Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
lamishra - Can you clarify the swimming/current comment? I doubt any of my family, me included, is going more than waist deep into the water. Wrightsville seems ever popular though that's the reason I was considering skipping it for our first visit to take off some of the crowded pressure.
As far as stuff being there. All I need is a place to park, some toilets, a clean sandy beach with wade-able water, and maybe a couple of restaurants though we're planning to pack our own food. I thought the aquarium being close would be a good mid-day diversion after lunch to break up the day or to visit if the weather turns sour.
There is a really nice sand bar at Fort Fisher. You can walk out pretty far into the ocean (well, it would be waist deep in some areas) and have the water be up to your calves. Just use caution of course.
I like Wings, don't get me wrong, but its a bit overpriced. We stopped at Kmart in Wilmington on the way in and got boogie boards for under $10. They run anywhere from $20-50 at Wings, etc. Its hard to find good beach stuff in the triangle which is why I always wait to hit up Walmart & Kmart down by the coast.
Fort Fisher is again, really nice because they have the restrooms, the picnic areas, a snack stand and the aquarium is right there so you can get out of the heat. There are other great places to stop at along the NC coast that you can find similar accomendations but thats the only one that really comes to mind for me. Head into Kure (which you drive right through into Fort Fisher), they have some really good restaurants. We always stop at the Tastee Freeze for an ice cream cone on the way out.
This is straight from the Kure Beach town municipal code to clear up any confusion:
Sec. 4-17. Dog on beach. It shall be unlawful for any person to have or allow their dog to be upon the beach strand of Kure Beach during the period of April 1 through September 30 of each year.
This is straight from the Kure Beach town municipal code to clear up any confusion:
Sec. 4-17. Dog on beach. It shall be unlawful for any person to have or allow their dog to be upon the beach strand of Kure Beach during the period of April 1 through September 30 of each year.
Right - so make sure you keep going past Kure Beach to Ft Fisher (not considered part of Kure's beach strand). Ft Fisher's regs state:
Quote:
Pets must be on a leash no longer than six feet. Pets are not allowed in the changing facility or swimming areas.
Division of Parks and Recreation--Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Rules and regulations (http://www.ils.unc.edu/parkproject/visit/fofi/rules.html - broken link)
The swimming area is a designated area with lifeguards. When we were there, we just stuck to an area where we didn't see any lifeguards, and had no problems with our dog being there.
I took the fam' to Fort Fisher this past Saturday and thought I'd share my review.
* It was a tough extra 22 miles to pass the first beach exits and continue all the way to Fort Fisher. That extra 22 miles doesn't sound like much until you hit bumper-to-bumper Carolina Beach traffic.
* The beach itself was great and everything described before - easy free parking, picnic area with grill, bathrooms, snack bar, nice beach, not too crowded, nice sandbar which gives the immediate beach a protected shallow area for the small kids to play in without getting directly pummeled by waves.
* The aquarium is right next door and great for escaping inclimate weather which we experienced in the late afternoon when a thunder storm rolled in. However, the aquarium is small and only good for 60-90 minutes with low-attention-span children.
If I had to give it one ding in my ratings it'd be the lack of lifegaurds. None are officially provided though I saw what looked to be lifegaurds hanging out on a 6-wheel ATV with a surfboard mounted on top.
Unrelated to my personal review there was an interesting billboard around Kure Beach claiming Fort Fisher is "unfair" since it's not a 24 hour beach.
There's a ton of restaurants on the main road but forget eating seafood on a Saturday night without waiting 1+ hours. At Michael's I was told a 45 minute wait for my party of 3 adults and 3 small children and over 90 minutes later I was still waiting and received no sympathy or ETA from the hostess so we left and ate some Mexican up the road which was OK.
Was probably a 3.5 hour drive from North Raleigh to the beach due to the heavy beach traffic getting there. And I believe a short 3 hour drive home since there was barely any traffic on the way home.
We went to Fort Fisher beach yesterday. The drive to the beach was fine, but once the afternoon storm rolled in...it took us over an hour to get to the highway! When the storm did roll in though, lifeguards were immediately on the beach whistles blaring ordering everyone out of the water...so I know they were there. We continued to play in the water after it started to rain, but once it started lightening it was evacuated.
The beach itself was wonderful. Dogs are allowed on leashes. We will definately be heading back again sometime very soon. The free parking with huge lot is a top selling point.
We went to Fort Fisher beach yesterday. The drive to the beach was fine, but once the afternoon storm rolled in...it took us over an hour to get to the highway! When the storm did roll in though, lifeguards were immediately on the beach whistles blaring ordering everyone out of the water...so I know they were there. We continued to play in the water after it started to rain, but once it started lightening it was evacuated.
The beach itself was wonderful. Dogs are allowed on leashes. We will definately be heading back again sometime very soon. The free parking with huge lot is a top selling point.
I also want to add, most of the beach access spots are very small parking lots. Some are free, some you have to pay a meter. Most of these have already been taken. So, think of it this way: you can hit Wrightsville beach, drive around the main parking lot trying to find someone who is actually leaving and not getting an extra drink or go up & down the main road to the 5-6 car parking lots that never seem to have an extra space...add this in to lines of traffic, people crossing the streets at all sections and seeing glimpses of the water between motels. This is why I always take that extra 22 miles to the huge parking lot at Fort Fisher. Drive in, park, hit the beach.
Just keep that in mind!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
