The Reserve site encompasses the island and the pristine estuarine area behind it, where at low tide, several thousand acres of salt marsh and mud flats are exposed to view. The Masonboro estuary is unusual because it does not receive fresh water from a tidal river, but from upland runoff. The University of North Carolina at Wilmington is constructing the Center for Marine Science Research at Myrtle Grove, across the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway from Masonboro Island. The Reserve Manager will be located at the Center. There are no designated trails, however much of Masonboro is open to visitor use.
Camping is permitted, except on the frontal dunes.
The Masonboro site is open for use year-round, except seasonally in posted areas. The North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve is managed by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Coastal Management in cooperation with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Sanctuaries and Reserves Division. The SMI has assisted the state in the acquisition of the island by contacting island landowners, purchasing interests in certain tracts and lobbying state and federal legislators concerning funding needs. Contact CERF . Seaside evening primrose, prickly pear and gaillardia grow behind the ocean dunes.