I went camping on the North Carolina coast recently where I found my first shark tooth on Shark Tooth Island! I was so excited. At 30 you would think I would have had better luck over the years, but I guess I’m not good at just staring at the ground when I’m at the beach. 🙂

Paddling to Shark Tooth Island is a very simple 1.2 mile loop on the Cape Fear River that can be longer or shorter if you wish. It is dependent on tides and the weather can change very quickly so it’s important to pay attention. Our day started with head winds that no matter which direction we faced, stayed a head wind. It was slack tide when we started so we had no troublepaddling out which is lovely when you are from the mountains and tides are something you aren’t really familiar with! There were fisherman catching very large striped bass and smaller fish. If we had had some firewood we could have eaten them right there! There are several of these little islands around and you can stop on any of them to explore. There are alligators, even though I have yet to see one, and geese that WILL protect their nests.

The return trip we had the tide coming in which was fantastic. The wind was still against us but the tide was stronger than the winds so that brought us into shore very easily. I had a less experienced SUP gal with me so I was glad the conditions made it easy and fun for her.

I highly recommend a paddle out to Shark Tooth Island the next time you’re visiting Wilmington, NC! You may come home with your very own shark tooth!

Holly is an ACA L2 SUP instructor and guide who lives in Asheville, NC. She has been a SUP enthusiast for 4 years and enjoys sharing her love of the sport on various rivers and lakes around Asheville.

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