By Dray Breezy
November 5, 2020
How many of you can say you actually enjoyed Election Day? No this isn’t a rhetorical question, I really wanna know what you did. Did you watch CNN all day or did you watch /scroll through social media? Did you take the time for some self-care? Out of the three options what do you think is the most important?
Jockey’s Ridge State Park is the only sand dune ecosystem on the East Coast
With all this debauchery going on with the Presidential Election the founder of The Breeze Agency (that sounds nice ) decided to take a quick escape trip. This trip was to Jockeys Ridge state park in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This escape was a emotional retreat to heal from the trauma of Trump and this election cycle. The place itself was beautifully serene. The sunset was phenomenal and it was a surprisingly magical place. Jockey’s Ridge has the title of the most visited state park in NC as well as a rating of 4.8 stars out of 5 on Google reviews. This is the place you must put on the itinerary if you happen to take a trip the Outer Banks.
Nice to meet you Jockey, I’m Dray.
Jockeys Ridge is in Nags Head, the most populous area of the Outer Banks. There are three highways that connect all of the outer banks. The Croatan highway leads you to Jockeys Ridge, a quick discrete turn marked by a simple, quaint sign. The park wasn’t busy around our arrival at 4:30, there were only a few stragglers including me and my dog friend Bella, although I believe that was mainly due to the distraction of Election Day. I must forewarn you there was a lot of walking and physical effort to get around. If you are pregnant or not in the decent shape, or have respiratory issues, do not take your ass to this park.
The parking lot is very large and very close to the sand dunes. This also appears to be a camping ground for many of the visitors to the Outer Banks, I saw a mini RVs and campers parked close by. There is no admission fee which will always be the best selling point of most of my experiences. My close friend Mariah’s dog Bella was my companion for this experience.
There were two entrances to the park- one was for the sand dunes, the other for the overlook. We took the trail for the sand dunes, after a short quarter mile walk and a few short, steep hills, we platform upon acres and acres of beautiful Carolina sand dunes . The outer banks features a naturally moist and temperate climate with lots of wind and strong breeze. This November day, the weather was absolutely beautiful, the temperature a cool 64°, and there was nothing but beautiful, clear, Carolina blue skies.
The dunes are deceivingly expansive, I was stunned by how unmoving and majestic they were. Sand prohibits plant growth, there wasn’t a lot of large trees or vegetation but the sparse plants that were around gave me strong desert vibes.
The dunes connected to the Roanoke sound of the Outer Banks which was about a half mile walk from the trail head and towards the edge of the shore were densely luscious plant growth.
There are many opportunities to camp, frolic, and rest on the beach of the sound which seemed to be the M.O for various couples. This park is an ideal location for families, couples, and pets.
When I first searched this park online, all the reviews exclaimed that I had to stay to view the sunset. We went to the park an hour and a half before this event, the drive was about 40 minutes from my home base in Rodanthe ( the e at the end has a hard pronunciation) which gave us plenty of time to view nature’s closing act.
I’m easily influenced so I gladly stayed to see what the hype is all about .The view of the sunset was astounding and in no way shape, or form was I disappointed. Watching the sun set on this overlook was a participatory experience, I felt like more than a viewer. As a avid traveler, I have seen some amazing sun sets but Jockey’s Ridge is unforgettable. The vibrant colors, hues of orange blue and purple radiated out words from the horizon and bounced off every particle of sand creating a beautiful illusion. This was exactly what I needed during election day, a damn break and retreat from the insanity of politics as well as reminder of the beautiful planet in which we inhabit, and which climate change will destroy if we do nothing.
Natural wildlife was somewhat limited. There were a lot of desert plants, but I did not see many natural animals. Birds were strangely absent as well. I’m assuming this is due to the moderate amount of tourists and dogs that frequent the area.
Click here to see a photo gallery of Jockey’s Ridge State Park
The only downside of this day trip was a specific type of plant. I don’t know what the hell these things are called but every time you walk through them they leave dangerously prickly spurs that connect and detach to every item of clothing that you could possibly be wearing. The spurs are sharp and annoying and they got all over my clothes and in between the paws of my dog friend as well. I would recommend wearing non-cotton clothes in order to reduce the ability for the spurs to cause you harm. There is not much signage to give direction to the exits and entrances of the park so I got lost (of course), but for me getting loss is part of the adventure of exploration.
Black, Queer and not Afraid to Travel Here
As a black, queer person, I’m always acutely aware of how I’m being treated in these primarily white spaces. I’m not mincing words, conservation, environmental regulation and protection are white spaces. I felt nothing but warmth and love from the other visitors of this park. There was no law enforcement harassment and very minimal regulation in terms of signage. Overall, Jackie’s Ridge State Park is a great place to bring family and children. This park features a great unobstructed view of hundreds of yards in most directions, even with dogs there is very little opportunity for them to get lost. This park does require a bit of moderate amount of physical activity so this is not something I would suggest for the elderly or disabled. North Carolina sports an impressive array of state parks, naturally, the beautiful, robust nature of our environments is intoxicating, especially the local ecosystem of the Outer Banks. This park is immaculate, I didn’t see any trash anywhere. If you happen to be in OBX, I would recommend checking out this park. Jockey’s Ridge is unique, perfect in the age of social distancing, there aren’t very many parks like it. My experience with this park was new, quite special, and unforgettable.
3 thoughts on “Outer Banks: Jockeys State Ridge Park”
Za każdym praworządnym mężczyzną, który odniósł sukces, stoi kobieta – która nie ma co na siebie włożyć. Sir. James Stewart
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