COVID-19 information for parks under Modified Stay at Home Order
Posted on: Thursday, January 14, 2021 - 11:54am |
Ask a Ranger: Wave the Loggerhead's 50th Birthday Bash

Contact the park
919-571-4170
william.umstead@ncparks.gov
Addresses
Crabtree Creek access
and visitor center
8801 Glenwood Ave.
Raleigh, NC 27617
GPS: 35.8905, -78.7502
Reedy Creek access
2100 N. Harrison Ave.
Cary, NC 27513
GPS: 35.8334, -78.7603
Hours
►
- November to February:
8:00am to 6:00pm
- March to April:
8:00am to 8:00pm
- May to August:
8:00am to 9:00pm
- September to October:
8:00am to 8:00pm
- Closed Christmas Day
►
- November to February:
8:00am to 6:00pm
- March to April:
8:00am to 8:00pm
- May to August:
8:00am to 9:00pm
- September to October:
8:00am to 8:00pm
- Closed Christmas Day
►
- The visitor center is currently closed until further notice due to COVID-19 precautions.
- Open daily:
9:00am to 5:00pm
- Exhibit hall open daily:
9:00am to 4:30pm
- Closed Christmas Day
►
- Tent and trailer family campground is open from April 1 to October 31
- The campground gates currently open at 8:00am and close at 9:00pm due to COVID-19 procedures. These new campground gate hours are in effect until further notice.
- April:
7:00am to 9:00pm
- May to August:
7:00am to 10:00pm
- September to October:
7:00am to 9:00pm
Ask a Ranger: Wave the Loggerhead's 50th Birthday Bash
Click the player above to listen to the episode. Read below to learn about the terminology used in the podcast and scroll further down to see photos of the turtles.
Turtle Podcast Terminology
On this episode of Ask a Ranger podcast, Ranger Crystal and Ranger Jess talk to a number of different turtle species native to North Carolina (plus, Shirley the alligator snapping turtle, who is from further south). The rangers use some words that may be confusing, so let's break it down here:
Plastron: the bottom shell of the turtle
Carapace: the upper shell of the turtle
Beak: the hard outer covering of their jaw or their mouth
Biome: a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat
Ectothermic: cold-blooded
Brumation: the hibernation-like state that cold-blooded animals utilize during the very cold weather
Terrapene: the genus box turtles fall under
Ecosystem: a community of living organisms and non-living components such as air, water, minerals and soil
Barnacles: a marine crustacean with an outer shell that will attach itself permanently to different types of surfaces (i.e. piers, boats, loggerhead sea turtle shells)
A-frames: a wave shaped like a peak that breaks both left and right, equally
Meet the Ask a Ranger Podcast Turtles
Terrance, the box turtle
Terrapene carolina carolina, J. Phillips
Snooty, the eastern common snapping turtle
Chelydra serpentina, K. Bischof
Tolba, the yellow-bellied slider
Trachemys scripta scripta, J. Brown
Mikah, the musk turtle
Sternotherus odoratus, J. Wyche
Shirley, the alligator snapping turtle
Macrochelys temminckii, Courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Wave, the loggerhead sea turtle
Caretta caretta, R. Newman
About the Ask a Ranger Podcast
Ranger Crystal and Ranger Jess host the North Carolina State Parks Ask a Ranger Podcast series.
Email them at askaranger@ncparks.gov.
For a full list of episodes, visit our BuzzSprout page.
Click here to subscribe to the podcast with Apple iTunes.
Click here to subscribe to the podcast with RSS feed.
Park Maps and Brochures: