Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve » Activities
Select "Carvers Creek" from the drop down box on the left to learn more about the master planning process or
take the survey.
Click the links below to view information about activities for this park.
Education and Events: Rangers hold regularly scheduled educational and interpretive programs about
Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve. Click the Events link on the Park Menu to the left to search our
database of park events.
To arrange a special exploration of Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve for your group or class,
contact the park office.
Educational materials about Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve have been developed for grades 5-7 and
are correlated to North Carolina's competency-based curriculum in science, social studies, mathematics and
English/language arts. The Weymouth Woods program introduces students to to the life history of the
longleaf pine. Major topics include fire ecology, prescribed burning and plant and animal adaptations.
Accompanying the program is a teacher's booklet and workshop, free of charge to educators. To learn more about
environmental education or to search our database of upcoming workshops, click the Education tab, above.
Special Bird Events:
- April through June and September through November of each year, the staff at Weymouth Woods set up
mist nets and band birds. Currently banding is done off of the Pine Island Trail and at the park
office. The time and location depends on weather and staff availability.
- Hummingbird banding is done at least one day a week, April through September at the park office.
- The park sponsors two Audubon Bird Counts - one in late April or early May and one in December.
- To get a schedule of current programs, walks, talks and hikes click the events menu to the left.
You can see all events or search by key word.
Boots, water and insect repellent are recommended and its best to phone or email ahead before
coming.
This is also an activity that can be counted towards EE Certification.
- The Sandhills Natural History Society meets the fourth Monday of each month at Weymouth Woods.
The meetings include speakers who talk on a variety of natural history topics. They also lead
field trips to natural areas throughout N.C. and S.C. Weymouth works closely with The Sandhills
Natural History Society but this groups programs, trips etc are not scheduled by the park.
See the links page for more information.
Exhibit Hall: The exhibit hall at Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve allows visitors a deeper
look into the significance of the longleaf pine forest. The interactive, hands-on exhibits cover topics
from prescribed burning to geology, from flora and fauna of the park to the historical naval stores
industry in the Sandhills. The 1,000-square-foot museum was built at Weymouth Woods in 1978 but was
completely renovated in 2001. Exhibits include:
- A 10-foot-high "wall of fire," a lighted photomural that introduces the role of prescribed burning in
restoring the fabled longleaf pine forests of central North Carolina.
- An underground diorama where visitors can crawl beneath the forest to view wildlife that seek shelter
there.
- A large mural by illustrator Brooks Pearce that depicts flora and fauna in the park. Pushbuttons allow
visitors to hear their calls.
- A naval stores exhibit that allows visitors to stir an old-time bucket of resin.
- A nighttime diorama allows visitors to experience "Darkness in the Pines," "Ghosts of the Sandhills
Swamps and Seeps" and "Things That Go Bump in the Night."
- The exhibit hall is located in the park visitor's center and is open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily.
Interpretive programs are held in the auditorium of the visitor's center every Sunday at 3 p.m., April
through November.
Hiking: Observe plant and animal life along more than four miles of well-marked, easy-to-hike
trails:
- Bower's Bog Trail is a short, looping nature trail that begins at the visitor's center and skirts the
edge of an upland bog filled with ferns, pitcher plants and shrubs.
- Pine Barrens Trail begins at the visitor's center and loops for one mile through open stands of
longleaf pines.
- Gum Swamp Trail, a half-mile loop, branches off Pine Barrens Trail, passes through a stand of hardwoods
and travels along the edge of a swamp where James Creek flows.
- Holly Road Trail connects with Gum Swamp Trail and loops 1.8 miles through the northern half of the
preserve.
- Pine Island Trail, a half-mile loop, is entered at the easternmost point of the Holly Road Trail and
includes a 300-foot boardwalk over swampland.
- Lighter Stump Trail, a half-mile route that connects Bower's Bog Trail with Pine Island Trail, is the
most recently constructed trail.