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Looking for a kid friendly beach town in NC for the 4th of July next year. Sick of OC MD, would prefer a place with a few good restaurant options without seeing drunk teenagers everywhere at 11pm. We like a few South Jersey towns but it’s very hard to find pet friendly options there. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..
PS: We do like to eat out - so good restaurant options would be nice; not looking for a “dead” town either, a quaint boardwalk with rides and go carts would be nice too. I was looking at Carolina and a few OB towns but I don’t know much about them. A calm surf would be ideal but I’m assuming the surf is about the same based on weather conditions
Last edited by mdteacher; 06-09-2021 at 09:54 PM..
Surf City would be nice and it has decent resaurants. As said they are all family-friendly and mostly quiet. Carolina Beach is the only one with a "boardwalk", and it has a few rides. I don't know of any go-carts.
The surf on the Outer Banks is probably higher than anywhere else. BTW, you should probably make reservations for next year already.
Wilmington has decent restaurants, boardwalk not so much. Nice beaches. Those South Jersey towns do it big with the boardwalks, restaurants, and attractions. The one in Carolina Beach is a few random rides and games. More or less like walking in and out of a cul-de-sac. Not a whole lot of restaurant options on CB for as many people that it attracts during the season. From what I've been told, OBX doesn't have much there other than beautiful beaches and fantastic fishing. If you're into history while having plenty of beach options and end up venturing outside NC, you can check out Charleston.
If you want attractions like rides and mini-golf, go to Myrtle Beach. We used to have a family-owned skating rink at Topsail Beach, bit it closed.
I was under the impression it would be a lot like OC MD... Is it more family friendly there? And I'm not saying OC is bad, I just like town like Cape May, NJ where families are still riding bikes/golf carts on the street at 11pm - whereas OC it's mostly late teens -20 somethings...
I was under the impression it would be a lot like OC MD... Is it more family friendly there?....
Many families go to Myrtle Beach, but I was being sarcastic about Myrtle Beach. I do not like it because it seems commercial and trashy in comparison to North Carolina beaches.....But if you want go-carts, you could make an excursion from Carolina or Wrightsville Beach into Wilmington for the Jungle Rapids Family Fun Park.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Originally Posted by mdteacher
I was under the impression it would be a lot like OC MD... Is it more family friendly there? And I'm not saying OC is bad, I just like town like Cape May, NJ where families are still riding bikes/golf carts on the street at 11pm - whereas OC it's mostly late teens -20 somethings...
Most of the beaches in NC that I have been to are more sparse and subdued than those in the Mid-Atlantic. Cape May is my happy place - we've been going there every summer since the early 1980s. I agree about Ocean City, MD, although Ocean City, NJ is great and very family-friendly since it is a dry town. I haven't been to all of the beach towns in NC yet, but so far I haven't found one that is like Cape May where you can park your car for the week and have several dozen restaurants, various activities like community theatre, trolley tours, nature centers, a lighthouse, shopping, etc. all within walking distance.
The most similar town in NC I know of is Southport, but you have to head over to Oak Island for the beach, as there is no beach in Southport. I liked Ocracoke, too. It is a cute town but is more difficult to get to. Topsail is pretty cute - but the "town" part is pretty small. The other beaches in NC that I have been to also have small commercial areas. Wrightsville has a very small commercial area with a pizza place, surf shop, Mexican food place etc. and a few other places and then you can drive to Wilmington to do more activities like a few museums, walk along the river, more restaurants, etc. That might be a good compromise. Good luck!
ETA: Topsail was pet-friendly. Dogs are allowed on the beach leashed. That is actually why we ended up going there one time.
I should have mentioned that the most common accomodations of Topsail Island are houses where the usual rental contract is one week, from Saturday to Saturday. The are a few motels where you might get a long weekend rental. We have stayed at Tiffany's in Surf City, which has clean and simple housekeeping units.
I understand that most of Ocean City Maryland has mid-rise hotel units, which are easier for a group of teenagers to rent. The expense fo a house rental on Topsail Island tends to keep them reserved for families. Some have 6 bedrooms and attract extended families.
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