Hike in the Green Swamp Nature Preserve

Hi all. My name is Wayne, this is my first event as an event organizer. As my first hiking event, I am excited to lead this fun and fascinating adventure. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I believe you will!

We will be driving into North Carolina to visit the Green Swamp Nature Preserve, which is owned by the Nature Conservancy. It is an extremely unique preserve that protects a variety of carnivorous plants and native orchids, specifically, the Venus Fly Trap. The Venus Fly Trap has a very small native habitat that runs from southern North Carolina down slightly into South Carolina and is the only area you will ever find it.
It's an easy drive, but for those of you on the southern side of Myrtle Beach be aware that once you cross over in North Carolina, it's another 28 miles before you get to the preserve. The preserve itself is very flat, mostly dry, and easy to walk. But, and this is a big but, the flora is located in "Ponds" that are defined, in this context, as ancient ponds that slowly filled up with dead sphagnum moss and other plant debris. This medium has very low nutritional value and is ideal for flora that can actually catch its own food.

VERY IMPORTANT!!!!! - To get from one pond to the next, there are trails that we'll follow that can be extremely muddy and we will have to walk through mud that may come up above your ankles. For that reason, you need to have some type of footwear that can navigate these paths because it's highly difficult trying to do it otherwise. What I typically do is I'll drive to the preserve, put on a pair of boots, and when I get back out I'll take the muddy boots off and put my shoes back on. Do not try to hike with sneakers or other similar footwear! Numerous times I have been forced to turn around because people refused to traverse the muddy areas. I'm not doing that anymore. If you don't have the right footwear and you can't get through those areas you will have to turn around on your own and go back to your car. I will not cut the walk short this time. Period. I'm sorry to sound a bit sharp, but the best areas for viewing are the ones that are deeper in the preserve.

It's a very beautiful and pleasant walk. Off the top of my head, I can think of at least six or seven different carnivorous plants that we'll find, and there are also a lot of native orchids. I'm very familiar with the carnivorous plants, and I can identify all of them that we find. You will never run across anything like this again.

The walk should be probably three miles up and three miles back. I'm sure we're going to stop a lot to take pictures, because there's a lot to see. I'm guessing it'll be about three hours.

Once we get back out, I'd like to go to the Inlet View Bar and Grill in Ocean Isle for lunch. They have great seafood and it overlooks the water.


** Here are the directions to the preserve: OPTION 1) Click on the map on this event page and let your GPS take you there. OPTION 2) Take 17 into North Carolina. Once in NC drive 22 miles until you get to Highway 211 and take a left at the Circle K. Once you take the turn, it is exactly 5.8 miles to the parking lot on the right. You'll need to watch your odometer because there is no signage at the parking lot and it is very easy to miss. It's just a non-descript dirt parking lot. **

We'll kick off at 9 o'clock and hopefully we'll have a beautiful day and you'll get some great pictures. If you have any questions, please ask. Thanks.


P.S. I don't recommend watching Little Shop of Horrors the night before.