Wetland Treasures of the Carolinas
Introducing the 2025 Wetland Treasures
The Carolina Wetlands Association proudly recognizes are more recent Wetland Treasures in honor of American Wetlands Month (May).
Saluda Shoals Wetland Preserve
- Location: Lexington and Richland Counties (South Carolina)
- Wetland Type: Bottomland hardwood floodplain, riverine swamp
- Site Owner: Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission
- Tour Date: Saturday, May 3; 1pm-3pm (Register Now)
Holly Shelter Game Land
- Location: Pender County, North Carolina
- Wetland Type: Pocosins, wet pine savannas, floodplain forests, Carolina bays, small wetland communities.
- Site Owner: N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission
- Tour Date: Saturday, May 17; 1pm-3pm (Register Now)
Great Cohaire River Wetlands
- Location: Sampson County, North Carolina
- Wetland Type: Black water floodplain forested wetlands
- Site Owner: Coharie Tribe
- Tours: Tours are regularly offered by the Coharie Tribe. (Book Now)
Interactive Map of Wetland Treasures
Each May during American Wetlands Month, Carolina Wetlands Association recognizes wetland sites across North Carolina and South Carolina. The long-term goal is to recognize high quality representatives of each of the wetland types found in each ecoregion (Mountains, Piedmont and Coastal Plain) of North and South Carolina . Collectively, Wetland Treasures will represent the wetland heritage of the Carolinas.
North Carolina
- Antioch Bay (Hoke County, NC)
- Black River Swamp (updated 9/20/2023) (Bladen, Pender and Sampson Counties, NC)
- Bluff Mountain Fen (Ashe County, NC)
- Brogden Bottomlands (Johnson County, NC)
- Carolina Beach State Park (New Hanover County, NC)
- Croatan National Forest (Craven, Carteret, and Jones counties, NC)
- Green Swamp (Brunswick County, NC)
- Goose Creek State Park (Beaufort County, NC)
- Hemlock Bluffs (Wake County, NC)
- Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve (Wake County, NC)
- Kanuga Bog (updated 9/20/2023)(Henderson County, NC)
- Mason Farm Wetlands (Orange County, NC)
- Merchants Millpond (Gates County, NC)
- Panthertown Valley Bog (Jackson County, NC)
- Phelps Lake Shoreline (Washington County, NC)
- Pink Beds Bog (Pisgah National Forest, NC)
- Pocosin Lakes NWR (updated 9/20/2023) (Hyde and Washington Counties, NC)
- Richardson- Taylor Preserve (Guildford County, NC)
- Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge (Bertie County, NC)
- Robertson Millpond (Wake County, NC)
- Scuppernong River Swamp (Tyrrell County, NC)
- Theodore Roosevelt State Natural Area (Carteret County, NC)
- West Branch Nature Preserve (Mecklenburg County, NC)
- Weymouth Woods State Park (Moore County, NC)
South Carolina
- Botany Bay Heritage Preserve (Charleston County, SC)
- Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve (Greenville County, SC)
- Congaree National Park (Richland County, SC)
- Francis Beidler Forest (Dorchester County, SC)
- Hobcaw Barony Wetlands (Georgetown County, SC)
- Lewis Ocean Bay (Horry County, SC)
- Little Pee Dee Heritage Preserve (Horry and Marion Counties, SC)
- Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge (Beaufort County, SC)
- Santee Coastal Preserve (Charleston County, SC)
- Sparkleberry Swamp in (Lake Marion, SC)
- Wambaw Swamp Wilderness (Charleston County, SC)
- Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge (Georgetown, Horry, and Marion Counties, SC)
- Woods Bay (Florence, Clarendon, and Sumter counties, SC)
Recreation Opportunities
There are lots of way to enjoy our Wetland Treasures.
Click here for a list of options. Remember to check hours and rules with site owner before visiting.
Carolina Wetlands Association thanks Wisconsin Wetlands Association, whose Wetland Gems program (wisconsinwetlands.org/gems.htm) is the model for this program.
Photo Credit: William Conner, Hobcaw Barony Wetlands (Georgetown County, SC)