Mockhorn Island Wildlife Management Area, Nature reserve and wildlife management area in Northampton County, Virginia, US
Mockhorn Island Wildlife Management Area is a state-managed nature reserve in Northampton County, Virginia, made up of a tidal island of over 7,000 acres and a smaller mainland parcel called the GATR Tract. At low tide, wide salt marshes, sandy shores, and small wooded rises are visible across the flat landscape.
The island was used for salt production for many years and served at different times as a hiding place for pirates and Civil War soldiers. In the 1920s, a couple built a hunting lodge and concrete seawalls at the south end, and remnants of those structures are still visible today.
Mockhorn Island draws hunters, bird watchers, and anglers who share the same tidal marshes and open waters. Arriving only by boat gives every visit a feeling of genuine remoteness that few protected areas on the East Coast can offer.
The area is open year-round but can only be reached by boat, since no bridges or roads connect the island to the mainland. The south end on the west side offers the most reliable landing spot, and visitors should come prepared for fast-changing weather and tidal conditions.
Part of the island was once the site of an ambitious construction project that was never completed, and the concrete foundations left behind now sit quietly among the marshes like an unexpected ruin. Ospreys also nest on floating platforms and old navigation markers in the surrounding waters, making close sightings fairly common.
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