About Carolina Beach
Find Your Laid-Back Beach Vibe
For many visitors, Carolina Beach offers an authentic North Carolina beach experience from the past with a fun, family-friendly spin for today. With a scenic boardwalk, state park, miles of pristine beach and one-of-a-kind events, there's something for everyone in the family.
It's all here: the Boardwalk, perfect for evening strolls and ice cream cones. The arcade, as challenging and addictive as when you were a teenager. The Carolina Beach Lake Park with a path perfect for walking around. And of course the clean, laid-back beach by the warm ocean waters.
In addition to its nostalgic charm, Carolina Beach also boasts an active charter boat basin - home to offshore fishing excursions, a state park full of coastal vegetation (think Venus flytraps!), fine locally-owned restaurants and shopping for everything from sunglasses to surfboards to area souvenirs.
Neighboring Kure Beach
Located nearby on the island, Kure Beach is a little off the beaten path and filled with a lot of what visitors are hoping to find: a clean, expansive beach; beautiful, natural surroundings with vistas of the ocean and the river; a state aquarium and park; relaxed people enjoying a small-town atmosphere; and the kind of local character that seems to have all but disappeared from coastal towns.
There's always plenty to do around here - cast a line from the 700-foot long fishing pier, or explore nearby Fort Fisher, the last stronghold of the Confederacy. Gaze in awe at the North Carolina Aquarium's 200,000+ gallon saltwater tank, or hike along the six-mile stretch of undeveloped beach in the state park. Even hop a ferry for a breathtaking view on a trip to the mainland.
Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher, at the southern end of the island just beyond Kure Beach, allows you to step back in time with a trip to the Fort Fisher State Historic Site, and then discover the amazing world of the sea at the North Carolina Aquarium. You'll also find the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, with six miles of undeveloped beach.
Fast Facts
- Budget Travel ranked the Carolina Beach Boardwalk among America's Most Awesome Boardwalks. The website considered Carolina Beach's mild breezes, gorgeous beach and sweet hospitality in the selection criteria.
- The Carolina Beach Boardwalk offers something for everyone, with beach equipment rentals, restaurants, shopping and seasonal live entertainment. Whether simply to indulge in people-watching or to partake in family-friendly festivities, visitors to the popular boardwalk find that it supports Carolina Beach’s colorful personality. Weekly fireworks take place on Thursday evenings Memorial Day through Labor Day.
- Carolina Beach State Park is one of the few places in the world where the Venus flytrap can be seen in its native environment. This carnivorous plant can be viewed year-round, but only blooms for a few days in the spring.
- Carolina Beach is home to the one and only Britt's Donuts, one of the town’s icons. A family-owned business that has been in Carolina Beach since 1939, it is a favorite of repeat visitors and is known for its mouthwatering warm doughnuts.
- At Squigley’s Ice Cream & Treats, visitors can create more than 4,000 varieties of homemade ice cream treats with a variety of toppings and flavors. For those who like to eat sweets and shop, Squigley’s Gift Gallery and Shade Shack, located above the ice cream shop, offers clothes, nautical décor and more for a special gift. Spend time walking around Carolina Beach and chances are, you will find someone wearing an “I’ve Been Squiggled” sticker after visiting this special shop.
- Freeman Park, located in Carolina Beach, is among a handful of oceanfront properties in the Carolinas that allows four-wheelers to ride on the sandy beaches (season, weekend and daily passes are available through the Town of Carolina Beach and other locations). Outdoor enthusiasts have been fishing, swimming, boating, crabbing and casting for minnows at this popular place for generations.
- For visitors seeking nightlife options, stopping by the Fat Pelican – complete with a walk-in beverage cooler and giant octopus on the roof – is a must. Check out the assortment of decorations, including the dinghy renovated into an outdoor bar.
- Carolina Beach was established in 1857 when Joseph Winner planned the streets and lots for the 50 acres of beach property he had purchased. Winner originally called the town “St. Joseph’s,” but the name was changed to Carolina Beach when the town incorporated in 1925.
- In 1866 the steamship “Wilmington” began carrying vacationers down the Cape Fear River to Snow's Cut, and a small steam-powered railroad took them the rest of the way into Carolina Beach.
- Held the first Saturday in June, the Carolina Beach Music Festival is billed as "the biggest and only beach music festival actually held on the beach on the North Carolina coast" and one of the longest-running beach music festivals in the United States.
- Carolina Beach is home of the legendary Chicken Hicks who is credited with the development and popularization of the Shag dance. His enthusiasm for the dance helped make Carolina Beach renowned during the shag revolution in the 1940s.
- Carolina Beach is rich in World War II heritage. It supported honky-tonks and an amusement park that catered primarily to enlisted service personnel. Fort Fisher soldiers happily paid a quarter apiece to throw baseballs at hinged boards painted with the heads of enemy leaders. Arcade owner Carl Winner sometimes grossed $1,000 per day.
- Carolina Beach is home to Olympic gold medalist Tony Silvagni's Surf School, where visitors are taught to hang ten by Tony and his team of certified instructors. In addition to his Olympic success, Tony and his Team USA teammates won gold at the 2018 ISA World Longboard Surfing Championship in Hainan, China.