13 BEST Wilmington Beaches to Visit
Chances are, if you’re heading to southeastern North Carolina, it’s for one thing: the beach. There’s nothing better than watching pelicans skim the water, sand between your toes, sun on your face. While there’s plenty to do in Wilmington beyond the sand, the coast is still the main event.
The good news is there’s no shortage of options. You won’t get through them all in one trip, so here’s our real breakdown of the best beaches in and around Wilmington.
While Wrightsville Beach is technically the only beach actually in Wilmington, the others below on Pleasure Island and further down the coast are all widely considered part of the greater Wilmington beach scene.
The Best Wilmington, NC Beaches
Wrightsville Beach
Wrightsville Beach is the one true Wilmington beach — the only one actually within city limits, and the closest to UNCW, Mayfaire, and most of metro Wilmington, which made it our default beach back in college.
It’s also one of the most popular beaches in the state, just a 2-hour drive from Raleigh, with restaurants, bars, and hotels lining Lumina Avenue. That popularity comes at a price — it’s one of the more expensive spots in the area, and you’ll feel it looking at summer accommodation prices.
Wrightsville is four miles of sand with over 40 public access points, so even on the Fourth of July, you can usually find your own patch. If you surf, bring a board or book a lesson — it’s often called the best surf spot on the East Coast. If surfing’s not your thing, rent a beach cruiser and ride the island, or walk Johnnie Mercer’s Pier before ending the day at Wrightsville Beach Brewery.
Carolina Beach
The next most convenient beach to Wilmington, connected by the Snow’s Cut Bridge. Carolina Beach sits between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic, and it’s packed from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Where Wrightsville leans bougie, Carolina Beach is the laid-back, kitschy counterpart — pink and yellow buildings, tiki bars, and more golf carts than convertibles. If you want the full All-American beach town experience, book a week in a vacation rental and walk the boardwalk daily; it’s lined with restaurants, bars, and a summer amusement park.
To get away from the crowds, head into Carolina Beach State Park — sandy trails, the rare Venus flytrap growing wild, and some of the best sunsets on the island.
Kure Beach
Ten minutes past Carolina Beach, and noticeably quieter. This is genuinely our favorite Wilmington beach — the one we head to with a good book when we actually want to relax, not perform relaxing.
You get the same sand, water, and fishing as the busier beaches, minus the amusement rides and packed tiki bars. Walk the Kure Beach Pier — at 711 feet, one of the oldest on the Atlantic coast — and watch people reel fish in. You can rent a rod and get bait at the shop right on the pier; your fishing license is included in the admission fee. Book ahead at Freddie’s while you’re there — it’s one of the best restaurants on this stretch of coast.
Fort Fisher State Recreation Area
Keep going past Kure Beach and things get even quieter. Fort Fisher sits at the tip of Pleasure Island and covers a lot of ground: the NC Aquarium, a Civil War historic site, and miles of undeveloped beach.
Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort protecting the port of Wilmington, and by 1865 it was the last supply route open to Lee’s army before it fell to the Union that January. Beyond the history, loggerhead sea turtles nest along this shoreline, and it’s one of the only beaches in the area where four-wheel-drive vehicles are allowed — you’ll need to register with NC Parks and buy a permit first.
Zeke’s Island
Most people launch a kayak or canoe from the boat ramp at Fort Fisher and paddle out to Zeke’s Island — one of our favorite things to do in the whole area, for the secluded, no-crowds beach experience it’s hard to find anywhere else nearby.
Bring a cooler and pack out everything you bring in. It’s part of a coastal reserve that’s one of the most important shorebird feeding habitats on the East Coast — expect to see black-bellied plovers, white ibis, and great blue herons.
One word of caution: don’t cross the old Civil War wall out to the island itself if the tide’s coming in. Cameron got caught out there once during a high tide, and it wasn’t a good day — his sister came away with 26 stitches in her knee from the oyster shells.
Masonboro Island
Masonboro earns its spot because you have to work for it. It’s boat-access only — hitch a ride with a friend, book the Masonboro Water Taxi, or paddle over yourself — and that barrier to entry keeps it empty and wild.
You can camp right on the sand, which makes it one of the rawer, more unspoiled beach experiences on this list. It’s also one of the largest undeveloped barrier islands on the entire Carolina coast, and a real research site for university ecologists studying the dune and marsh systems.
Beaches Near Wilmington
Not technically in Wilmington, but all within about an hour’s drive from downtown.
Oak Island
Oak Island is personal for us now — my parents moved here after spending a decade in Carolina Beach, so it’s become a regular stop whenever we’re back on the coast.
It’s a quieter, more residential stretch near Southport, close enough to both North and South Carolina’s hubs to never feel too far from anything. Fresh seafood and quirky, privately-owned homes are the norm here. Bring a bike and you might not need to get back in the car for your whole stay.
Emerald Isle
The jewel of the state’s mainland coast — Bogue Inlet Pier stretches out to sea, and there are enough restaurants that you could go a full week without turning on an oven. It’s about 1.5 hours from Wilmington, so it takes some commitment, but the water here is some of the bluest in the state.
Catch sunset at The Point, and take a walk through the maritime forest that shades most of the island. Its central spot on the coast also makes it a decent home base if you want to explore further afield.
Figure Eight Island
Not accessible to the general public — the only way in is renting or owning one of roughly 500 vacation homes, and the single bridge onto the island is guarded around the clock.
The rumor is it’s a hideaway for celebrities, CEOs, and anyone else who wants total privacy. If you manage to book a stay, you’ll get one of the quietest beach experiences anywhere in North Carolina.
Topsail Island
Topsail covers Topsail Beach, Surf City, and North Topsail Beach, and it’s a legitimate contender for best beach destination in the state. The name goes back to pirates who’d hide in the channel between the island and the mainland — only their sails were visible from the open water.
There’s 26 miles of sand here, plenty of good food in Surf City, and it’s known as much for its sea turtles as its visitors — the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center runs releases you can watch. Stay at a locally-owned motel or a beachfront rental to stay close to it all.
Holden Beach
One of the better family-friendly beaches in the country, with wide-open space and calm water. Local building codes have kept this a genuinely small-town stretch — no high-rises, just family homes and a handful of quirky waterfront restaurants.
It’s a quick trip from Wilmington, so you’re never far from the action, but the pace here stays slow.
Ocean Isle Beach
South of Holden Beach, north of Myrtle Beach and the SC border, and under an hour from Wilmington. Ocean Isle sees a fraction of the crowds of its neighbors, but it’s not short on things to do — ziplining at The Swamp Park, a summer concert series, and Makai Brewing Company if you want a beer with tropical flavors after a day on the sand.
Bald Head Island
No cars — that’s the whole draw. Take the ferry over from Southport and you’ll only encounter golf carts shuttling between the beach, the golf courses, and a handful of excellent restaurants.
At 12,000 acres, most of the island is protected and undeveloped, so it’s genuinely one of the best places in the state to leave your keys behind and unplug for a few days.
Getting There
Wilmington International Airport (ILM) connects mostly through Charlotte, with some direct flights from Atlanta and Dallas. By car, most of these beaches sit off I-40 or NC-133/NC-211, and a rental car is worth it if you want to hit more than one — Fort Fisher, Kure, and Carolina Beach are easy to string together in a day; Oak Island, Southport, and Bald Head make sense as their own trip.
The Best Wilmington Beaches Map
