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From the iconic surfing waves to sun-warmed dunes, there’s much to be uncovered on the shoreline of North Carolina. NC’s coast is where natural beauty shines in abundance, where small towns ooze with warm charm, and the barrier islands beckon you with history and folktales.
We have been living in North Carolina for over a decade, and we do think the East Coast is the best coast, especially the NC coast. There are many coastal destinations in the North Carolina that are well worth a visit and packed with plenty of things to do, especially if you enjoy exploring laid back and relaxed coastal towns, water sports, and surfing from unspoiled beaches.
The North Carolina beaches are where you will find history in lighthouses, wild horses roaming free, stories of shipwrecks and pirates, a surfing culture that doesn’t slow down, and a delightful drawl of the locals that makes your heart sing.
Whether you’re chasing sunrises on the Outer Banks, oysters on the half shell in Beaufort, or historic sites of Roanoke Island, these are the top things to do on the North Carolina coast.
Video Highlight: Top 10 of the North Carolina Beaches
Watch us explore the North Carolina beaches in the following video, which features our top ten favorite experiences…
1. Learn to surf at Wrightsville Beach
Wrightsville Beach is one of the best beach towns in North Carolina, and you’re just 10-minutes away from the charming town of Wilmington, which has a lovely youthful vibe thanks to its college students.
Wrightsville Beach is where surfing started in North Carolina. It also receives accolades as one of the world’s best surfing towns (National Geographic, Coastal Living, and Surfer magazines all agree). And we also have experience in global surfing towns to say this is a legit title.
Put on your wetsuit, grab a board, and hit the waves, and don’t worry if those waves look far too small to ride. Craig and Savannah had a blast riding what looked like un-surfable waves thanks to the great instruction by Steve from the South End Surf Shop.
Here’s a local tip: Some of the best surf in the Wrightsville Beach area is over the channel at secluded Masonboro Island. Either paddle your way over or arrive by boat.
2. Climb the Oak Island Lighthouse, Caswell Beach
Quite an unexpected thrilling adventure is to climb the 131 steps up to the Oak Island Lighthouse viewing platform. What makes it thrilling is it is the only known lighthouse that uses a ladder configuration the entire way, rather than the typical spiral staircases.
While not as beautiful on the outside as some of the other North Carolina lighthouses, it’s the most adventurous and exciting lighthouse to visit on the North Carolina coast.
The views up here are magnificent and a definite Brunswick Islands highlight. Cross the road to the beach boardwalk for the best views of the Oak Island Lighthouse.
The Bodie Island Lighthouse and Cape Hatteras lighthouse are two more favorites in North Carolina.
3. Leave a note in the Kindred Spirit Mailbox
For over 40 years, people have been coming to this secret mailbox tucked into the sand dunes on Bird Island, the most southern beach in North Carolina before reaching South Carolina.
The Kindred Spirit Mailbox was first planted on the barrier island by Frank Nesmith in the late 1970s. People walk 1.4 miles along the beach from Sunset Beach Pier to record their wishes, thoughts, prayers, and dreams through letters in the mailbox.
Savannah and I wrote our own before leaving our hotel. She wrote her dreams for the future and I shared our manifesto for travel – which really applies to living a full life.
The mailbox is filled with notebooks and pens so you can write your stories when you arrive. Or you can just spend time reading them. There is a seat waiting for you.
Check out this guide to the Kindred Spirit Mailbox!
4. Enjoy Sunset Beach and Bird Island (a world’s best beach)
What makes this North Carolina experience even more special is that you get to spend time at what I think is one of the best beaches in North Carolina for families: Sunset Beach, which extends into Bird Island.
With its lack of development, and sand dunes standing guard of white sand and pristine water, you’ll see why this was named this was named one of the world’s best beaches in 2017 by National Geographic.
With the name, Bird Island, you can only imagine the bird life surrounding you! The protected Bird Island Reserve is the southern end of Sunset Beach with pristine sandy white beaches, high natural dunes, and more than 1,200 acres of salt marsh and tidal creeks. A nature trail leads from the beach and loops around the Bird Island Reserve.
5. Soak up the small-town charm of Southport
Southport is a delightful small town on the mouth of the Cape Fear River where it converges with the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean.
The picturesque harbor town has been a favorite location for Hollywood, featuring scenes from many films and TV shows, including Safe Haven, A Walk to Remember, Weekend at Bernie’s, and I Know What You Did Last Summer.
You can join an oversized golf cart tour of the town to learn more about it. Stroll the live oak tree-lined streets as you explore ornate Victorian homes, historic buildings, and vibrant riverfront dining options serving delicious seafood.
You can also catch the ferry from Southport to Fort Fisher Recreation Area at the end of Kure Beach and Carolina Beach giving you faster beach access to Pleasure Island.
Catching a ferry over to the small Bald Head Island is a favored thing to do in Southport, and is on our list for our next visit.
Read more amazing things to do in the Brunswick Islands region of North Carolina.
