Horsehoe Pond

Horseshoe Pond is a small freshwater pond in Buxton, set within the maritime forest of Buxton Woods on Hatteras Island. Buxton Woods Coastal Reserve — protected under North Carolina's Coastal Reserve program and part of the broader sweep of Cape Hatteras National Seashore — is one of the few substantial maritime forests left on a barrier island this narrow and exposed. Small freshwater ponds and marshy sedges like this one are scattered throughout the reserve's high wooded dune ridges and shrub thickets, supporting white-tailed deer, songbirds, and amphibians, and giving the forest floor a noticeably cooler, shadier feel than the open beach nearby.

This particular pond doesn't come with its own marked trailhead or visitor facilities the way some of Buxton Woods' named trails do — it's part of the quieter, less-signed texture of the reserve rather than a standalone destination. Visitors walking the Buxton Woods Trail, the Open Ponds Trail, or exploring near Frisco Campground may pass ponds like it along the way. As with any pond-adjacent ground in this climate, expect the usual coastal-forest conditions: mosquitoes in warm weather and soft, occasionally muddy footing near the water's edge.