Dog Friendly Hiking Trails in Wanchese, NC

Bodie Island Light Station in Nags Head is pet-friendly. Dogs are welcome to join their owners in the grounds of this historic lighthouse. Dogs are not allowed inside anymore, despite the lighthouse once being the stomping ground of a Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Chess who used to climb the tower every day with his owner, the last civilian-era keeper of the lighthouse.

Bring your leashed pup to the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, NC, and see the site of the first successful airplane flights. While there, you can fly kites, visit the beginning and end locations of the first flight, see the reconstructed 1903 camp buildings and visit the Wright Brothers National Monument. The area is dog-friendly, but Fido must be leashed at all times and is not permitted inside any buildings.

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site preserves England's initial New World settlements in Manteo, NC from 1584-1590. You can bring Fido along while you explore the historic area, which features a 1.25-mile dog-friendly trail through a maritime forest with views of the Croatan Sound. Then, loop back via a short 0.3-mile loop to a sandy shoreline, which features interpretive signs about local history and Algonquian practices.

Sweetgum Swamp To Blueberry Ridge Trail is pet-friendly. This loop trail is just under 3.5 miles in length and is rated as moderately difficult. During spring, dogs will have the chance to stop and sniff the wildflowers that line the trail. Dog owners are reminded to clean up any mess that is left behind by pups.

Alligator River NWR, a pet-friendly destination on Albemarle Peninsula, NC, safeguards rare pocosin wetlands, dense with shrubby vegetation and peat layers. It also preserves swamp forest and marshes, fostering diverse wildlife like black bear, otter and red wolves, with two accessible half-mile trails in serene settings. Visiting dogs must be properly confined and on a leash (10-foot maximum).