Love this beach area! It is on the much quieter side which is nice…read more Anyway, we headed this way, as they have live music on Sundays 6 pm to 8 pm I believe. We had a grand ole time.

So relaxing! Love the rocks and how close it is to the aquarium and fort fisher historic site. Free…read moreparking and plenty of room to enjoy the ocean and sand! There is also clean bathrooms and plenty of picnic tables for you to enjoy!

Skip Carolina Beach $50 parking and drive 3 miles south to Kure parking is $20 per day. Closest…read moreparking directions type in GPS 'Hi-Tech Arcade'. Pro tip: drive another south 3 miles to the NC aquarium there's free parking and access to the beach @ Fort Fisher State Recreation Area

DO NOT GO -- Save Your Money!…read more Absolutely terrible experience. There is nothing fun or relaxing about this beach! The fire department and lifeguards are constantly yelling at people and making everyone feel like they're doing something wrong. We even watched them randomly kick people off the beach, and there seemed to be no clear reason for it. A beach is supposed to be somewhere you can relax, have fun, and enjoy the day--not somewhere you feel like you're constantly being watched, yelled at, or waiting to be told what you can and can't do. With the city and beach reportedly being nearly $2 million in debt, it's honestly not surprising if this is the kind of experience visitors and locals (like us) are getting. People aren't going to keep coming back to a beach where they can't actually enjoy themselves. Save yourself the frustration and go somewhere else. There are plenty of beaches where you can actually relax, have fun, and enjoy your day without being constantly hassled. I would absolutely avoid this beach at all cost. Sadly a year ago this beach was NOT like this, used to be so different a year ago!

Beautiful & well maintained beach & recreation center with restrooms in the Fort Fisher area. One…read moreof the finest beach experiences in my life and one of the fewest non commercialized beaches I ever visited. Only 15 or less miles away from Wilmington where I was staying at for the summer. I loved how clean and well maintained the area is - perfect for peaceful and quiet times at the beach. Parking is free and vast. It isn't as crowded as the other beaches and not commercialized like the other beaches. We visited early in the morning when we went to Fort Fisher to avoid traffic and to get ideal parking. It doesn't get too crowded like most beaches in the summer but more people tend to come to this area near noon time when we usually departed from the beach. The restrooms were always clean when I used them . Rare for me to see such clean restrooms. The cleaning area to get sand off the feet was always busy when we were leaving the beach and cleaning off our feet - with a line to wait . We stayed 3-4 hours a day at this beach. The views are beautiful. I would sit in the ocean so I could soak in the sun and ocean waves on the beach. Packed on the sunscreen and kept layering after a few hours. I checked out this exhibit and visitor center here. It is worth checking out if you would like to know more about the Fort Fisher Beach. Overall, this is one of the finest, cleanest, pure, non commercialized, and most peaceful beaches I ever visited. Time flew fast and hours felt like minutes there. I noticed there was no trash on the beach and rules were posted at the entrance of the beach. Every day was peaceful on this beach. I could go to this beach every day in summer and plan to visit it as much as possible.

Pleasant trip and clean beaches. Love that the beach has restroom access and life guards. Also love…read morethat there are life preservers hanging on posts. Parking was convenient. Recommend this beach. Photographs also posted on Instagram 3spade7star_photography and Facebook ThreeSpade SevenStar

This a gorgeous and peaceful park that is absolutely BRIMMING with birds and turtles. We love…read morebirdwatching and we saw our first tri-colored heron and snowy egret here today! There were also several ducks, a few different gulls, doves, bluebirds, grackles, and sparrows. There is a story walk where you can walk and read a picture book with your kids, a nice playground, and lots of swings and benches. We will definitely be coming back here to look for more interesting birds and enjoy the scenery. As the previous reviewer mentioned, the parking lot is small but there are some street parking areas nearby.

This is a beautiful little lake right in the middle of Carolina Beach. They have a wildlife…read morehabitat, paddle boat rentals, a walking path, restrooms, and so much more. There is even a shelter to rent. They hold special events here like family night movies and vendors of all kinds. It is such a well lit, beautiful place that feels very safe. There are restaurants surrounding it and condos. There is not a lot of parking but you can use the side streets. There is plenty of wildlife and fun things to learn as you read posts around the lake.

If you have the opportunity to sail with the Sail Shop, do it! On a recent vacation trip to Bald…read moreHead Island, my husband and I wanted to be able to spend some time on the water. I searched for options and found that the Sail Shop offered two hour sails for $75 per person (which is a standard going rate for that type of sail). When I called the shop to ask about the sail, the staff was extremely friendly and answered all of my questions. When there was questionable weather forecasted for the day we had scheduled, they called to ask if we minded switching to a day later which was fine with us. I'd rather sail on a day when the weather is best for it. And the weather did cooperate. It was a stunningly beautiful day to be out on the river. You check in at the Sail Shop, fill out a waiver and are on your way. The boat is comfortable and fairly spacious. If you are interested, the instructor will let you do some of the steering and other required tasks on the boat. Our instructor was extremely friendly and personable and also very knowledable about the area. Our sail was one of our favorite things we did while vacationing at Bald Head.

Just completed a fun sail with Lego, our captain, and what a fun sail it was! Definitely worth the…read more$75! He was such a fun, laid back guide and let us sail the boat. He was clearly so knowledgeable of the boat that we sailed stressed free. I would high recommend this outing if you are looking for something fun to do while on Bald Head.

A great park to take a break from the heat on the sand. The…read moresplash-pad area is fairly new and super clean. It does close for cleaning every day from 4p to 4:30p. Nice gazebo area. There are not public restrooms, however a public shower is down the street about a block at the beach access point. Playground is very well themed. There are two food trucks stationed across the street as well and the site hosts additional special events through the summer season.

Lovely park! My kids and I really enjoyed it. It was safe & clean. Don't hesitate to visit!read more

This is a very sweet park! We ate a picnic lunch and enjoyed people and dog watching from the…read moreshaded picnic table and bench swing. I have lots of fond memories at this park, just enjoying the sea view, taking pictures, and hanging out with loved ones.

Yesterday we watched several fishermen pull in fish from the dock. A kid even pulled in a 3-4 ft…read moreshark. My grandson was very excited to actually see a real shark in open air.

I have been going to this beach for about 5 years now. It is one of the best beaches to go to and…read morerelax at with not too many people and friendly locals. The water is always pretty blue and calm which I like because I do not like rough waves. The sand is soft and there are always pretty shells to find. They have a lot of public parking which is the most out of any other beaches like Wrightsville and Carolina beach. The parking is also free!! All year round which is amazing. My favorite part about this beach is you can being dogs all year round. I have never had a problem with finding a spot to park even during the busy summer months. If you're looking for a peaceful beach that allows dogs, has friendly locals, and good food nearby than oak island is your place!

No free parking anywhere…read more Instantly got a ticket. Tried to pay on app which failed. Oak Island escalated the ticket to $50. Still trying to resolve. Better choose a more visitor friendly community.