Sound Side Trail

The Sound Side Trail at Jockeys Ridge State Park explores the western edge of the dune system along the shores of Roanoke Sound, providing a sheltered and ecologically rich counterpart to the exposed dune summit experience. The flat loop winds through maritime shrubland and along the sound shore, where the calm brackish water contrasts sharply with the open Atlantic on the far side of the dune ridge. Roanoke Sound is a kiteboarding mecca, and on breezy days dozens of colorful kites fill the sky above the water as riders carve through the shallow sound at high speed. The sound shore provides excellent birdwatching opportunities throughout the year, with brown pelicans, ospreys, and various tern species patrolling the water surface for fish. Great egrets and tricolored herons wade the shallow margins at low tide. The maritime shrubland along the trail interior supports populations of eastern box turtles and five-lined skinks, and songbird diversity peaks during spring and fall migration when the Outer Banks serves as a concentration point for neotropical migrants making or completing trans-ocean crossings. The trail provides interpretive signage about the coastal ecology of the Outer Banks and the unique position of Jockeys Ridge as a dynamic landform in an environment defined by perpetual change. Afternoon light on the sound creates exceptional photography conditions.