North Carolina Beaches for Seashells (Wilmington, Asheville: how much, beach, best)

[Sillypups]

Hope to be coming to NC in the next month or so.
Coming from Midwest...then to Knoxville TN to see family.
We want to drive from Knoxville to the nearest beaches with the best seashells.
Not sure if that would be NC or SC. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[BarLatGo]

You'll have a tough time finding many decent seashells during tourist months. Your best bet is the Outer Banks of NC, with Ocracoke being fairly well-known as a good place for sea shells.

Still, I don't know how much luck you'll have if there are many people around. The best day I ever had shell collecting was on Bald Head Island, near Southport, NC, one freakishly warm March day. I was on the beach all day, saw exactly two other people, and picked up so many perfect starfish, sand dollars, and conch shells I got tired of it and threw all but a handful back in the water.

[Johanna25]

Agree, if you want seashells you need to get there at first light, hopefully at a lowish tide. The number found varies greatly according to season and weather. My best days have been in Fall after a storm to stir things up. The last couple of years shells have been pretty scarce on Topsail, I leave them to the tourists. Don't know how and why they vary so much.

[poppydog]

South Carolina would probably be closer from Knoxville. The Outer Banks would be way out of your way. You could do the Wilmington area, too, but you're probably better of going down to Asheville and then taking 26 down to SC. Check out what the SC people say about good shelling spots.