Wow - we finally discovered this park on our third trip to Carolina Beach. It is so peaceful and…read morebeautiful. We visited the camp office ATL use the restrooms before hiking. There is a small exhibit area about some of the animals, geology, geography, and history of the area. We hiked the 3 mile Sugar Loaf trail. It was more challenging than expected due to the sand. The weather was very pleasant the day we went in the spring. We saw quite a few other people enjoying the trail and having picnics. We heard a lot of birds including woodpeckers. The variety of trees and pinecones during our hike was fascinating.

This place is beautiful and so natural. Love it. The trails are windy. Use an app because I got off…read moretrack a few times and ended up taking the scenic route. That was okay. It was a beautiful way to pass the time.

Beautiful & well maintained beach & recreation center with restrooms in the Fort Fisher area. One…read moreof the finest beach experiences in my life and one of the fewest non commercialized beaches I ever visited. Only 15 or less miles away from Wilmington where I was staying at for the summer. I loved how clean and well maintained the area is - perfect for peaceful and quiet times at the beach. Parking is free and vast. It isn't as crowded as the other beaches and not commercialized like the other beaches. We visited early in the morning when we went to Fort Fisher to avoid traffic and to get ideal parking. It doesn't get too crowded like most beaches in the summer but more people tend to come to this area near noon time when we usually departed from the beach. The restrooms were always clean when I used them . Rare for me to see such clean restrooms. The cleaning area to get sand off the feet was always busy when we were leaving the beach and cleaning off our feet - with a line to wait . We stayed 3-4 hours a day at this beach. The views are beautiful. I would sit in the ocean so I could soak in the sun and ocean waves on the beach. Packed on the sunscreen and kept layering after a few hours. I checked out this exhibit and visitor center here. It is worth checking out if you would like to know more about the Fort Fisher Beach. Overall, this is one of the finest, cleanest, pure, non commercialized, and most peaceful beaches I ever visited. Time flew fast and hours felt like minutes there. I noticed there was no trash on the beach and rules were posted at the entrance of the beach. Every day was peaceful on this beach. I could go to this beach every day in summer and plan to visit it as much as possible.

Pleasant trip and clean beaches. Love that the beach has restroom access and life guards. Also love…read morethat there are life preservers hanging on posts. Parking was convenient. Recommend this beach. Photographs also posted on Instagram 3spade7star_photography and Facebook ThreeSpade SevenStar

Love this place, skatepark, basketball court, tennis courts (pickleball), playground, baseball,…read moresoccer, clean restrooms, big open spaces. We have been to this park for birthday parties, sports leagues, fun days, dog park visits, and school events. I wish a few more mature trees were saved for more shade but other than that... great park.

We had some time before check-in so we took our son to this park. I have a skateboard area which…read morewas very cool. The playground was very nice. There was also access to the greenway and nice bathrooms.

The gift shop at Kure Beach Fishing Pier is hands down the best souvenir shop on the beach! They…read morehave a huge selection of high-quality T-shirts, hats, keychains, and all kinds of souvenirs that are much nicer than what we found at other shops. The prices were fair, and everything felt well-made instead of cheap tourist merchandise. It was also a nice bonus that the pier is free to walk, so we were able to enjoy the views before shopping. If you're looking for beach souvenirs that you'll actually want to keep, this is the place to go!

Great fishing access. Free to walk and watch. Just be careful, fisherman here are packed in pretty…read moreright. Saw lots of small fish caught. Great little shop with food and bait and souvenirs and tackle...pretty much anything you could need at a pier....except the motivation to go fish in the chilly wind:)

July 2026 - The Fort Fisher Historic Site was on my list of places to see near Wilmington, North…read moreCarolina . Ft Fisher,an ancient fort during the Civil War in the 1800s, is a preserved historic site with a visitor center. The remains of the fort with walking trails are by the visitor center and both are opened to the public. The visitor center is a fairly new building has exhibit galleries, a movie cinema room, the Friends of Fort Fisher Gift Shop, an Activity Hall, and public restrooms. Ft. Fisher has a fascinating history. It was a vital port of Wilmington during the Civil War & supplied necessary goods to Confederate armies inland. The museum on the second floor has an outdoor balcony to view the remains of Ft. Fisher and the trails. It also has exhibition galleries and areas with displays of ancient artifacts, photographs, and information about Fort Fisher and the people who lived in the area & created the Fort, and its role in the Civil War and its history throughout the years. I stayed in the visitor center about 30 minutes and wished I could stay longer. I was able to see all the exhibits and see some of the videos about the fort in the cinema room. If you want to engage completely in the exhibits, go on the scavenger hunt, history, walk the trails, and see the remains, plan your visit accordingly to stay for a few hours. This would have been ideal for me. I plan to visit again and walk the trails to see the remains next time.

