Two poisonous snakes, the copperhead and cottonmouth moccosin, are among the animals visitors should be careful to look out for. Many varieties of fishes can be found in the waters of the scenic waterway. Anadromous fish spawn in the estuary, then live their adult lives mostly in open ocean, returning to the estuary to spawn. Local anadromous fish include shad and blueback herring. Catadromous fish, those that spawn in the open ocean, then migrate to the estuaries to mature before returning to the ocean, include the spot, croaker, bluefish, and striped bass.
Many plant species grow along the shores of the waterway and in the adjacent pine forest.
The scenic waterway is mostly made up of water that are lunar tidal. These tides are caused by the gravitaitonal pull of the moon, which causes approximately two daily cycles and one cycle of ranges per month. Wind tides affect waters that are under little influence of the lunar tides. These tides are erractic and unpredictable. Beneath these waters, on the river bottom, sits a layer of fine silts and clays which are home to the many varieties of worms and crustaceans that are a major food source for the fish and crabs living in the waterways, including the fiddler and blue crabs.