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    Fort Macon State Park

    4.7 (84 reviews)
    Open 8:00 am - 5:30 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

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    Stingray catching his breath after release
    April H.

    Nice beach, nice views. Lots of fishing. Was able to watch someone catch and release a huge ray!

    Rebecca M.

    Fort Macon State Park is a pre-Civil War fort. Admission is free to visit. Besides the fort there are trails and a beach. I started at the Visitor Center where there are restrooms; a museum; educational displays; and a gift shop. I liked that there was a video to watch before going to the fort so I could get some of the history. I also did part of a guided tour. The Fort is in great shape and built to protect the Beaufort Inlet. It is built of bricks and stones with the walls being almost 5 foot thick. 9.2 million bricks were used. The fort is shaped like a pentagon. Some of the displays are interactive. There are 26 vaulted rooms and the surrounding area has a lot of ecology with over 300 different birds and other sea life living there.

    Shark species

    Absolutely stunning! One of my favorite beaches on this side of NC. Will be returning without the dogs. Love that there was water between the surf so you can still swim safely and enjoy no waves.

    Weapons
    Sandy P.

    What a nice piece of history to visit. There's no admission charge but they do have boxes for donations. You're on your own here, there are no volunteer historians on the grounds. That wouldn't be so bad but most of the interactive displays don't work. There no button to light up when you push it. Some of the videos worked some didn't. On the dioramas none of the displays worked. The best video is in the weapons room watching the live cannon shoot. And I was amazed of all the forts along our eastern seashore. 38! They have many period pieces of weapons, pottery, clothing, all very interesting. Make sure to climb on top, you'll have a great view and see how many cannon wheels they had active back in the day!! Wow! Some of their displays contradict. One says this was NC first state park some say it was Mount Mitchell. Either way a nice piece of history here. There are 3 mile trails around the Fort that are easy to walk and see the barracks, buildings, and battle sites. If you stop and read and go from room to room it's about an hour. YMMV.

    Entrance
    Lauren M.

    We've been to this spot a number of time but this was the first time we hiked on the nature trail. Once you get away from the buildings this trail is so pretty! It was just over a 3 mile loop. It was fairly quiet midweek during November but we did see some other hikers and a handful of runners. While visiting the fort, we pretty much had the entire fort to ourselves. The inside exhibit rooms were closed and they were doing repairs while we were there. Their website said the exhibit rooms sustained a lot of damage during Hurricane Florence and they are still making repairs years later. We ventured inside just for a few minutes to check out the gift shop. During our visit masks were required inside, and staff were all masked. They also have a really nice beach here too!

    Walking down the path from the visitor's center to the fort.
    Stephen T.

    Unfortunately, the dive shop in Morehead City canceled two days of diving without any contingency plan. That left a group of 16 divers with nothing to do. Fort Macon was one of those historic experiences we decided to take in. Never knowing anything about the fort, we spent about 90 minutes touring the grounds and walking the fort, learning the history. Unfortunately, we missed out on the cannon firing (on Saturday) as we were there on a slightly drizzly, overcast day. Overall the fort's history is cool, dating back to the early 1800s. A neat snippet of history was that Edward Teach's (aka Blackbeard), ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge was known to have sailed the Beaufort Inlet and subsequently sank in shallow water off shore from the state park. The fort is well fortified with 4.5 foot walls with some interesting features you can explore. Didn't walk any of the surrounding trails, but it was a neat piece of history through the ages from the 1800s to the Civil War and WWII before being turned into a state park permanently in 1946. If you have 30-60 minutes, it's worth the stop.

    Christopher C.

    (From the archives of last July) The below links will give you a better idea of what you'll see here than I could ever summarize. https://files.nc.gov/ncparks/maps-and-brochures/fort-macon-fort-history-brochure.pdf https://files.nc.gov/ncparks/maps-and-brochures/fort-macon-factsheet_0.pdf This fort was built as a coastal defense in response to the War of 1812 which exposed the US coast line as being very porous to an attack by Britain or anyone for that matter. The fort sat as an after thought that was lightly staffed and for all intensive purposes forgotten about for nearly thirty years. Enter the Civil War in 1861 and things somewhat change. The North Carolina militia took over the fort for the Confederacy on April 14, 1861. They hold the fort until the Union army shows up the following April and take the fort fairly easily. After that the Union would hold the fort for the remainder of the war. After the war the fort is used as a civil and a military prison until it was deactivated in 1877. In 1898 the fort got a new life for the Spanish-American War as a training ground. In 1903 the Army abandons the fort and it sits until 1924 when NC got the fort and the land around it via Congressional Act to start a state park system. If you go, the fort is open year round and offers fantastic displays inside its visitor center about coastal life, the history of the fort and a hell of a gift shop. There is a beach and swimming is allowed. But as you can see below. Caveat Emptor. www.nytimes.com/2019/06/17/us/shark-attacks-north-carolina.html There isn't a whole lot to do in the Crystal Coast area, but if you're here a visit to Fort Macon is well worth it. A+

    Evan Y.

    Very interesting history and the park is well taken care of. Also it is free to go and walk around so it is totally worth it!

    Fort Macon historical marker
    Maria T.

