Jockey’s Ridge State Park
Jockey’s Ridge State Park is the 40th park in our 2025 North Carolina State Park Challenge. This is a very unique park- it’s the tallest living dune system on the Atlantic Coast. It’s located in the Outer Banks, making it a great addition to a beach trip! Being a sand dune centered park, it’s essentially a giant sand box, which is perfect for dogs (and kids!).
We went to this park in the “off season” and it was perfect. During the summer the sand can be VERY HOT, the Sand temperature can be as much as 30 degrees higher than the air temperature, so you really have to watch out for your’s dog’s paws! In November it was a still a warm enough day to enjoy the day, but the sand wasn’t hot and there were a lot less people.
The park technically only has 2 miles of “hiking trails” which are more like general guidelines through the dunes. There are posts with hiking blazes but it’s more like eye spy trying to go from one post to the next (which does make for a fun little activity!). We followed the Tracks in the Sand Trail that takes you out to the water- but it’s not water you can get in- there is a rock barrier making a protected shoreline from the waves (if you do want to get in the water, you can head over the swim beach at the Soundside Access). Then we walked around the dunes, running around, digging in the sand (which we filled back in before moving on). It really is a great park for dogs because if you want some privacy you just walk to another area of the dunes- we rarely had anyone near us, and that was only when we went up to the tallest point in the dunes.
Hang gliding is also very popular in the park- there is a hang gliding school that is right behind the Visitor Center. You can pre-book online or register in person with Kitty Hawk Kites (but pre-booking in suggested as they do sell out especially during peak season). If you don’t want to go hand gliding you can do what we did which was sit on the dunes and watch the hang gliders. I did see a group heading out to hang glide with their dog in tow, so just check in with the hang gliding school (but my assumption is that they took turns holding the dog and going hang gliding since only one person goes at a time). If you want to try your hand at sandboarding you can also rent these at Kitty Hawk Kites (as well as buy some kites!).
On our way out we stopped by the Visitor Center for our passport stamp. This park does have a dog parking spot (YAY) right out front in the shade of some trees. The passport stamp on a table to the right when you walk in the visitor center. It was set up so you can do your own stamp (which is helpful when I know Axel is waiting for me outside).
On paper this didn’t seem like it was going to be a great park for us (not many hiking trails, it was just Axel and I so we weren’t hang gliding…) but it really was one of our favorite parks! Axel had a great time and the weather was amazing so we wandered all around the dunes taking lots of breaks to eat snacks. This really is a great park to take your dog during the off season!
Park Details:
MAIN ACCESS ADDRESS: 300 W. Carolina Dr, Nags Head NC 27959
MAIN ACCESS HOURS: November-February: 8am-6pm
March-April: 8am-8pm
May-September: 8am-9pm
October: 8am-7pm
SOUNDSIDE ACCESS ADDRESS: 300 W. Carolina Dr, Nags Head NC 27959
SOUNDSIDE ACCESS HOURS: October-March: 8am-5pm
April-September: 8am-7pm
VISITOR CENTER: Open daily 9a-4pm
PASSPORT STAMP: Located in the Visitor Center (when you walk in there is a table to the right where the stamp is located)
ENTRANCE FEE: None
TRAILS: 2 miles of hiking trails
ACTIVITIES: Hiking, Kite Flying, Hang Gliding, Sandboarding
DOG RULES: Dogs are allowed on all trails, as long as they are on a leash. Dogs are not allowed in park buildings. Please pick up after your pet.
Check out our videos about this Park on instagram @axel.theadventurepup
