56 Best Sights in The North Carolina Coast, North Carolina

Family memories are made here on tall ocean piers where kids reel in their first big catches. You can swim, beachcomb, kiteboard over the big blue sea, or scuba dive down to find some of the Cape Fear Coast's dozens of shipwrecks. Wildlife excursions set off from various nature trails, birding sites, and miles of undeveloped beach at the southern end. Shorebirds and loggerhead sea turtles inhabit the remote reserve of Zeke's Island. At Fort Fisher, the Confederacy's largest earthen fort, you can trace Kure Beach's history. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards (generally Memorial Day to Labor Day); parking (mostly no fee). Best for: sunrise; sunset; surfing; swimming; windsurfing.

Reached by ferry from Southport, this beautiful 12,000-acre island resort is a self-contained, car-free community, complete with a grocery store, restaurants (Jules' Salty Grub, on the harbor, and AQUA, at the Shoals Club, are highlights), a marina, two B&Bs, two club complexes with restaurants and pools, and the gorgeous 18-hole George Cobb golf course. There are scores of rental properties, from shingled cottages to luxury homes. You can explore the semitropical island's maritime forest preserve and its 12 miles of deserted beaches on foot, by bicycle, or in a golf cart. Climb to the top of the quaint "Old Baldy" lighthouse, visit the Smith Island Museum to learn about the island's maritime history, watch the loggerhead turtles nest on the beach, or take a guided ghost walk. Walk out onto Cape Fear, the southern tip of the island where the infamous Frying Pan Shoals extend for 30 miles into the ocean, and you'll feel like you're standing on the edge of the continent—you are—and it becomes clear why so many shipwrecks have occurred in these shallow, shifting sands.  The 20-minute ferry ride costs $23 per person round-trip; for most of the year, it leaves Southport's Deep Point Marina on the hour and Bald Head Island on the half hour. Advance reservations are necessary for the ferry and resort. 

Across the Cape Fear River from downtown, take a self-guided tour of a ship that participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific during World War II. Exploring the floating city, with living quarters, a post office, chapel, laundry, and even an ice cream shop, takes about two hours. A climb down into the ship's interior is not for the claustrophobic. A ½-mile timber walkway lets visitors tour the ship's exterior with no cost of admission. The ship, which is open for tours every day of the year, can be reached by car or via river taxi from the downtown waterfront.

The original Bodie (pronounced "body") lighthouse was constructed in 1847 but had to be abandoned in 1859 because of structural issues; the replacement lighthouse was destroyed by Confederate troops in 1861. The current black-and-white-banded, 168-foot-tall lighthouse was completed in 1872 and was last restored in 2013. The original lightkeepers' home, last remodeled in 1992, now serves as a ranger station and information center. From mid-April to mid-October, you can climb the 219 steps to the top. (Children must be at least 42 inches tall, and climbers must weigh less than 260 pounds.) There's also a short raised boardwalk to an observation tower over the marsh, offering an excellent bird-watching vantage.

An ambitious exhibition schedule of historical and contemporary significance, plus a plethora of public educational programs and a clay studio, keep this museum on the cusp of capacity and engagement. The museum's permanent collection, contained in a sleek 40,000-square-foot facility, includes originals by Mary Cassatt and a collection of Seagrove pottery. On the 10-acre grounds are a sculpture park, picnic tables, and restored Confederate defense mounds built during a battle in the waning days of the Civil War.  The museum's CAM Cafe is a local secret for lunch and weekend brunch, with reasonably priced Benedicts, quiches, and sandwiches, plus a dinner menu on Thursdays when they host live jazz. 

Authorized by Congress in 1794 to help prevent shipwrecks, this was the first lighthouse built in the region. The original structure was lost to erosion and Civil War damage; this 1870 replacement is, at 210 feet, the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States. Endangered by the sea, in 1999 the lighthouse, with its distinctive black-and-white spiral paint and red-and-tan base, was raised and rolled some 2,900 feet inland to its present location. A visitor center is located near the base of the lighthouse. In summer the Museum of the Sea in the former keeper's quarters is open, and you can climb the lighthouse's 257 narrow steps to the viewing balcony (children must be 42 inches tall to climb). The lighthouse closed for a rebuild of its steps and windows in 2023, and is scheduled to reopen in 2026. This area also includes a National Park Service campground ($20/night) and a beach with lifeguards from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Bordering the lighthouse to the north is the 1,007-acre Buxton Woods Reserve, one of the largest intact maritime forests in the state. These groves of live oaks and cedars surrounding freshwater marshes can be explored via 7 miles of trails.

