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Cartwheel Bay Heritage Preserve
October 27, 2018 @ 10:30 am - 6:00 pm
Cartwheel Bay Heritage Preserve
Horry County, SC
Coordinates:
34° 8.957’N
79° 3.833’W
Organizer: Gordon Murphy
From Gordon:
SCAN has visited Cartwheel Bay HP in the past, and we have always seen lots of interesting flora and fauna there. The HP is in Horry County, south of the Little Pee Dee River. It is 568 acres in size and contains a variety of habitats including an intact Carolina Bay (Mossy Bay) wetland and the xeric sand rim, bay forest, longleaf pine savanna, pine flatwoods, and a stream named Cartwheel Branch.
The vegetation in Mossy Bay is very dense and almost impenetrable, but we can walk along the edge and get a good view of the plant community. The sand rim associated with Mossy Bay is not very prominent and is predominantly on private land, but we have walked a portion of the trail without incident. Based on a review of the topographic map, a channel exits Mossy Bay on its northern edge and flows into Poplar Branch. There are no trails in the HP so we will stroll along the dirt roads to reach the different areas.
Key species that we should keep our eyes open for are Wells’ pixie moss (Pyxidanthera brevifolia) on the sand rim of the bay, and pitcher plants (Sarracenia spp.) and Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) in the longleaf savanna. Two other interesting orchid that occur in the longleaf savanna are the white fringed orchid Habenaria blephariglottis) and rosebud orchid (Cleistes divaricata), however their bloom period generally ends in late September.
There are no restroom facilities at Cartwheel Bay HP so you may want to stop on your way in. With all the rain associated with hurricanes Florence and Michael, I expect the mosquitoes will be out in force. I don’t think we’ll be getting into any standing water, but I plan to have my rubber boots in the car just in case. As always, bring plenty to drink and a lunch.
I have not selected a location for dinner but there are some good selections in Mullins.
DIRECTIONS:
The access road into Cartwheel Bay crosses private property and the only sign is a small one, so it’s very easy to miss. Refer to the October 2018 newsletter for photos of the entrance.
From I-95:
• Get off I-95 at Exit 181A onto SC-38,
• Take SC-38 toward Marion, drive 7.3 miles and take US 501 east,
• Go 9.8 miles on US 501 then turn left onto Bluff Road (S-34-19),
• Drive 6.2 miles on Bluff Road and turn left onto SC 41,
• Go 177 feet on SC 41 and turn right onto Old Stage Road (S-34-31),
• At the intersection with SC 917, turn right,
• Take SC 917 for 11.2 miles the turn left onto S-34-19,
• Go 4.2 miles and look for the access road on the left.
From the intersection of US 501 and 16th Avenue, Conway:
• Go northeast on 16th Ave for 0.5 miles then turn left onto US 701,
• Take US 701 9 miles then turn left onto SC-410,
• Go 3.9 miles and turn left onto Mt Olive Road,
• Drive 2.8 miles and take a slight left onto S-34-19,
• Travel 7 miles on S-34-19 to the access road on the left.
Coordinates:
34° 8.957’N
79° 3.833’W