Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge — Attraction in Belhaven

Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge is a great stopover spot for watch bird wildlife primarily, but there is also some interesting history here. The lake is the largest natural lake in the state, and it's pretty shallow, back in 1916 business interests actually tried to drain the huge lake to turn it into farmland! Fortunately, that failed! After that, it became a bird hunting enterprise with a lodge. Eventually, the hunters lodge failed but unfortunately, there is still plenty of lead found in the surface soils here. The land is now protected as a National Wildlife preserve and there is an excellent auto route. Also - an excellent visitor center which included a cleverly designed video station (designed as if you are riding in an air boat) that was produced on site. Be sure to watch the video to get a good understanding...

Rurally-located refuge with several walking trails, multiple fishing/crabbing access points, and an easily accessible wildlife drive. Tundra swans and other migratory birds come here in droves in the winter. If you get lucky, you may see a red wolf, black bear, or river otter as well. We saw a few otters along the drive and never tired of hearing the swans calling out in the evenings. Check out the visitor center while you're there (open 7 days a week 8-4) to speak to the welcoming staff and volunteers who can help you get a lay of the land (it doesn't hurt to pick up a free map while you're there!). All in all, it is a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of town while viewing wildlife and a fantastic place to...

We were staying in Nags Head for the week and we aren't much of a ocean/beach activity family. We prefer nature and animals, so we ventured down the road with our intended destination being the Pocosin Lakes NWR. We decided to go "the back way" and across Mattamuskeet lake. We enjoyed the area so much and found the most perfect sunset watching spot, so we ended up never making it to the Pocosin Lakes NWR this trip. But the Mattamuskeet NWR did not disappoint! Will definitely return as we didn't even get to explore as much as we wanted to. Just be sure to get on the road back into Manteo/OBX before dark - it's pitch black out there and we had an encounter with a bear who got hit by another car. Very sad...