Nice little (emphasis on the little) park, right under the bridge in downtown Wilmington. The park…read moreis mainly used for it's boat launch, taking photos with the bridge and neighbors walking their dogs. It consists of a small parking lot, a green hill, a couple benches with close up views of the Cape Fear River. Lately I've been exploring our local parks a lot more and I'm insanely impressed with the NHC Parks & Rec, after what I've found. Dram Tree, though, I wouldn't really consider a "park," but rather a picnic spot and/or photo backdrop. It's cute and I'm glad I visited, but won't really be hanging out here or recommending to anyone other than tourists looking for a unique date spot.

Yeah...it's small but wow...what a view of the Port City's bridge and Cape Fear River. I believe…read morethe parking lot is larger than the park, itself, so it's a cute place to meet up with someone or to just get away from the hustle and bustle for a few. This park offers no playground for young children but offers a few patches of greenery to relax the mind. Nothing spectacular but the view is welcoming.

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 is an incredible place to go for local events, and to step away into nature. The river walk…read moreitself is beautiful and quiet, and the park offers a wonderful playground and event space. If you live anywhere in this area and haven't been here, you should go immediately.

What a beautiful spot in Leland! With plenty of paved parking, it's a perfect place to be on a nice…read moreday. We lucked out too! I was looking for a place for my daughter to get the energy out and, with good reviews, headed toward Riverwalk Park. It just so happened to be their Christmas market and fair - with face painting, vendors, special treats and games. My little one could have cared less about the aforementioned happenings. She cares about playgrounds and this park had one of the best we've seen. It was crawling with kids, so even better for entertainment! She played for hours. There was plenty of space, nooks and crannies for kids to run and do their own thing. The equipment all looked in good repair and the park was very clean. Everything is surrounded by mature trees so the playground was shaded during our visit. As lunch approached, we walked over to the water for some calm & relaxation. There are a couple of boat ramps, though I believe I was there at low-tide as one looked inaccessible. There were also a couple of swings to sit and look out over the water. I noted a walking trail as we were leaving and would certainly return to see the rest of the park. I was very impressed with my first visit here.

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 love this gem. I go here as often as I can to just breathe...Literally breathe in the air. The…read moretwo light houses are so beautiful and where else can you find that? The quaint little town really has a beauty of a park here. The birds hang out here and people often feed them. The swings are a nice plus to the park. There is a pavilion and ample free parking. The pier is nice to walk out on and during low tide you can even walk on the sand. The beautiful trees and old houses make it even more breathtaking.

The gift shop at Kure Beach Fishing Pier is hands down the best souvenir shop on the beach! They…read morehave a huge selection of high-quality T-shirts, hats, keychains, and all kinds of souvenirs that are much nicer than what we found at other shops. The prices were fair, and everything felt well-made instead of cheap tourist merchandise. It was also a nice bonus that the pier is free to walk, so we were able to enjoy the views before shopping. If you're looking for beach souvenirs that you'll actually want to keep, this is the place to go!

Great fishing access. Free to walk and watch. Just be careful, fisherman here are packed in pretty…read moreright. Saw lots of small fish caught. Great little shop with food and bait and souvenirs and tackle...pretty much anything you could need at a pier....except the motivation to go fish in the chilly wind:)

Update 2026…read more Carolina Beach is a place we visit during winter season after the holidays in Wilmington, North Carolina. Parking is free during the winter season on the beach after the holidays are over. No traffic & no tourists. This year in 2026, stayed at an oceanfront hotel room in Carolina beach with a balcony. We saw so many sunrises on the Carolina Beach from our high rise hotel room balcony. It made me smile every day. The Carolina Beach Boardwalk was beside our hotel and a short stroll. We were sad to see the iconic Ferris wheel by the Boardwalk was taken away. Despite the cold weather and construction, it was good to see the beach again and walk the boardwalk in the morning. Most of the businesses were closed and we spent very little time there. Still a nice walk. ---------------- The best time to go to Carolina Beach is when parking is free and the crowds are gone in the winter. We had a fun time enjoying the warm yet windy January weather on the beach. No crowds, traffic, and tourists. It was very peaceful and fun. We went to Nauti Dogs for lunch and walked on the beach. Most of the stores were closed but we didn't care. Looking forward to revisiting this beach.

Sandy, clean and a great spot to enjoy the beach. We parked at the Hamlet public parking lot which…read moreis an insane $5 per hour but the lot also has showers for washing off the sand and a decent restroom. So better than most beaches I've experienced. There is a planked pathway across the dune with trash cans on both sides. Perhaps that's why there was very little litter today. Hamlet is far enough away from the commercial boardwalk to be quite peaceful and laid-back. The beach is flat and smooth though the sand is loose making for a good workout getting to the water. Very few rocks or shells. [Review 1357 of 2025 - 4476 in North Carolina - 24909 overall]

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.

Beautiful beach with great views, a place to just chill out and take it all in…read more Awesome ocean view with beautiful beaches.

What a lovely spot! Just discovered this one mile wooded trail and enjoyed hiking it with our dog…read more Dogs are supposed to be leashed. We did run into one entitled woman on speakerphone with her unneutered off leash lab who didn't even attempt to leash him (didn't look like she even owned a leash) but other than that it was a lovely walk and everyone else was polite.

Check the tides before you go if you plan to kayak. We went a little too close to low-tide and only…read moregot to paddle for 45ish minutes. We didn't know how low the water would get and didn't want to be stuck. We had never been here too so before we carried our kayaks out we decided to walk the trail without them first to check the path. It is about a half mile or more to the kayak drop-in. It's a nice path and would have been easier to have a kayak dolly. We carried ours and it was quite a workout but a beautiful walk. We saw lots of other walkers and while on the water it was very cool. Lots of oyster beds and birds. We plan to come back very soon when the water is higher! Great park for just a walk too.