Sheep Ridge Wilderness

All that remains of Sir Walter Raleigh's lost colony is the word croatan, Algonquian for "council town," carved on a tree on Roanoke Island. This raised bogland, or pocosin, lies in the heart of Croatan National Forest, with Catfish Lake Road to the north and Great and Long Lakes to the south. A high water table keeps the black muck of the pocosin wet and agreeable enough to grow dwarf swamp vegetation. Hazards include biting insects, poisonous snakes and alligators. The reptiles are generally shy, retiring and uninterested in humans, but the biting pests will be happy to greet you. Visitors who venture in to see the plants and animals usually make it a quick trip, as the Wilderness doesn't offer campsites or trails.