Fort Macon State Park: Elliott Coues Nature Trail (Blog Hike #1081)

Trails: Elliott Coues Nature and Yarrow Trails
Hike Location: Fort Macon State Park
Geographic Location: south of Morehead City, NC (34.69638, -76.67888)
Length: 3.7 miles
Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: September 2025
Overview: A semi-loop hike featuring an 1800's fort and dunes along the Atlantic Ocean.
Park Information: https://www.ncparks.gov/state-parks/fort-macon-state-park
Hike Route Map: 

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming December 11, 2026)

Directions to the trailhead: From Morehead City, take the Atlantic Beach Bridge south across the causeway to SR 58.  Turn left on SR 58.  SR 58 dead-ends at the main parking lot for Fort Macon in 3.6 miles.  Park here.

The hike: Built in 1826 as part of the Third System of United States coastal fortifications, Fort Macon occupies the eastern tip of a barrier island that comprises the southeast corner of North Carolina.  The brick and stone fort was built in the shape of a pentagon, and it saw live action only once: the 1862 Battle of Fort Macon.  At that battle, Major General Ambrose Burnside's Union army besieged and bombarded Confederates manning the fort.  Outnumbered nearly 10 to 1, the Confederates were forced to surrender.

            The fort became obsolete after the Civil War due to advances in ballistics, and in 1923 the fort was offered for sale as surplus military property.  The State of North Carolina purchased the property in 1924 as the second property acquired to form a state park system; Mount Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi River, was the first.  The purchase price was $1, but the purchase came with a stipulation: the federal government had the right to reclaim the property if national security demanded it.  Sure enough, less than 2 decades later the federal government exercised that right, and stations were built near the fort to patrol for German U-boats during World War II.  You will pass the ruins of one of those stations on this hike.  After the war, the purchased land reverted to park use, but an active United States Coast Guard station is still located near the historic fort.

            Today Fort Macon State Park is the second most visited state park in North Carolina, and nearly 1.3 million people come to this day-use only park each year to see the fort and enjoy the beach.  A fantastic Visitor Center contains a museum and an interpretive film about the fort as well as a gift shop and restrooms.  For hikers, the park offers only 1 trail, but it is a loop trail of more than 3 miles that thoroughly tours the park's human history and natural scenery.  That trail is the Elliott Coues Nature Trail described here.

Entering Fort Macon

            Before hitting the trail, take a few minutes or longer to tour the fort, which is accessible by walking through the Visitor Center.  A wide wooden bridge takes you over the old moat and into the brick/stone fort.  Passageways are narrow and stairways are steep by present-day standards, but this fort was designed for strength and military use, not safety and tourism use.  My favorite vantage point is from the top of the wall at the fort's south corner: looking north you can see into the fort, the cannons on the fort wall, and the American flag.  Interpretive signs describe the various rooms in the fort.  Take some time to explore the fort, but take care near the unprotected dropoffs and respect the fort's history.

Wall-top view of Fort Macon

            After touring the fort, begin the actual hike by finding the signed start of the Elliott Coues Nature Trail, which is located at the north corner of the large parking lot, to the left as you walk out the front door of the Visitor Center.  This trail is named for Dr. Elliott Coues (pronounced like house), an Army surgeon who was stationed here in 1869 and 1870.  Although Dr. Coues is better known for his later ornithology work in Arizona, he wrote an extensive biological survey of the area's salt marshes entitled "Notes on the Natural History of Fort Macon," which was published in 1871.  The trail is marked with yellow plastic circles, but it is wide and easy to follow.

Trailhead: Elliott Coues Nature Trail

            The gravel trail heads west into dense brushy woods.  Distance markers are passed every 0.1 miles, but they will not match the distances given here because my distances include the fort tour.  At 0.4 miles into the hike (including the fort tour), you reach a trail intersection.  The Elliott Coues Nature Trail turns left, and we will go that way eventually.  First turn right to hike the short Yarrow Trail.

Beach on Intracoastal Waterway

            Quickly you reach the white sand beach that borders Fort Macon Creek and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.  Most of this hike stays along the Atlantic Ocean side of this barrier island, and this is your only real view from the inland side.  After taking in this view, retrace your steps to the Elliott Coues Nature Trail, and continue straight to begin heading south with the active coast guard station on your right.  Some swamp rose mallow was in full bloom when I hiked here on a wet mid-September morning.

Swamp rose mallow

            At 0.8 miles, the trail curves right and crosses the entrance road for the coast guard station.  After re-entering the woods, the next segment of trail passes through the area's best salt marshes.  Some wooden bridges get you over the wetland, and some side trails exit right to wetland wildlife viewing areas.  A light rain starting soaking me when I got to this area, but still I saw a flock of herons, an egret, and some cardinals in the salt marsh.

Salt marsh

            2 miles into the hike, the trail curves left to cross busy SR 58.  Ignore the Atlantic Beach Connector Path as it exits right, and at 2.2 miles you pass beside the park's beach parking lot.  While you can also access the beach from the fort parking lot where this hike started, the picnic shelters near this parking lot make nice places to sit, rest, and rehydrate near the midpoint of this hike.  In my case, they also made nice shelters from the rain.

Hiking the loop's south arm

            The return/south arm of the loop takes you on a rolling course over sand dunes and into sand swales that alternates between open sandy areas and dense groves of cedar trees.  The gravel trail surface provides mostly good footing, but the traffic noise from nearby SR 58 on the left becomes annoying.  At 2.7 miles, the ocean first comes into view ahead and to the right as you top a dune, and soon the flag at Fort Macon comes into view across the dunes to the left.

Battery Commander Fire Control Station ruins

Ocean view from the ruins

            At 3.2 miles, you reach a short spur trail that exits right.  Following this trail steeply uphill leads to the ruins of one of the concrete World War II-era Battery Commander Fire Control Stations that was used to patrol for German U-boats off the coast.  Interpretive signs describe the history of the station, and the dune-top location provides the best Atlantic Ocean view on this hike.

Looking up at Fort Macon

            Back on the main loop, the balance of the hike passes through the strip of grassy sand dunes between the ocean on the right and the park road on the left.  As Fort Macon gets closer, the fort's construction becomes obvious based on how much you have to elevate your sight lines to see the fort and its cannons.  Just past 3.6 miles, the trail deposits you at the south end of the main fort parking lot, and only a walk across the large lot remains to finish this hike.