    What an educational experience we had at Fort Macon State Park near Beaufort, NC! The drive thru the lush thicket and foliage set the stage for our visit. We could just imagine what it was like in in 1826, when this Civil War fort was built. It gave me pause to absorb all the history that happened here. The visitors center was large, clean, beautifully designed and informative. The ladies at the front desk were provided is with a plethora of knowledge. Cases were filled with soldiers' uniforms and other memorabilia. They had a mini museum and a self guided tour of wildlife, scenes from the period showing how people lived, and artifacts from the war. We sat through a fascinating documentary on underwater sea life. Also in the main rotunda was a penny press machine if you'd like a token of your visit, or meander through the impressive gift shop full of cool souvenirs, books, postcards, etc. We took a self guided tour of the pentagonal fort itself, an amazing brick structure. We walked around the entire perimeter where we imagined soldiers that fought here. There were canons set up and coves depicting a typical soldiers' life during this period. Even the wooden floor at the entrance was a magnificent piece of work! Some of the rooms were closed due to Hurricane Florence, but we still enjoyed our visit, learning about this important piece of history. The views from the top were incredible and we let our minds drift back into a time when this battle took place. Be careful walking up the steep steps as they can be a tad precarious. It was sobering to think of the results that took place here, but I truly appreciated learning about some of America's history. I highly recommend visiting this fort, no need to be a Civil War buff or a great historian, just someone who regards learning about the past and reflecting upon how it affected our future.

    Mortars in position
    Mark S.

    This is a great spot if you're looking to get some history and get a good hike in. Stopped by here with my parents in the morning after breakfast and we first did Elliott Coues Nature Trail which is a 3.2 mile round trip trail. Tip: make sure you bring plenty of water. The trail has a few scenic overlooks where you can try to spot birds and other wildlife. After the hike, we checked out Fort Macon. I was amazed by the engineering efforts behind building such a structure. Inside, you'll find different areas including a cooking area where they baked bread for the soldiers. There was even an incident where someone baked inedible bread!

    James S.

    If you are a civil war history buff then this park in Atlantic beach is a must stop. Lots of interesting displays and exhibits in the visitors center. Then you can take a guided or self guided tour of the fort as we did. Make you think as you see the old cannons, the rooms where men slept, ate and lived, the supply rooms, water cistern, ect that 150+ years ago the this was a living, working fort protecting the coast line of North Carolina from Union attack. Before you get to the fort, the is a large pick nic area on the right that is on the ocean with clean restrooms. As we walked out onto the beach and looked out over the ocean we thought that this fort has protected this coast line from everything from Union war ships to German U-Boats. There is also a sign where the Queen Anne's Revenge, ship of the infamous pirate Blackbeard sunk off the coast near this area.

    Jill M.

    Got to love NC State Parks. This secluded beach, historic site, and awesome visitors center makes this one of my favorites. No admission fee. The concessions at the beach are pretty limited, but cold drinks and ice cream were popular choices. Pack your own picnic if you're planning to spend all day. Restrooms, showers and pavilions are available at the beach. The visitors center offers guided tours or meander around exhibits at your own pace. It is rich in NC history and a great way to sneak in an educational outing while vacationing at the beach. Wednesday afternoons at 4 the cannons are fired. Other Ranger led programs are available throughout the week. No camping.

    Model 1841 32lb cannon.

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    4 years ago

    Beautiful historical site, very well maintained with great hiking trails. Looking forward to the updated rooms in the fort coming soon

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    Ask the Community - Fort Macon State Park

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    Review Highlights - Fort Macon State Park

    I started at the Visitor Center where there are restrooms; a museum; educational displays; and a gift shop.

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    Atlantic Beach Town Park

    Atlantic Beach Town Park

    5.0(3 reviews)
    3.8 mi

    This little park was not something that I expected to see in this area but when you think about it,…read morethe idea is very smart and really serves a purpose for both tourists and locals. The below page from AB's website shows that this place is only two years old and that its $1.6 million dollar cost was done as a public/private partnership. I've been to many beaches up & down the east coast and I honestly can't think of an area that has something quite like this. atlanticbeach-nc.com/departments/parks-recreation/ ABTP offers the following: Free live music on Thursday nights from mid-June thru August. Free family friendly movies (with the exception of them showing Jaws last month which was an interesting choice with the shark attack that happened in June at Fort Macon) on Wednesday nights June thru August. Skate Park Splashpad Playground/swingset Basketball Court Minigolf for $5 per person and it's free for ages 6 and under The main building which sells snacks & concessions and has restrooms along with free Wifi. The concession area and the golf are open 10-10 daily and it goes without saying that they are closed along with things like the splashpad seasonally. Compared with beaches in New Jersey or Maryland, Atlantic Beach is very understated in the amenities that it offers but I don't think that is necessarily a detriment. If you want all the bells and whistles it's not that much further to go to Myrtle or head north to KDH or OCMD and you'll find what you're looking for. But if you want quiet and relaxed with a very nice small town "homey" feeling then this is the spot you want. A+

    I brought the family down here for the beach. Luckily I found a skatepark tucked in right at…read moreAtlantic Beach. I dropped them off in the sand and headed for the sweet concrete love of a Team Pain park. Ledges, gaps, stairs, and goodies for skaters of all skill levels. I'd definitely come back. If the fam won't skate next time, there's a putt putt course just feet away. It's also right around the corner from Finch's Skate Shop, which I was lucky enough to find while we're here. Kudos to the good folks of Atlantic Beach for giving locals and tourists a solid skate spot.

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    Fort Macon State Park - parks - Updated May 2026

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