North Carolina's Most Charming Beach Towns

Some of the best beach towns in North Carolina are the ones that take a little effort to reach. Corolla still has wild horses on the dunes and a paved road that ends before the houses do. Ocracoke is reachable only by ferry, and Blackbeard met his end in the waters offshore in 1718. Buxton anchors Hatteras Island under the country's tallest brick lighthouse. Holden Beach faces south, so the sun rises and sets over the same ocean. Pick any of these seven and the welcome involves wide beaches and the kind of locals who'll tell you which spot has the best shrimp burger.

Corolla

Corolla is easy to find on the Outer Banks: keep driving north on Highway 12 until the pavement ends and you're there. Many beach houses sit beyond that point, accessible only by 4WD on the beach itself. Corolla is best known for the wild horses that roam the dunes, descendants of Spanish mustangs left behind by 16th-century explorers. Several outfits run guided 4WD horse tours, but you can also spot them on your own (state law requires keeping at least 50 feet away). The 1875 Currituck Beach Lighthouse stands 162 feet tall and is open for climbing in season. The 220 steps to the top deliver wide views over the sound and the Atlantic.

Duck

Duck sits about 15 miles south of Corolla and 10 miles north of the busiest stretch of the Outer Banks (Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, and Nags Head). Unlike most Outer Banks towns, Duck has a defined downtown with shops and restaurants lining both sides of NC Route 12. Duck Town Park covers 11 acres on the sound side, with a 3/4-mile boardwalk over Currituck Sound that's especially popular at sunset. The ocean side has wide family beaches without the high-rise development that defines other beach destinations on the East Coast.

Buxton

Buxton sits on Hatteras Island, home to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Built in 1870 and painted in distinctive black-and-white spiral stripes, the lighthouse stands 198.5 feet tall and is the tallest brick lighthouse in the country. It draws nearly a million visitors per year. Many never see Buxton itself, which holds onto a quiet seaside village feel. The year-round population is about 1,300. Buxton has good surfing (Cape Point produces some of the best waves on the East Coast in the right conditions), strong fishing, and a small concentration of shops, restaurants, and campgrounds.

Ocracoke

Ocracoke is the southernmost village on the Outer Banks and has about 950 year-round residents. Ocracoke Island sits south of Hatteras Island, separated by Ocracoke Inlet, and is reachable only by ferry from the northeast (Hatteras), the northwest (Swan Quarter), or the southwest (Cedar Island). The isolation has kept Ocracoke less developed than the rest of the Outer Banks. Beachfront accommodations are limited to the National Park Service campground. Rental homes, shops, and restaurants cluster in the village around Silver Lake harbor. The 1823 Ocracoke Lighthouse is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in North Carolina and one of the oldest in the country. Blackbeard the pirate met his end in the waters off Ocracoke in 1718.

Emerald Isle

Emerald Isle sits on the Bogue Banks, a barrier island chain southwest of the main Outer Banks. The 12 miles of shoreline face south rather than east, which means the sun rises and sets over the water rather than the mainland. The island is a longtime family beach destination and Emerald Isle has a year-round population just under 4,000. There are shops and restaurants downtown plus mini-golf, Emerald Isle Woods Park (with walking and biking trails), and a small water park. Fort Macon State Park on the eastern end of Bogue Banks preserves a Civil War-era fort and adds a beach with shaded walking trails.

Topsail Beach

Topsail Beach sits at the southern end of 26-mile Topsail Island, one of three towns on the island along with Surf City and North Topsail Beach. With about 500 full-time residents, Topsail Beach is the smallest of the three. The island was accessible only by boat until World War II, when the U.S. Army built bridges and used the island as a missile-testing range during Operation Bumblebee. Concrete observation towers from that program still stand along the island. Topsail Beach has avoided the high-rise development that touches some of its larger neighbors and stays family-friendly with rental homes and a fishing pier. Up the road in Surf City, the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center rehabs injured sea turtles and releases them back into the Atlantic.

Holden Beach

Holden Beach sits near North Carolina's southern tip about 50 miles from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The 8-mile barrier island faces south, meaning ocean sunrises and ocean sunsets rather than just one or the other. Holden Beach has about 1,000 full-time residents and consistently ranks high on lists of best family beaches in the country. There are shops, restaurants, and a fishing pier, but Holden Beach is mostly a residential community with smaller rental homes and almost no high-rise development. The pace stays slow, the traffic stays light, and the beach is wide.

Where the NC Coast Earns Its Place

Corolla's wild horses, Ocracoke's pirate history, Holden Beach's family quiet. North Carolina's beach towns cover a wide range of moods in a single state. Some require a 4WD drive on the sand or a ferry across the sound to reach. That bit of effort is part of what keeps them from feeling overrun. North Carolina's beach towns are still distinctly themselves.