6. Hang gliding over the sand dunes at Kitty Hawk
One of the most unique things to do in North Carolina is to hang-glide over the sand dunes at Jockey’s Ridge State Park. This was one of our favorite adventures in the USA
Kitty Hawk Kites has been operating hang gliding lessons since 1974 with beginner, intermediate and advanced lessons from qualified instructors – who are awesome by the way!
We had a blast learning how to launch, fly, and land on the soft sands of Jockey’s Ridge with our instructor holding a rope all the way giving you a sense of safety!
Read our full review of hang gliding with Kitty Hawk Kites and book hang gliding lessons here. While here, be sure to honor the birthplace of flying at the nearby Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills one of North Carolina’s most historic landmarks?
The Wright Brothers (Orville and Wilbur) piloted four successful flights with their powered, heavier-than-air flying machine in Kitty Hawk. You can see the historic sand dune where they did most of their gliding, and the location they lived whilst experimenting.
Video: Watch us hang gliding in the Outer Banks
7. Watch the sunrise from Topsail Beach
We’ve seen plenty of sunrises around the world, and a North Carolina beach sunrise is my favorite. Watching the giant orb light up the sky in the Outer Banks with its pastel pinks and orange over the glass-like ocean and dolphins swimming past its lighted staircase was magical, mystical, and serene.
Watching a sunrise is a daily habit of ours when we visit the beaches in NC, and one of our favorite beaches to watch it from is Topsail Beach in the Outer Banks, purely because the waves are calm and reflect the suns soft hues. Of course, any beach will do, especially if you have a beachfront accommodation.
Top tip: Visit the NC beaches in the Fall. Sunrise is later and hardly anyone is around. #JustYouAndTheDolphins
8. See sunset over the water at Jinks Creek, Ocean Isle
Thanks to the Intra-Coastal Waterway, you’ll find many places along the North Carolina coast to see the sun set over the water. One of our favorites though is Jinks Creek Waterfront Restaurant on Ocean Isle Beach. It even has a bar and chairs overlooking the water where you can sit and view it from.
Some other places we have experienced a beautiful sunset on the NC coast have been:
- South End of Wrightsville beach
- Millers Waterfront Grille in the Outer Banks
- Onboard a sunset cruise around the Intracoastal Waterway in Wrightsville
9. Happy Hour and 15 cent shrimp at Fish Heads Grill & Bar, Nags Head
Replace the tacky rides on fishing piers you find on the West Coast with colorful umbrellas and wooden tables, and a Tiki hut serving over 40 craft beers, live music, and 15-cent shrimp! Yes. You read that correctly.
Happy Hour on the Fish Heads Grill & Bar in Nags Head on the Outer Banks happens every day 4-6pm. Join the stream of people arriving on the jetty – it’s one of our favorite North Carolina beach experiences.
10. Drinks at the friendliest beach bar in the USA, Carolina Beach
A beach pier not to miss: the Center Pier in Carolina Beach. Similar to our Fish Heads Bar & Grill discovery in the Outer Banks, the Ocean Grill & Tiki Bar is the hidden local gem you always hope to find when you travel.
The Tiki Bar is built on the ruins of Center Pier, destroyed by Hurricane Fran in 1996. It serves a limited menu, but it’s really the outstanding views and atmosphere that you come here for.
The service was excellent and by the number of people who stopped to talk to the people with the funny accent, I could name this The Friendliest Beach Bar in the USA. You’ll find live music at sunset during the season.
11. Visit the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area
The Fort Fisher State Recreation Area wraps around the southern end of Pleasure Island, hugging the Atlantic Ocean from Kure Beach over to the Cape Fear River.
There are six miles of pristine shoreline here offering sun and surf-seekers plenty of fun. Loggerhead turtles also love laying their eggs. You can drive your 4WD along the beaches here. Permit required.
Apart from the beaches here, two of North Carolina’s most visited tourist attractions are also in this area near pine knoll shores: The North Carolina Aquarium and the Fort Fisher State Historic Site.
12. Paddle the North Carolina Coast
One thing you can be sure about when you visit the North Carolina beaches – apart from miles of beaches – you’ll have miles of calm waterways to play in as well.
The Atlantic Intra-Coastal Waterway runs the entire length of the NC coast (and beyond) offering miles of open sound water and narrow channels bordered by marshes, swamps, and small islands.
You’ll get a different ocean perspective with the hundreds of oyster beds, herons flying low over the grassy reeds with beautiful white wings outstretched, and mullets jumping out of the water while fleeing from prey.
Choose your flotation style – kayak or paddle board – we always do both and find the nearest launch pad.
We’ve done it at every North Carolina coastal region we’ve visited both on the sound and ocean. We paddle boarded on the ocean at Corolla Beach in the Outer Banks and fell off several times. It’s much harder on the ocean, even when it’s relatively calm – but it’s totally worth it as it’s loads of fun. If you go out during sunrise you will probably have the best North Carolina beach experience ever.
