The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Folks enjoy a membership day at TNC’s Calloway Forest Preserve © Carly Hudy

Open to the Public

Yes

Things To Do

Hiking / Birding / Picnicking View All

Plan Your Visit

Contact our Sandhills Project Office for more information. View All

Get Directions

LOCATION:

Sandhills; Hoke County

GPS COORDINATES: (Calloway Forest Community Trail)

Longitude: -79.30986989390
Latitude: 35.01205862970

OWNERSHIP AND ACCESS:

Sandhills Project Office
P.O. Box 206
140 SW Broad Street
Southern Pines, NC 28388
(910) 246-0300

Click here to read "Operation Knock on Wood," an amazing in-depth look at our red-cockaded woodpecker efforts.

CONSERVATION HIGHLIGHTS:

Preserving forests like Calloway will help "bridge the gap" between existing protected areas by providing corridors for wildlife and restoring critical tracts degraded by fire suppression.

The Calloway Forest was protected because of a collaborative effort between the Conservancy and state and federal agencies. The NC Department of Transportation purchased the tract as mitigation for effects on red-cockaded woodpecker habitat, established an endowment for its stewardship, and then transferred it to the Conservancy.

We are managing the forest in consultation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and it will eventually be included in the state's Game Lands program, managed by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.

The Nature Conservancy is working with our partners to restore this tract using a prescribed burning regime. For more information on how fire has historically helped the Sandhills landscape, see our Prescribed Fire Brochure.

Longleaf pine forests once stretched 90 million acres from Virginia to Texas. Harvested for lumber, turpentine, tar and pitch, this vast forest began to decline rapidly in the 19th century, and today a mere 3% of the original range remains. You can see what these ancient woodlands once looked like by visiting Calloway Forest, a longleaf pine forest in the Sandhills. Many wildlife species depend on the openness of longleaf pine forest to forage and raise young.

Due to fire suppression efforts in the late 20th century, much of the open longleaf pine forest became overgrown with hardwoods such as scrub oaks and has hampered the growth of natural plants and trees, as well as, caused a decline in bobwhite quail and red-cockaded woodpeckers.

Management efforts have reintroduced fire into this landscape through prescribed burns that reduce hardwoods and encouraged the growth of fire dependent species such as wiregrass and longleaf pine. 

Things To Do

What to See: Plants

• Longleaf pine forests
• wiregrass
• Michaux's sumac 
• rough-leaf loostrife

What to See: Animals

• Red-cockaded woodpeckers
• migratory songbirds
• fox squirrels
• bobcat

Plan Your Visit

The preserve is open to visitors year-round.  Contact our Sandhills Project Office for more information about Calloway.

*Please be aware that hunting is allowed during the season.*

Directions

From Fayetteville or Raeford, take US 211 West. Look for Calloway Road on the left. The park is on the right, a tenth of a mile past Calloway Road. From Aberdeen, take US 211 East. The park entrance is on the left, three miles past the B.P. gas station.

Discussion

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Add Your Comments

Time for you to join the discussion. Tell us about your experience at this preserve. What plants and animals did you see? When did you go? You can help others plan their visit when you share your thoughts. And thank you for visiting one of our nature preserves!

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