Cherry Branch, NC

Cherry Branch is a planned community and census-designated place on the south bank of the tidal Neuse River in Craven County. It first appeared as a CDP in the 2020 census, which counted 1,211 residents. North Carolina Highway 306, also called Ferry Road here, runs south toward Havelock and Cherry Point, while the river carries the other half of the local traffic. The river is the shortcut, the boundary, and the backdrop. That ferry is the thing that makes Cherry Branch feel like more than a subdivision name.

The free Cherry Branch–Minnesott Beach boat crosses the Neuse in about 20 minutes, linking the Craven County side with Pamlico County and giving commuters, families, and errand-runners a water route instead of a long drive around. The community is flat, coastal, and built around the river's edge. Cherry Branch is a small eastern North Carolina place where a highway ends at a boat ramp and the next county begins across the water.