Jockey Ridge State Park to Virginia Dare Trail parking, Mountains to Sea Trail, section 18, miles 81.2 to 82.1

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
12/18/2021	1.8 miles	54 minutes	36'	2.0 mph	557.9

Parking: Jockey Ridge State Park, Conch Street

Maps:

• Google Maps and Gaia GPS app

Directions:

• From Jockey Ridge State Parking area, follow the sign to the overlook. Walk to the tallest sand dune. Return to the parking area. Take the sidewalk paralleling the entrance road. There are MST blazes. Cross S. Croatan Highway and continue onto Hollowell Street. Continue towards the beach. Turn right on the beach and follow the beach a short ways until you exit right to the Conch Street parking area.

We had enough time and energy after our main hike, to do the section we missed at the start of the MST. The first parking area on the trail is at Jockey Ridge State Park. From there, the instructions are to walk until you find the highest dune, and that dune is the start. Of course that spot changes, as dunes change. We started walking and then looked at various dunes. We climbed one, thinking it was the highest. But maybe the next one over was, so we climbed it too. This is a small park, but I highly recommend it. It actually has trees! And the dunes were fun and made for good photos. The views were nice in all directions from atop the dunes. We saw some kids unsuccessfully trying to surf down a dune, and one adult who was doing a great job at it.

From there, you return back to the parking area, go east along the road until you hit the ocean. We had a brief beach walk before turning off the beach to our other car.