Activities

The Bell Island Pier is a popular destination for birders, anglers, crabbers, and photographers. Visitors can also explore the refuge’s shorelines, marsh islands, and Pamlico Sound waters by boat, providing opportunities for hunting, photography, and wildlife observation. No motorized vehicles are allowed within the Swanquarter National Wilderness Area, offering a tranquil space to experience nature without human intervention.

All of the refuge, including the entrance road and Bell Island Pier, is open for daylight use only (sunrise to sunset).

Fishing
Hunting
Birding
Shell fishing
Boating - motorized
Boating - non-motorized
Photography
Biking
Hiking
Wildlife watching
Dog walking

Trails

There are no designated trails on Swanquarter NWR. A two-mile long gravel road south of Highway 264 leads into the upland portion of the refuge and to the site of the 1000-foot Bell Island fishing pier. Visitors may walk, drive, or bike this road. All other access to the refuge is via boat only.

Other Facilities in the Complex

The refuge is managed as part of the Coastal North Carolina National Wildlife Refuge Complex.  A National Wildlife Refuge Complex is an administrative grouping of two or more refuges, wildlife management areas or other refuge conservation areas that are primarily managed from a central office location. Refuges are grouped into a complex   structure structure
Something temporarily or permanently constructed, built, or placed; and constructed of natural or manufactured parts including, but not limited to, a building, shed, cabin, porch, bridge, walkway, stair steps, sign, landing, platform, dock, rack, fence, telecommunication device, antennae, fish cleaning table, satellite dish/mount, or well head.

Learn more about structure   because they occur in a similar ecological region, such as a watershed or specific habitat type, and have a related purpose and management needs.  

There are 9 national wildlife refuges in the Coastal North Carolina National Wildlife Refuges Complex. The Project Leader for the Complex supervises the Refuge Managers who are responsible for managing these refuges.  However, there are five distinct and separate administrative offices.  Alligator River and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuges are administered from the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters in Manteo, NC.  An administrative office at the Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters in Knotts Island, NC manages both Mackay Island and Currituck National Wildlife Refuges. An office at Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge administers Mattamuskeet, Swanquarter, and Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuges. Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and Edenton National Fish Hatchery each have separate administrative offices.

All of the Coastal North Carolina National Wildlife Refuges, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and Edenton National Fish Hatchery are open to public visits for nature-based recreational enjoyment. Priority public uses are hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, environmental education, and interpretation.

A calm lake surface reflects a band of clouds and a line of cypress trees in the water
Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge
Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge features the largest natural freshwater lake in North Carolina, Lake Mattamuskeet, as well as marshes, swamp forests, and upland forests. The refuge supports large numbers of wintering waterfowl, as well as a variety of breeding songbirds, mammals such as black...
National Wildlife Refuge
Swan Quarter,NC
An open marsh landscape with bands of different species of grasses and rushes, colored bright green, brown, and gray
Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge
Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1964 and features an extensive, relatively undisturbed coastal marsh, along with pocosin and woodland habitat. The marsh and surrounding waters provide wintering habitat for thousands of ducks and nesting habitat for colonial waterbirds and...
National Wildlife Refuge
Cedar Island,NC
A flock of hundreds of snow geese taking off from an agricultural field
Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge conserves a rare type of wetland habitat, known as "pocosin," derived from a Native American word meaning "swamp on a hill." The refuge encompasses vast acres of natural wetlands, including the unique southeastern pocosin peat wetlands, open water on Pungo and...
National Wildlife Refuge
Columbia,NC
A young black bear looks back on a gravel road surrounded by forest
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge is located on the Albemarle Peninsula in eastern North Carolina. The refuge was established in 1984 to protect the rare pocosin wetlands and their associated wildlife. Pocosin wetlands grow on thick layers of peat and have stunted, shrubby vegetation. The...
National Wildlife Refuge
Manteo,NC
A flock of black-and-white shorebirds with upturned beaks rest in perfectly still water
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1938 to provide nesting, resting, and wintering habitat for migratory birds, including the greater snow geese and other migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors, and neotropical migrants; to provide habitat and protection for...
National Wildlife Refuge
Rodanthe,NC
A calm river bordered by bare baldcypress trees
Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge
Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge, in Bertie County, North Carolina, is named for the Roanoke River, which runs through the refuge. The refuge was established in 1991 to protect the forests in the Roanoke River floodplain, considered to be the largest intact, and least disturbed, bottomland...
National Wildlife Refuge
Windsor,NC
A grassy marsh with open water in the foreground and a pine forest in the background
Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge
Congress established Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge on December 30, 1960, to protect migratory birds and their habitats and conserve endangered and threatened species. The refuge is located on Knotts Island in Currituck County, North Carolina, and includes lands in Virginia Beach, Virginia...
National Wildlife Refuge
Knotts Island,NC
A forest with an open understory, scraggly oak trees, and tall, straight pines
Currituck National Wildlife Refuge
Currituck National Wildlife Refuge was established to preserve, protect and maintain healthy and viable populations of migratory birds, wildlife, fish and plants, including federal and state endangered species and trust species. The refuge restores, enhances and maintains the natural processes and...
National Wildlife Refuge
Knotts Island,NC

Rules and Policies

Prohibited Activities

  • Camping
  • Littering
  • Air boating
  • Jet skiing
  • All-terrain vehicles
  • Swimming
  • Sailing
  • Sailboarding
  • Molesting wildlife
  • Collecting plants, flowers, nuts or berries

Locations

Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge Bell Island Unit and Fishing Pier

The refuge is located on the north shore of Pamlico Sound, east and west of the village of Swan Quarter. Except for the Bell Island Unit, the refuge is accessible by boat only.

Driving Directions

Directions to the Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge Bell Island Pier Parking:

Driving South from Columbia, NC: Start out going south on S Broad St/Alligator River Route/NC-94 toward Branning St. Continue to follow Alligator River Route/NC-94. In 27.93 miles turn right onto Piney Woods Rd. In 9.20 miles turn right onto Turnpike Rd. In 3.31 miles turn left onto US Highway 264/Pamlico Scenic Byway/US-264 E/NC-45. In 1.02 miles turn right onto Bell Island Rd. In 1.94 miles parking for Bell Island Unit Fishing Pier is at the end of the roadway.

Driving East from Belhaven, NC: Start out going northwest on W Main St/US-264 Bus W toward Quidley Ln. Take the 3rd right onto US Highway 264 Byp/Pamlico Scenic Byway/US-264 E. Continue to follow Pamlico Scenic Byway/US-264 E. In 22.83 miles turn right onto Bell Island Rd. In 1.94 miles parking for Bell Island Unit Fishing Pier is at the end of the roadway.

Driving West or North starting from Engelhard, NC: Start out going west on US Highway 264/Pamlico Scenic Byway/US-264 W toward Roper In 24.88 miles Turn left onto Bell Island Rd. In 1.94 miles parking for Bell Island Unit Fishing Pier is at the end of the roadway.

Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters
(252) 926-4021
C/O Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge85 Mattamuskeet RoadSwan Quarter,NC27885-9722

Swanquarter NWR is administered by Mattamuskeet NWR. The refuge headquarters and visitor center are located at Mattamuskeet NWR.