Our Adopt A Sea Turtle Nest Program for 2026 will open May 1!

One of the most awe-inspiring reasons we all love Cape Hatteras National Seashore is that its pristine beaches are a perfect home for our favorite sea turtle friends. Each year, hundreds of sea turtles make their way onto our beaches to lay their eggs. During the summer of 2025, our parks monitored close to 300 sea turtle nests, including rare Kemp’s Ridley and Leatherback sea turtle nests, and we hope to see similar numbers in 2026.

Through our Adopt A Sea Turtle Nest program, you can *symbolically adopt a sea turtle nest that is being monitored by park rangers at Cape Hatteras National Seashore and receive information about your specific nest when it hatches later in the summer or fall! There are a limited number of nests available to adopt each year, and they are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

*No individual or group that participates in this program can claim ownership of a sea turtle nest, eggs, or hatchlings. Nature is also unpredictable. If your adopted nest is lost to a weather event or damaged by some other means, we will assign you a new nest that may or may not be shared with another individual or group. 

To make sure you never miss a communication about our Adopt A Sea Turtle program, join our email list here: https://obxforever.org/contact-us/. If you have any questions about this program, please get in touch with Nicole Erickson, our Development & Adoption Programs Manager at: NicoleErickson@obxforever.org. 

Here’s How Our Adopt A Sea Turtle Nest Program Works: 

Important: Adopt A Nest reservations begin May 1, 2026, but nests do not start to arrive on the seashore until late May or early June, and hatching typically begins in August. You will receive your nest assignment when nests start to arrive and are assigned, and then a second update will be mailed to you when your nest hatches. 

Donate! Give a tax-deductible donation of $100 or more to reserve a sea turtle nest. 

Get your nest! As nests become available for adoption, you will be assigned a nest and will receive an adoption certificate by mail or email (if you choose our digital option) with initial information about your nest. You may also choose to adopt a nest in honor of or in memory of a loved one. You and your honoree will receive an adoption certificate and updates about your adopted nest as information becomes available throughout the nesting season. *Nests are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Wait patiently for your nest to hatch! When your nest hatches later in the summer or fall (average incubation time for our nests is 61 days), you will receive a personalized update in the mail with information National Park Service rangers collect about your nest, including the number of hatchlings that made their way out to sea.