The quiet side: marsh and parks.
Behind the dunes, Oak Island is all salt marsh, tidal creeks and quiet waterfront parks. Here's where to walk, paddle, fish and play.
Walk across the marsh to the beach.
The Davis Canal runs behind the beach-side homes on the east end. The Town has built wooden pedestrian crossovers over the canal and its salt marsh, so you can walk from the Oak Island Drive side to the beach-side streets without a car.
Walkway rules: no fishing, crabbing or bait casting on the walkways or within 30 ft of their access areas, and no bikes, scooters, skateboards or golf carts (Town code Sec. 22-4).
Tip: go at low tide for fiddler crabs and wading birds, and at golden hour for the light on the spartina grass.
🛶 What is the Davis Canal?
It's a narrow tidal waterway that runs east–west through the middle of the island, between the beach-side streets and the Oak Island Drive side, and connects out toward the Lockwood Folly River and the Intracoastal Waterway. It's lined with salt marsh the whole way.
- No-wake zone, and too shallow for most powerboats, so it's calm and a favorite first paddle for new kayakers
- Look for great blue herons, egrets, kingfishers and fiddler crabs
- Launch at the SE 31st Street kayak launch, or join one of the Town Recreation Department's guided ~2-hour kayak trips (kayak, paddle, life jacket and guide included). Call 910-278-5518 for dates and prices
Local histories say it was dug as a drainage canal in the 1940s. We haven't confirmed that against an official record yet.
Where to play
Every park, pier and dock the Town lists. Tap one to look around, see it from above and get directions.
Park names, addresses and amenities from the Town of Oak Island Parks & Facilities page, checked September 2026. Photos are credited in each panel and on the credits page.
Docks, launches & fishing spots
Every public water access point in the Town's GIS, west to east.