Tucked away in the Northern Neck of Virginia
along the Chesapeake Bay you will start your exploration with
your dog here on a wide, soft and exceedingly agreeable path
through a fragrant loblolly forest. Soon you will pop out on
the beach of the Chesapeake Bay where you will be excused for
thinking you have just landed on Tom Hanks' deserted island in
Cast Away. Ghost trees and fallen trunks pepper the enchanted
shore - ineffective guardians against the relentless Chesapeake
wave action.
Follow the wide, sandy woods road as
it sails away to your right until you reach the beach. The beach
stretches in both directions before you. Although it may not
seem obvious, you can close your loop by walking across the exposed
beach to your left. Of course, in times of periodic high tide
you will have to retrace your steps - no part of the preserve
exceeds 10 feet in elevation. Your dog can also access an observation
tower at the edge of the marsh.
The beach at Hughlett Point is habitat
for the rare northeastern beach tiger beetle. This large-jawed
predator once could be found from Massachusetts to Virginia but
now lives at only two sites outside of the Chesapeake Bay. The
tiger beetle still calls 50 sites around the bay home, including
here. Look for the beetles in mid-summer, leaving their sandy
burrows to make short flights over the beach, almost appearing
to hop or scamper across the sand in pursuit of that next meal.
The tiger beetle is a little less than one inch long with a bronze-green
head and those imposing jaws.
To find Hughlett Point go four miles
north of the town of Kilmarnock on US 200. Turn right (east)
onto Route 606 and go about 2 miles to Route 605. Turn right
(south) on Route 605 and go about 2 miles to the preserve parking
area on the left.
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