Neusiok Trail
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National Recreation Trail
Oyster Point Campground
| Neusiok Trail | |
|---|---|
 A sign indicating the start of the trail near the Neuse River. | |
| Length | 20.4 miles (32.8 km)[1] |
| Location | North Carolina, United States |
| Designation | Mountains-to-Sea Trail National Recreation Trail |
| Trailheads | Pine Cliff Picnic Area Oyster Point Campground |
| Use | Hiking |
| Difficulty | Easy[1] |
| Season | Year-round |
| Months | October — May (recommended) |
| Hazards | American alligator American black bear Biting flies Chiggers Diarrhea from water Limited water Mosquitos Poison ivy Severe weather Tick-borne diseases Venomous snakes Yellowjackets |
| Surface | Natural, sand, boardwalk |
| Website | http://www.neusioktrail.org/ |
| Trail map | |
 | |
The Neusiok Trail /ˈnjuːsiɒk/ is a 20.4-mile (32.8 km)[1] hiking trail located in the Croatan National Forest in Carteret County, North Carolina.[2] The trail traverses the forest from a sandy beach on the Neuse River to a salt marsh on the Newport River, and along the way, it crosses cypress swamps, hardwood ridges, longleaf-pine savannah and pocosin—shrubby bogs[1] The entire Neusiok is part of the almost 1,200 mile[3] Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) which spans North Carolina,[4] and the MST in the Croatan is a designated National Recreation Trail.
Neusiok is name given to this area it by local Native Americans. These were either Algonquian or Iroquois. The name Neusiok was first recorded in English in 1584 by the Amadas–Barlowe expedition that preceded the Roanoke Colony.[5] Neusiok is also the namesake of the nearby Neuse River.
The Neusiok trail was created in 1971 by the Carteret County Wildlife Club. The group bushwacked and blazed new trail for five years to build the Neusiok Trail in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service. The club continues to help with trail improvements.[1]
The trail is the longest continuous hiking trail in Eastern North Carolina other than the MST which links together many pre-existing hiking trails (including the Neusiok) together.[6] The Neusiok was included in the MST shortly after its creation by the North Carolina General Assembly on August 2, 2000.
