6 Best Sights in The North Carolina Coast, North Carolina

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.

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.

Nags Head is home to some of the Southeastern U.S. coastline's most compelling topography, and its forested ridges and valleys can be explored at this 1,200-acre preserve operated by the Nature Conservancy. Take a 3.3-mile loop hike to a seasonal pond or walk the short ADA-compliant trail through the woods. Look out for deer, 50 species of reptiles and amphibians, and more than 150 species of birds. Don't underestimate your hike—there are short but steep sandy ascents throughout this ecosystem of ancient sand dunes.

A 306,000-gallon habitat for sharks, fish, and a sea turtle—built around a replica of a German submarine (sunk nearby in 1942)—is the largest aquarium tank in the state. There's also a tank with a replica debris field of Blackbeard's flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, and a river otter exhibit. But the biggest standout of this location among the three major North Carolina aquariums is a 0.6-mile nature trail that winds through a wooded peninsula until its terminus on Bogue Sound, with nearly 360-degree views of the marsh and water.

Spanning the length of Beaufort's waterfront, just across Taylor's Creek, this 2,315-acre reserve consists of islands and marshes that serve as a seasonal home to more than 200 bird species and the permanent home to a small herd of wild horses. There's a short nature trail on Carrot Island, or walk the beach on Sand Dollar Island. Access is via boat or kayak.

This quarter-mile trail through a 124-acre preserve leads to Springer's Point, a sound-side beach where Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard) gathered with fellow pirates and ultimately met his demise in a battle with British naval lieutenant Robert Maynard. The enchanting trail traverses maritime forest and coastal marsh.

There is no parking at the trailhead—walk or bike from the village.