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Touring the
NC Oyster Trail in 2022 

Experience the best in oyster cuisine and adventure this year.
The NC Oyster Trail website (NCOysterTrail.org) went through several upgrades in 2021. Drum roll please 🥁🥁. The site is now fully focused on the Trail visitor. Professional photographs, details on NC Oyster Week and an interactive, user-friendly trail map have been added to the site. 

The new trail map helps visitors narrow down their search for Oyster Trail sites by location. Limit the radius of your search to your desired driving distance. You can also search for a specific category of offering: restaurant, seafood market, shellfish farm tour, oyster delivery, arts, education, festival, or even, outdoor recreation. 
Image: Map showing Wilmington spots to visit. 
Image: Map showing available shellfish farm tours. 
Oyster Trail To-Dos in 2022!
We've broken down the year with some to-dos for each season. 

WINTER: Host an oyster roast to kick off 2022. Visit your local seafood market or find a shellfish grower that delivers to your door.
 
SPRING: Tour a shellfish farm. This is the perfect time of year to hop on a boat and learn how we grow oysters in North Carolina.

SUMMER: Enjoy oysters all summer long. Don't fall for the R month myth. Be sure to order N.C. oysters at your favorite restaurant. 

FALL: Celebrate oysters during NC Oyster Week and throughout the holidays. Save the date for NC Oyster Week: October 10-16, 2022 when oyster festivities will take place across the state. 

Make sure to share your photos when you check off the to-do list this year using hashtag #NCOysterTrail and tag us @NCOysterTrail on Facebook or Instagram.
Looking Back at
NC Oyster Trail
2021 Accomplishments

 

Visitors can now experience 64 unique Trail sites.
  • Statewide Trail activities are available from Charlotte to Cape Hatteras.
  • Trail sites include restaurants, markets, shellfish farms, education centers, festivals, outdoor recreation and more that offer a memorable interaction with N.C. oysters year-round. 
User engagement with Trail website & social media has increased exponentially.
  • 16,000 unique visitors used the website in 2021.
  • Trail Facebook & Instagram featuring Trail sites, news & special events have reached up to 15,000 individuals in a single post.
Media coverage continued to grow in 2021 (selected articles linked below). NC Oyster Week puts on a fantastic shellebration.
  • Governor Cooper made NC Oyster Week official with a state proclamation
  • 18 in-person and virtual events were held to shellebrate in October.
Research Updates 
  • Research funded by NOAA led by a team from NC State University and East Carolina University provided pivotal data about potential Trail Visitors.
  • NC Sea Grant, NC Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, and NC State University Tourism Extension kicked off a new NOAA funded project to leverage tourism to increase public awareness of and demand for North Carolina seafood, including our state's oysters.
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