Quote:
Originally Posted by HoopsShorty23
It is finally about time for our long awaited
1) are there any towns along this stretch that have a boardwalk, the kind that fronts the water and has the little shops and snack shacks?
2) where is a really really good place to eat dinner out on that stretch of coast? not too pricey, definitely not touristy, the kind of place a local would go to because the food just can't be beat?
3) any recommendations of a good beach to let the kids run around and have some fun for a little while?
Thank you in advance to anyone who can provide input.
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Beaufort has a very nice boardwalk along Taylor's Creek and their marina, there are plenty of shops there. I have seen dolphins in Taylor's Creek and sometimes you can see the wild ponies from the boardwalk. You can also take a boat from Beaufort to Cape Lookout.
There are also restaurants along the boardwalk, but in general they are pricey.
There is a picture of the Beaufort boardwalk in
a travel guide for Beaufort (http://coastalnc.org/beaufortnctravelguide - broken link) that I did.
I can recommend a few places that are not touristy. The first is in Beaufort and is called the Net House. It isn't fancy and prices are a little lower than most of the main street Beaufort restaurants.
Noname Pizza which is on the way out town on 70E is one of the less expensive places to eat in Beaufort, it is good for kids also. It won't have seafood like the Nethouse though.
If you want to go a little farther and get something with more atmosphere, I can recommend The
Crab Shack (http://coastalnc.org/crabshack - broken link) in Salter path. It has very reasonable seafood prices, is a favorite of some of us locals and is on the water. Though it doesn't sound like you have time, I had a great
bowl of steamed blue crabs (http://coastalnc.org/bowlofcrabs - broken link) there a few weeks ago.
You can check my slowly growing
Coastal NC Restaurant site for more recommendations.
If you head down from Beaufort to Emerald Isle, my suggestion would be to cut over at Morehead City and drive down the beach on Route 58 from Atlantic Beach to Emerald Isle. The Crab Shack is just before you get to Emerald Isle.
There is a small board walk right on the beach just when you come into Altantic beach. There are a couple of snack shops there. We haven't tried them but we have walked the beach there. If you can find parking it is a nice beach.
My favorite beaches are in Emerald Isle, the smallest and usually most private is 3rd Street Beach. It only has a handful of parking spots, but there is no changing facility or bathrooms. It is usually a great shelling beach.
After that my favorite would be
Emerald Isle's Eastern Regional Access. It has the full deal, bathrooms, water to wash your feet and showers. It is not quiet as fancy as the Western Regional Access which has a large paved parking lot and volley ball courts and picnic tables.
However the Eastern Access is usually less crowed and I find it nicer for walking. It usually has a gentle slope but you never know as beaches change.
The surf was up there today because of the storm that was here this weekend. These are
pictures from the Eastern Regional Access point that we snapped before going to eat at the Crab Shack this evening. It was not the kind of day to let kids get more than knee deep in the surf because of the storm driven waves.
These are
beach shots taken on a more normal day.
You can check my two other sites,
Southern Outer Banks and
Coastal Paradise for more info.
Swansboro which is near Emerald Isle also has nice shops along main street which runs along the water. Ice House and Jana's are reasonably priced at lunch. T&W's Oyster House on 58 has more character than many can handle, but the Grouper sandwiches are hard to beat and reasonably priced.
Send me a note if I have missed anything that you need to know.
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