A walk—or 4x4 journey—to the south tip of Cape Lookout on South Core Banks feels like standing on the world's edge. The island is watched over by a 169-foot, double-walled lighthouse built in 1859. The structure withstood retreating Confederate troops' attempts to blow it up to keep it out of Union hands (they stole the lens instead). With its white-and-black diamond markings, the beacon continues to function as a navigational aid. A small museum inside the visitor center on Harkers Island tells the story of the lighthouse from its first incarnation in 1812. Anyone 44 inches or taller may climb the tower's 207 steps from mid-May to mid-September, although renovations are underway with a scheduled 2025 reopening. A private ferry, Island Express Ferry Service, runs between both Beaufort and Harkers Island to the lighthouse and rents 4x4 Kubotas ($150/half day) that allow you to explore the entire island.   The National Park Service offers 23 rustic cabins on South Core Banks for an overnight experience. Camping is also allowed on the beach. Either requires reservations via Recreation.gov.

This is one of the South's largest and most important earthworks fortifications from the Civil War, so tough and strategically placed along the Cape Fear River that it was known as the Southern Gibraltar. The fall of the fort in January 1865, closing the last supply lines for the South, helped seal the fate of the Confederacy. You can explore the restored battery with its reconstructed artillery and follow trails along the river. A museum—soon to be replaced by a $25 million new build next door—displays Civil War relics, a fiber-optic battle map, and artifacts from sunken blockade runners. It's also known for its underwater archaeological sites.

Fort Fisher includes a beach access point with showers. It's one of the most attractive beaches in the area.

The centerpiece of this multiuse state park is the 1834 pentagon-shaped fortress, built under the supervision of a young Robert E. Lee. From atop its walls, where six cannons still point out toward the harbor, take in the gorgeous 360-degree views of Beaufort and across the ocean. The fort was briefly used by the Confederacy against the Union during the Civil War, but was quickly surrendered under siege in 1862. A visitor center and museum include exhibits on the ecology of the area, which you can experience firsthand via nearly 4 miles of trails through the 365-acre park that also offers picnic areas and a mile-long beachfront with a large bathhouse, showers, and refreshments. The beach has lifeguards on duty June through Labor Day and is known as one of the best surfing breaks in the Crystal Coast area.

In this vibrant year-round beach town, restored buildings house art galleries, a coffee shop, a bookstore, a charming (active) schoolhouse, and a nonprofit dedicated to the wild horses that wander the beach and surrounding maritime forest.

The road ends in Corolla—to access the beach north of here, you need a 4x4 vehicle.

This is one of the planet's magically beautiful places, and should not be missed—especially at dawn and dusk. The 427 acres of this park encompass the tallest sand dune system on the East Coast (about 80 to 100 feet). Walk along the 384-foot boardwalk from the visitor center to the edge of the dune. The climb to the top is a challenge; nevertheless, it's a popular spot for hang gliding (Kitty Hawk Kites has an outpost here for beginner lessons), kite flying, and sand boarding. You can also explore an estuary, a museum, and a self-guided trail through the park, which also has eight picnic shelters. In summer, join the free Sunset on the Ridge program: watch the sun disappear while you sit on the dunes and learn about their local legends and history. Covered footwear is a wise choice here, as the loose sand gets quite hot (25–30 degrees hotter than air temperature) in the summer months.

The 16 miles of undeveloped shoreline here are often considered some of the best beaches in America. These beaches are among the least visited and most beautiful on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The shelling is amazing, the solitude unparalleled. Four public-access areas are along the highway and easy to spot; just look for large brown-and-white wooden signs. The National Park Service has a mid-island campground ($28/night) with bathrooms, where you can park and sleep just behind the dunes.  There are lifeguards only at the day-use beach ½ mile north of Ocracoke Village in late May through early September. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (no fee); toilets. Best for: sunset; swimming.

This coastal "ghost town" is like nowhere else on the southeastern Atlantic coast, and the few thousand people that make it here each year are stunned to realize it exists.

Inhabited from 1753 until the early 1970s, Portsmouth had 685 permanent residents at its peak in 1860, making it one of the largest settlements on the Outer Banks. It was a "lightering" town, where ships heavy with cargo had to unload to smaller boats that could navigate the shallow Ocracoke Inlet. But the Civil War and the dredging of a deeper inlet at Hatteras were the beginning of the end for the town. By 1956, there were 17 inhabitants; the last two left in 1971. Today, the public can tour the one-room schoolhouse, the Methodist church, the post office and general store, and the turn-of-the-20th-century lifesaving station (a multiroom Coast Guard station), each of which has been restored following the devastating flooding of Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Guided tours are available June 1 to September 1. Bring food, water, and bug spray (the mosquitoes could carry you away). Portsmouth Island Boat Tours runs a small passenger boat from Ocracoke.

