East Dike Trail, VA

Warning
This trail is closed from November 1 to April 1. Parking is allowed at the Back Bay Visitor Center only during daylight. No vehicles are allowed in the refuge. If hiking to False Cape State Park for overnight you must park 1.6 miles north in the Little Island City Park at the southern end of Sandbridge. No pets or horses are allowed. Would not recommend doing this on hotter days of summer as there is no shade but hordes of biting flies.


Overview
Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge is about a 9,000 acre park created in 1938 as rest stop for birds using the important Atlantic flyway migration route. It is located between the Back Bay of the Currituck Sound and the Atlantic Ocean thus being part of the shifting barrier islands in the extreme southeast corner of Virginia which continue along most of the North Carolina coast. Reported to contain a diversity of wildlife such as tundra swans, snow geese, Canadian geese, brown pelican, bald eagle, loggerhead sea turtles and other threatened species.

Hike
The refuge access trails alternate between the East Dike and paralleling West Dike trails so a loop may rarely be possible. The trail surface is a hard packed road so that combined with no elevation change makes a fast pace possible, in fact a jog down to the False Cape Park entrance and back would be good training for a 10k race. On a cool cloudy day like the one I chose it was popular but the majority of walkers I encountered were within a mile of the parking lot at the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge visitor center. Further along only bike riders were encountered of all ages, some carrying their fishing poles along on their bikes. There are restrooms and water available at the visitor center but none on the trail. If you continue another 0.7 miles past the end of the trail into the False Cape State Park trail system, a visitor center there has restrooms, water and bike tire pumps. Also if your interested in camping go even further south into the state park. Along the road or trail I saw some snowy egrets and blue herons but most were too far away for a picture with my phone. Short side trails are along the way if one should want to view the bay or ocean or stop at a wildlife viewing area.

Synopsis
Overall a pleasant walk with views of marshland and wildlife. Seems this trail however is more suitable for a biking experience.

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2019-10-07 Daytripper