of Cape Fear, which means you can enjoy an uncrowded, protected expanse of shoreline, no matter the time of year or direction of the wind. Time and again, Bald Head Island beaches have been singled out for their beauty, including designations as one of "America’s Top 20 Beaches," by Stephen "Dr. Beach" Leatherman, and "Best Beach Vacations: Carolinas and Georgia" in Frommer’s travel guide.

Bordering the island to the north, acres of protected salt marsh and tidal creeks are ideal for fishing, canoeing and kayaking. And in the middle of the island, you’ll find a walking path through a rare maritime forest dense with live oaks, dogwoods, sabal palms, cedars, yaupons, wax myrtles and junipers. Bald Head Island’s maritime forest is among the most prized examples of its kind on the East Coast.

Visitors can also enjoy a stroll through the M. Kent Mitchell Nature Trail, which begins on the edge of the forest, then continues along the salt marsh and over a tidal creek with plant species labeled along the way.