This elegant, reconstructed 1770 Georgian building was the colonial capitol and originally the home of Royal Governor William Tryon. Tours are led by witty, engaging docents dressed in period attire and sometimes include cooking demonstrations in the freestanding kitchen. The palace burned to the ground in 1798, and it wasn't until 1959 that a rebuilt, scale replica of the home was completed. Today, only the stable and one basement wall are original, and the foundation has been restored to its original footprint. Everything else has been reconstructed from architectural plans, maps, and letters; and the palace is furnished with English and American antiques corresponding to Governor Tryon's inventory. Additionally, 85% of the books in the library are the same titles as those that were there 200 years ago. The stately John Wright Stanly House (circa 1783), the George W. Dixon House (circa 1830), the Robert Hay House (circa 1805), and the New Bern Academy (circa 1809) are also part of the Tryon Palace complex. You can also stroll through the 18th-century-style formal gardens, which bloom year-round but are especially popular during spring tulip and fall mum seasons. The complex's 60,000-square-foot North Carolina History Center contains two museums providing interactive displays that trace the history of New Bern and the central North Carolina coast.

One of the most popular photo sites on the Outer Banks is the 60-foot granite airplane's tail that pays tribute to Wilbur and Orville Wright, two bicycle mechanics from Ohio who took to the air here on December 17, 1903. A sculptured replica of their WrightFlyer and stone markers showing the exact points and distances soared help you experience the historic day humans first made powered flight—and the multiyear, trial-and-error process the perseverant brothers endured leading up to it. Informative talks by National Park Service rangers also help bring the event to life. The museum and visitor center uses historical artifacts, reproductions, and displays to dive into the lives, legends, and flight process of the brothers.

This garden's 67 lush acres feature azaleas, magnolias, and camellias that flourish near two freshwater lakes that attract waterfowl. This is not an ornate flower garden—it's more of a naturally beautiful place to take a stroll beside the river, enjoying native plants in bloom, trailside sculptures, and abundant birdlife. Take note of the greatest specimen in the gardens: a gargantuan five-century-old oak. June through October you can flutter among 300 to 400 butterflies in the huge butterfly house. The last tickets of the day are sold a half hour before closing. No pets (except service animals) are permitted.

Just across the harbor from Beaufort—but three bridges driving—this beach is a family-friendly spot known for its wide stretches of sand (even at high tide) and beautiful green water. Free outdoor movies, movie festivals, playgrounds, and a park are featured on the town's Circle. A boardwalk fronts part of the clean, wide beach, where buoys mark lifeguard-protected swimming areas. It's home to Fort Macon, a renowned surf break, and several bustling, quality restaurants, including Amos Mosquito's, the Island Grille, and the Idle Hour Biergarten. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; toilets. Best for: surfing; swimming; windsurfing.

In the center of town, the historic site consists of 10 buildings dating from 1732 to 1859, including the 1796 Carteret County Courthouse and the 1859 Apothecary Shop and Doctor's Office. Don't miss the Old Burying Grounds (1709), where Otway Burns, a privateer in the War of 1812, is buried under his ship's cannon; a nine-year-old girl who died at sea is buried in a rum keg; and an English soldier saluting the king is buried upright in his grave. Tours of the entire 12-block historic site, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places, either on an English-style double-decker bus or by guided walk, depart from the visitor center. For a self-guided tour, download the free walking tour brochure from the website and put on your walking shoes—Beaufort has about 150 historic houses with plaques that list their date of construction and original owner.

In honor of the soda's 100th anniversary in 1998, the local bottling company opened the Birthplace in the same corner store where teacher-turned-pharmacist Caleb Bradham brewed his first batch of "Brad's Drink." He later renamed it Pepsi-Cola, marketing the syrup to other soda fountains, and a conglomerate was born. This old-fashioned shop feels like a museum, with its reproduction of Bradham's fountain and exhibits of memorabilia, including the original recipe that included coriander, nutmeg, and a half gallon of alcohol. Enjoy an ice-cold bottle of Pepsi while roaming the gift shop, full of Pepsi history and souvenirs ranging from T-shirts to thimbles.

On May 11, 1942, the HMS Bedfordshire, an armed British trawler on loan to the United States, was torpedoed by a German U-boat and sank with all 37 hands lost off the coast of Ocracoke Island. The men were buried on Ocracoke in a corner of the community graveyard. The wreck was discovered in 1980 and some artifacts were recovered. It's still frequented by divers.

