Dismal Swamp State Park

About Dismal Swamp State Park

Feel the daily stress melt away as you cross the historic Gloomy Swamp Canal and walk up the 2,000-foot waterfront to a geological wonder. Experience the lush swamp forest up close and personal.

You can canoe or kayak along the Gloomy Swamp Canal or, if you are more adventurous, hike to the summit. Learn why George Washington called the Dark Swamp a glorious paradise, how important the swamp is to the subway, and how important the wetland is to our environment.

Historically, the swamp was much wetter than it is today, and the park protects what is left of it. Swamp State Park, one of New York's most important wetlands, is protected by more than 1,000 acres.

Over the last 200 years, extensive logging and deforestation has changed the character of the marsh and its natural habitat, as well as its water quality.

The bare cypress clusters that once bloomed here, as well as many other tree species, are dominated by red maples. This makes Dark Swamp, an area of great natural importance, one of the most important natural habitats in the state.

Despite these difficulties, Dark Swamp is teeming with butterflies, and 43 species have been identified so far in the park, more than any other state park.

Also in large numbers are represented the tiger swallowtail butterfly, the black-legged dragonfly and many other butterfly and bird species.

By the end of the 16th century, the Dusky Land was a vast wetland covering 1.28 million hectares. The early European settlers encountered a completely different landscape from the one we see today, with many different plant, animal and plant species.

For centuries the indigenous people used the swamps as hunting and fishing grounds, but found them too damp to find a home there, and when the water table dropped significantly, the swamp remained unsuitable for agriculture. It stretched from the James River in Virginia to Albemarle Sound in North Carolina, so the focus was on harvesting logs. They saw no value in the marshland and thought it should be drained and used for agriculture.

Cypresses and cedars could be used to make durable products with exceptional moisture resistance, as well as wood for building materials such as wood chips.

In the 19th century, cedar shingles were a very common product of the swamp, but most hardwood trees were felled in the 1880s. Commercial logging continued until the 1960s, and for many years the area was administered as a barren marshland. In 1972, the Conservation Commission bought the land from a timber company and sold more than 14,000 acres to the state of North Carolina in 1974.

Although the idea of a canal was conceived in the early 17th century, construction did not begin until the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and access to the general public was limited. American history is an important part of this, but access for the state of North Carolina and the US Army Corps of Engineers was limited. Desolate Swamp State Park was opened in 1974 as part of the National Park Service (NRCS).

The canal was dug almost exclusively by slaves, and slaves forced to dig the canal by hand were exposed to stinging insects and direct contact with the water, as well as a host of other dangers.

In 1805 and 12 years later, the canal was opened to navigation, but it was so narrow that only shallow, ground-level barges, the so-called light boats or gondolas, could pass through it. Light boats were used extensively to bring wood products from the swamp to the market. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, for about $10 a day, you could walk about 10 feet along the canals, enough to collect the wages for the work from your master.

As the Union and the Confederacy fought for control of this vital means of transport, the bleak marsh canals changed hands and fell into disrepair. The United States government eventually bought the canal in 1929 for $500,000, and the Army Corps of Engineers widened and dredged it into a canal. On Saturday, August 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., you can view an exhibition of reconstructed light boats at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

A boat ramp in the parking lot provides access to the canal water, and you can slide on the water from the main entrance of the park at the southern end of the lake.

Canoes and kayaks can be rented in the park, and there is one in the parking lot for two people - kayak for five dollars per person or for ten dollars for a canoe or kayak for two people.

Bring your bike to the park or rent one in the parking lot for $5 to $10 a day for a one-day bike ride.

There are a number of hiking, mountain biking and mountain biking trails, so you are invited to go hiking and cycling through the swamps and forests.

Desperate Swamp State Park is located north of Elizabeth City, North Carolina on US-17, south of the NC DOT rest area. You can drive north from ElizabethCity on US 17 and exit from the UNC Chapel Hill parking lot or NC-DOT rest stops and enter the park on I-95.

Head south on US-17 in the Hampton Roads area and follow US-17 to the North Carolina - Virginia line, then turn right on I-95, follow north to US 15 and then south on US 16. Turn left onto the north side of the highway, follow it south to Interstate 95, turn left onto the Virginia State Line and head south.