Shackleford Banks Eco Tours

04/25/2026

Plenty of wild horses out about today at Carrot island and Shackleford banks we also saw two large pods of dolphins and plenty of other awesome wildlife. Another great day at “Shack!”

04/15/2026

Another great day at “Shack” plenty of wild horses out and about today and it was definitely a beautiful day despite the wind and we had very little boat traffic. The water is warming up 65-67 degrees in the sound today, with good signs of fish showing up and plenty of bird life which include egrets, osprey, ibis, loons and much many more.

04/11/2026

Plenty to see on a 4 hour eco tour from Carrot island (Carrot island horses pictured here), Middle marsh and Bird shoal (Rachel Carson Reserve) to Shackleford banks and if Cape Lookout. Wild horses, bird life, marine mammals, sea shell/sand dollar collecting, fishing and much more … “Another a great day at Shack!”

04/05/2026

Awesome family yesterday, on their first trip ever to … plenty of wild horses, sea shells, sand dollars and more. Always a great day “to Shack” Happy Easter everyone!

03/18/2026

Carrot island and Shackleford banks horses were out and about today, plenty of dolphins too however, it was a chilly afternoon on the water none the less it was still another great day “to Shack!”

10/16/2025

We’ve had some great trips even with all the bad weather… you know the weather has been bad when shore birds are begging for shrimp.

08/24/2025

Often missed are the free range cattle of Brown’s island, located just east of Harker’s island on the southern end of Core sound and just a few miles from Cape Lookout.

08/14/2025

Busy week of eco tours and dodging bad weather… I’ve had great groups and we had fun “To the Cape” and “At Shack” not to mention everywhere in between fishing, sand dollar hunting (at low tide), sea shell hunting (ocean side), dolphin watching (when we could find them) and of course seeing/photographing the wild horses. As summer vacation season winds down remember, there’s all kinds of eco tours we can do, pretty much year around, let me know if you’re interested in an offseason tour.

08/10/2025

Good news for sure!

Cape Lookout Lighthouse renovation set to begin this month. Learn more >>https://www.witn.com/2025/08/08/cape-lookout-lighthouse-renovation-set-begin/

08/08/2025

Squeezed one more trip “To Shack!” in this morning before the afternoon squall rolls through… a little cloudy but, almost no boats around however, we saw plenty of wild horses, dolphins, caught a few fish and this crew had a awesome sea shell hunt all by themselves away from the highly traveled areas.