We’ve also paddled in:
- Wrightsville Beach waterways
- Jinks Creek, Ocean Isle Beach
- Snow’s Cut, Carolina Beach
- Corolla Beach
13. See the wild horses on Corolla Beach
There aren’t many places in the U.S. where you can see wild horses, but you can find them on a few beaches in North Carolina.
I’ll never forget the fun we had searching for the wild ponies of Shackleford Banks barrier islands in the Cape Lookout National Seashore region with my parents and rising over the sand dunes to see them grazing on the grass. My Dad was spellbound. It was a memory.
The most famous place to see wild horses is in Corolla Beach at the northern end of the Outer Banks, as well as on Carova Beach (just a short drive away). You can see them on a wild horse tour, or if you have your own a 4WD, cruise along the beach (permit needed) until you find them.
You can also see wild horses on Ocracoke Island in a secluded 180-acre area enclosure on the sound side of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
14. Explore Cape Hatteras National Seashore
If you drive down to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse you will be immersed in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. This 70-mile stretch of the Outer Banks from Oregon Inlet to Ocracoke Inlet is the country’s first national seashore.
I wish we dedicated more time to explore its unique and beautiful beaches, communities, historic lighthouses, and endless water-based activities. It is a beautiful area. I’d love to come back here for beach driving, hikes, paddling in the quieter waterways, and a beach house rental.
If you like Nicholas Sparks, be sure to take a peek at the Inn at Rodanthe in Rodanthe which was the setting for the book and movie, Nights of the Rodanthe. You can even stay there.
Read more: Things to do in the Crystal Coast, NC (including Cape Lookout National Seashore and the wild horses!
15. Go scuba diving off the Crystal Coast
Many people don’t know this about North Carolina, but it’s actually one of the best places in the world to scuba dive shipwrecks.
There are many locations along the North Carolina coast where you can go scuba diving, but we recommend heading around the Crystal Coast (Emerald Isle, Atlantic Beach) as there are some top-rated dive centers here. It’s also nicknamed the “Atlantic Graveyard” for its abundance of wrecks.
The coast offers multiple places to explore reefs and shipwrecks, which bountiful species of marine life call home. You can spot huge groupers, and lobsters, and if you’re really lucky, you might see a giant stingray or tiger shark make an appearance. Barracuda, greater amberjacks, and sand tiger sharks also love to hang out around the shipwrecks.
16. See the sea turtles at Topsail Island’s Surf City
For wildlife lovers, you’ll want to make sure you head over to Topsail Island, North Carolina, to visit the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Surf City.
From mid-May to August, it’s the time when loggerhead sea turtles come up to the shore at night to lay their eggs. The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center is a conservation center dedicated to preserving and protecting these rare sea turtles, and you can learn all about their efforts at the visitors center.
17. Explore the Carolina Beach State Park
Located just 12 miles south of Wilmington is the Carolina Beach State Park where you can explore around 9-miles of hiking trails.
The park is home to several unique carnivorous plants, such as the Venus flytrap, and is well known for its varying landscape. It’s where you’ll find the 50-foot high Sugarloaf Dune, as well as three limesink ponds.
The park is also just a stone’s throw away from Carolina Beach, which is famous for its boardwalk. The boardwalk has an amusement park and beach access to the soft white sands.
18. Explore the historic Fort Macon State Park, Atlantic Beach
Step back in time at Fort Macon, a meticulously restored Civil War fortress on the Crystal Coast.
Explore cannon-lined walls, learn about the lost colony and Civil War tales in the museum’s exhibits, and stroll along scenic beaches perfect for swimming, sunbathing, or tidepool spotting.
There’s more than just history here, there are trails that wind through salt marshes and maritime forests, making it a top spot for hiking and birdwatching.
19. Stay in a historic home in Beaufort
About 20-minutes away from Fort Macon State Park is our favorite small town destination in North Carolina, Beaufort. Quaint, historic, and undeniably charming, Beaufort is a picturesque town where maritime heritage meets small-town hospitality.
Known for its well-preserved 18th- and 19th-century architecture, tree-lined streets, and waterfront views, Beaufort is such a vibe.
The waterfront is the beating heart of activity, with local restaurants, boutique shops, and galleries. It doesn’t have a lot of attractions, but you should check out the North Carolina Maritime Museum, which showcases stories of shipwrecks and pirates, and kayak along salt marshes.
Final thoughts
The best thing about the beaches in North Carolina is they are not overdeveloped, have pristine conditions, loads of space, spectacular sunrises and sunsets, endless activities besides beachcombing, the stunning Intra-coastal waterway offering tons of water activities, and have a vibrant surf culture!
We have been exploring the Atlantic Coast for years, and while we still have so much to see, we wanted to share with you what we consider the must-see experiences on the coast of North Carolina.
This guide uncovers more than just places to lie on the beach and swim, they are the experiences that tell the unique story of the beaches, as well as why our now home state will offer the moments you remember the most.
We have plenty left on our NC bucket list, which you can get access to below.
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Are you planning a trip to the North Carolina beaches? Let us know what you’re excited for in the comments!
