This is one of the most beautiful Coastal cities you will ever visit. We have been going here on…read morevacation since I was a little kid. My father actually grew up here and the city has certainly change over the years into a great tourist destination. Beautiful homes are everywhere in and around the city as well as some of the best dining you will find anywhere. You are just minutes to some of the best beaches in the state where you can still rent a "beach house" for a week and spend your vacation staying right on the water in a fully furnished house instead of cramped in a hotel room

Extremely friendly and helpful staff!!! Very interesting historical place. The view is amazing. If…read moreyou are visiting the area stop here first. If you have any questions the staff can help you out!

The Fort Johnston-Southport Museum and Visitors Center is the perfect place to start off your visit…read moreto Southport, NC. It's a great way to get acquainted with this small town and learn a little about their film and local history. The building dates back to 1746 and is perfectly situated across from the water, with chairs out front to sit in to enjoy the view. Best of all, it's free to visit. I especially loved the room with exhibits about movies and television shows that have been filmed in Southport over the years (they were filming a Netflix show on the waterfront when I visited). It's also the meeting point for Southport Fun Tours, which I highly recommend. While the museum isn't going to knock your socks off, it's perfect for a town the size of Southport, and a place you can easily cover within a few minutes if you're in a time crunch.

The geography of the United States doesn't have too many sharp corners but this one near Wilmington…read moreis a corner where North Carolina and the Cape Fear River kind of juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. If you're not going to take the ferry over to Bald Island and/or ride down from Kure Beach, this is as close as you'll get. The lighthouse was replaced in 1958 and today runs four 2.5 million candlepower lenses that produce four one-second burst of light every ten seconds. The tower is 153 feet tall. The luminous range is an astonishing 24 nautical miles. The lighthouse does open for tours but not during off-season and I couldn't tell you if they're closed because of COVID. You can still stop by, walk the nearby boardwalk to the beach and view this wonderful structure. Interestingly, the tower is not painted. The white and black colors were actually mixed into the 8 inch thick walls before it was poured and set. There is limited parking nearby and don't park on the roadway. [Review 13978 overall, round number 1300 of 2020, number 2618 in North Carolina.]

Fun lighthouse. It is a ladder instead of a staircase so for those who have a fear of heights. Yeah…read moreGL. View was great

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.

This marker is alongside River Road between Wilmington and the Caswell/Oak Island beaches. It is in…read moregood condition and there is a grassy area where you can stop. Probably not legally, but I was only here for a minute. The marker reads, "Major General Howe was the commander of Southern Department of the Continental Line, 1776-78, and North Carolina's highest ranking officer. Lived 4 1/2 miles east." Online, there is more information. "Robert Howe, Continental army general, was born in 1732 in New Hanover County. Howe inherited a considerable fortune from his parents and grandparents, owning several large plantations in the New Hanover and Bladen counties. He served in several minor public posts in Bladen County, including as a militia captain and magistrate in the 1750s and 1760s. After Brunswick County formed, Howe was elected to the colonial assembly, a post he held for six consecutive terms. He also served as a militia officer for Brunswick County, and commanded Fort Johnston from 1769 to 1773. During the War of the Regulation, Howe commanded that artillery of Governor William Tryon at the Battle of Alamance." "At the outbreak of the Revolution, Howe served as a member of the Wilmington Committee of Safety and led the local militia that took control of Fort Johnston. On September 1, 1775, Howe was appointed colonel of the 2nd North Carolina Continental regiment. After the death of James Moore in 1777, Howe was appointed to succeed him as commander of the Southern Department and was promoted to major general on October 20, 1777." "Howe returned home in 1783 at the war's end, intent on resuming his life as a planter. In 1786 he was elected to the House of Commons, however he died on December 14, while traveling to the meeting of the body. He was the highest-ranking officer from North Carolina to serve in the American Revolution." [Review 14233 overall, 1556 of 2020, number 2676 in North Carolina.]

Great All Around Highly Recommend for the family.The dolphins were awesome! The crew were very nice…read moreand knowledgeable.

We came back again this year and had a blast! It was a totally different experience than last year,…read morewhich made it totally worth it. No dolphins this year, but we did get to go out further thanks to calmer waters and the captain was very knowledgeable on all of the history of the area. I would definitely still recommend this to anyone!

Whenever I go back up to the Northeast to visit, I like to pickup something coastal for the…read morekiddies, this is my go to spot!! Not only am I supporting the Southport Maritime Museum programs (all gift shop proceeds are returned to the museum) but encouraging an appreciation and lessons of our local maritime history for their future visits!! Not to mention the shop is filled with adult books on local maritime lore. A hidden Southport treasure!!

The North Carolina Maritime Museum is a very modestly sized free museum located behind the visitors…read morecenter in Southport. Though it's only one large interior room, it packs a lot of local maritime history within. I'm not a big history buff, so I breezed through in less than 10 minutes, but found it fits in perfectly for a small town on the water like Southport. It also helps that it's right behind the visitors center and just off the core of the historic business district of Southport. I'd recommend a visit if you had some free time in Southport or if you're interested in the maritime history of the area. There's a small gift shop near the entrance and adjacent restrooms.

The Old Smithville Burying Ground is a beautiful old cemetery. Smithville was the original name of…read morethe town now named Southport. It is thought to be the oldest cemetery in Brunswick County. The oak trees and shrubs make this a peaceful place to wander and explore history. The gravesites go back to the 1700s and include Revolutionary War soldiers to those lost when a steamship sank to those working on the Cape Fear lost at sea to those that helped make Southport what it is today.

as much as I enjoy an interesting bridge there's plenty of things worse than a boring bridge…read more.. like collapsed bridges. collapsed bridges are way worse than boring bridges when said bridge is part of your daily commute... gotta hate detours on the way to work because part of the road is on the bottom of the intracoastal waterway... not a whole lot of anything here for the wind to grab hold of and nothing much to obstruct the flow of waters so this one should hold up well. yeah for low maintenance bridges for putting lots of time and miles between now and the here-after. also yeah for emergency response during and after crises. double yeah for boring!!

The G. V. Barbee Senior Bridge carries North Carolina route 133 across the Intracoastal Waterway…read moreand connects Oak Island with the mainland. The bridge is 4250 feet long and is 65 feet high. 37 separate concrete girder main spans on top of 28 hollow core concrete slab approach spans. The bridge has two lanes with a double-yellow in between. There is a decently wide pedestrian/breakdown lane on each side. A number of repairs were recently completed including replacement of the concrete slabs and barrier rails, the roadway was resurfaced and some on the pier caps and columns. Originally a swing bridge back in the 1930s that was destroyed by a barge strike in 1971, the current replacement bridge was opened for traffic in 1975 and is named for a distinguished Oak Island resident. The Barbee bridge is one of two that goes to Oak Island. The Swain's Cut Bridge is about 6 miles west and brings SR 906 over the Intracoastal. [Review 13977 overall, 1299 of 2020, number 2617 in North Carolina.]