A stroll outside of the museum is very nice. Lots to walk through, explore, and learn for the…read morekiddos. Beautiful scenery and very clean. Across the street is the Oceanside that also has paths to walk. Walking over the marsh is probably my favorite.

Much different than it was in the day. Less glamour. More glitz. Walking access to the front door…read morepresents a genuine obstacle course. Our lunch was exceptional The personnel fantastic. The facility was very clean.

I have now been to the North End a handful of times and it generally is a great time, but you need…read moreto plan to come. I came with a good group of people, beer, and some food for a day of fun. We came super early at 10AM this past Saturday and spent the whole day here. If we had not showed up at 10AM then we would have been in trouble. Today was the first day in the parks history that they closed it because of capacity. Half the beach was closed because a storm the night before washed it away. The price for one day is $40 dollars, but if it is a holiday then it is $60 dollars. You can get a year pass which is really the only way to do it if you plan on coming twice in a year. There are portable potty's, but I dislike how dirty they usually are so I didn't even bother to find out. Use the ocean for number 1 and pray that you don't need to number 2. The water on the north most part of the park is fairly gentle and calm to the beach side so it is perfect for setting up rafts or tubes. You can have drinks as long as there are no bottles present, or just dump them in a plastic cup. I am not sure when that part of the beach will be open again since the storm washed it away. The park is pretty clean and I saw a lot of people throwing stuff away in the blue bins like they are supposed to. The beach is dog friendly and you will see various cute doggies loose and about. There seems to be a lot of security as I saw trucks and quads with that slow po po crawl by pretty often. At least you will be safe. Also worth mentioning is that you can fish here. I saw tons of people throwing in a line or two and even some guys catching crabs not too far from shore.

DO NOT GO -- Save Your Money!…read more Absolutely terrible experience. There is nothing fun or relaxing about this beach! The fire department and lifeguards are constantly yelling at people and making everyone feel like they're doing something wrong. We even watched them randomly kick people off the beach, and there seemed to be no clear reason for it. A beach is supposed to be somewhere you can relax, have fun, and enjoy the day--not somewhere you feel like you're constantly being watched, yelled at, or waiting to be told what you can and can't do. With the city and beach reportedly being nearly $2 million in debt, it's honestly not surprising if this is the kind of experience visitors and locals (like us) are getting. People aren't going to keep coming back to a beach where they can't actually enjoy themselves. Save yourself the frustration and go somewhere else. There are plenty of beaches where you can actually relax, have fun, and enjoy your day without being constantly hassled. I would absolutely avoid this beach at all cost. Sadly a year ago this beach was NOT like this, used to be so different a year ago!

Skip Carolina Beach $50 parking and drive 3 miles south to Kure parking is $20 per day. Closest…read moreparking directions type in GPS 'Hi-Tech Arcade'. Pro tip: drive another south 3 miles to the NC aquarium there's free parking and access to the beach @ Fort Fisher State Recreation Area

This a gorgeous and peaceful park that is absolutely BRIMMING with birds and turtles. We love…read morebirdwatching and we saw our first tri-colored heron and snowy egret here today! There were also several ducks, a few different gulls, doves, bluebirds, grackles, and sparrows. There is a story walk where you can walk and read a picture book with your kids, a nice playground, and lots of swings and benches. We will definitely be coming back here to look for more interesting birds and enjoy the scenery. As the previous reviewer mentioned, the parking lot is small but there are some street parking areas nearby.

This is a beautiful little lake right in the middle of Carolina Beach. They have a wildlife…read morehabitat, paddle boat rentals, a walking path, restrooms, and so much more. There is even a shelter to rent. They hold special events here like family night movies and vendors of all kinds. It is such a well lit, beautiful place that feels very safe. There are restaurants surrounding it and condos. There is not a lot of parking but you can use the side streets. There is plenty of wildlife and fun things to learn as you read posts around the lake.

Searching for True Love & Forgiveness? Talk to GOD and get a…read moreDOG! #ReflectDogs Love & Forgiveness This is another one of those dog parks that somebody intelligently stuck between the outfields of two baseball diamonds!! It is mostly sand but has a little grass around the edges. It has a couple very nice shade structures with picnic tables underneath them as well as multiple other places to relax and sit. There is a nice concrete double-gated entry area as well as a poop bag dispenser and trash can. You park in a little beachy parking lot right next to the dog park. Although it's not that big the dogs tire out easily running in the sand. All the picnic tables are on nice concrete bases

Cute lil park by the beach. Lots of place to fish. Playground and areas to grill. Nice place to…read morewatch boats along the waterways. Located 2 miles from Carolina Beach.