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Cape Lookout National Seashore Announces Wild Horse Tour Schedule

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Compiled from NPS releases

Published Date

June 4, 2025
A brown horse grazes on grass against a backdrop of sand dunes.

More than 100 horses live within Cape Lookout National Seashore/NPS

Cape Lookout National Seashore has released dates for the 2025 Horse Sense and Survival Tour schedule, led by Resource Manager Sue Stuska.  

“This is an excellent opportunity for visitors to witness and begin to understand the wild horses,” said Superintendent Jeff West. “The Shackleford horses are truly a unique aspect of what
makes Cape Lookout National Seashore a special place.”

Stuska's expertise helps give an exciting and enlightening glimpse into the relationships, behavior, and survival of Cape Lookout's wild horses. Tour participants will learn how to watch them from a distance that doesn't affect the horses’ natural behaviors.

The last annual count posted online showed 124 free-roaming horses on Cape Lookout in 2022. In counts going back to 2005, the population ranged from 105 to 126. 

The tours travel by boat via the Island Express Ferry Service, departing from either the town of Beaufort, North Carolina, or the nearby Harkers Island Visitor Center. Participants should be prepared for a moderate walk off the beaten path to find the horses. Also be ready for a day in the sun that includes climbing dunes and walking through brush and deep sand. Shoes that protect the feet and will stay on in the mud are required. It's also highly recommended to bring a daypack or shoulder bag with water, lunch and snacks, insect repellant, sunscreen, a hat, and binoculars. Cameras should be outfitted with a telephoto lens.

The first trip of the summer is on Saturday, June 21. Tours will run monthly after that, on these dates:

  • Sunday, July 20
  • Sunday, Aug. 3
  • Saturday, Sept. 20
  • October and November programs to be determined. 

For more information, including meeting places, times, and ferry costs, see http://go.nps.gov/horsewatch.   

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