About 10 miles north of Southport, you can explore the ruins and excavations of a colonial town and see the Civil War earthworks of Fort Anderson. The visitor center has a video presentation and a museum of historical items found at the site. Living-history events with costumed interpreters range from Civil War reenactments to colonial-era cooking demonstrations. It's also a great spot for a picnic.

The colonial Georgian-style house General Cornwallis used as his headquarters in 1781 was built in 1770 (making it the oldest home in Wilmington open to the public) on the foundations of a jail where both European and enslaved African prisoners were imprisoned. After a fine, furnished restoration, this colonial gentleman's town house, framed by two stately magnolias, is now a museum that includes several small gardens, including an orchard, a rose garden, and a kitchen garden, along with an 18th-century debtors prison. The names of the enslaved people who toiled here are acknowledged in one display. The ground floor also includes a small art gallery and gift shop almost exclusively stocked by local artisans and authors. Tours are given on the hour, until 3 pm.

The fossilized skeleton of a 1.5-million-year-old giant sloth (20 feet long, 6,000 pounds) makes a great photo backdrop as you enter North Carolina's oldest continuously operating museum, founded in 1898. The chronological Cape Fear Stories exhibit includes a room-sized diorama of colonial Wilmington and traces local history from early Native Americans through the Civil War to the 20th century. There's also an interactive model of the International Space Station, a case of mementos from basketball star Michael Jordan, and a kid-friendly nature-based wing with an oversized Venus flytrap and a beaver dam children can crawl inside. A rotating exhibit space displays photographs and items on loan from the Smithsonian Institution.

With a 100-foot-tall Ferris wheel, flashing arcade lights, seashell souvenirs, and paddleboats on the small inland lake, Carolina Beach's old-fashioned boardwalk is steeped in nostalgic charm, most evident at Britts Donut Shop, an institution since 1939 that still sells its glazed beauties for an even buck. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); toilets. Best for: sunrise; windsurfing.

This restored lifesaving station is now a museum that tells the story of the brave people who manned 29 stations that once lined the Outer Banks. These were the precursors to today's Coast Guard, with staff who rescued people and animals from seacraft in distress. Eight incredibly well-preserved buildings (given the frequency of hurricanes here) on 7 acres include a cookhouse, bathhouse, stables, workshop, and the original 1874 lifesaving station. You'll see original equipment and tools, artifacts, and exhibits. A 1907 cottage moved to the site portrays 19th- and early-20th-century life along the Outer Banks. Just across the street, there's a pirate-themed playground for once children tire of all the history. "Chicamacomico" is an Algonquin word meaning "land of shifting sands."

In the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, but just a few miles south of Nags Head, Coquina is considered by locals to be one of the loveliest beaches in the Outer Banks. The wide-beam ribs of the 1921 shipwreck Laura Barnes rest in the dunes here. Hurricanes have scattered the remains and covered them with sand, making them difficult, if not impossible, to discern. Amenities: lifeguards (late May–early September); parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunrise; swimming.

Adjacent to the visitor's center and ferry to Cape Lookout, this towering wood structure feels like the private hunting lodge of a well-to-do club of duck hunters, and you're invited to relax in the library stocked with books by outdoor enthusiasts and to browse the collections of duck decoys, patterned quilts, and Harkers Island ephemera. Be sure to walk to the top of Lookout Tower for views across the sound to Shackleford Banks and South Core Banks. A gift shop features local art built from driftwood and seashells.

The 1875 lighthouse was built from nearly 1 million bricks, which remain unpainted on the exterior. Except in high winds or thunderstorms, or during winter when the lighthouse is closed, you can climb 220 steps to the top of the northernmost lighthouse on the Outer Banks, taking in the view toward Virginia and south to Nags Head.

These lush gardens are a 10-acre re-creation of 16th-century English gardens, established as an elaborate memorial to the first English colonists. Walk through the brick and wrought-iron entrance to see antique statuary, wildflowers, rose gardens, a 400-year-old giant oak tree, and a sunken garden—something will be in bloom almost any time you visit. The gatehouse, designed in the style of a 16th-century orangery, serves as a reception center and gift and plant shop. There's also a butterfly garden and a kids' pirate-themed play area. Dogs (one per person) are permitted for an additional $3.

Fort Raleigh is a restoration of the original 1584–90 earthworks that mark the beginning of English-colonial history in America. The site has been identified as the original site of the doomed Lost Colonists, and the question that hangs in the air here is "What happened to the 117 men, women, and children of the 1587 expedition who disappeared without a trace?" A nature trail through the 513-acre grounds leads to an outlook over Croatan Sound. Native American and Civil War history is also preserved here.