Hanging at the Coast in the Off-Season
This article was originally published March 20, 2015 in “Down Home Magazine”.
Most people think about going to the beach in the summer, but there is a different atmosphere during the off-season with some things that can be enjoyed better.
My most recent travels too me to Emerald Isle with my wife and stepdaughter. On great thing about going to the beach in the Winter is the lack of crowds. You can walk up and down the beach and just enjoy the ocean. You can easily get that table by the window at the restaurant. Also, the return trip isn’t bumper-to-bumper getting off the island.
Emerald Isle is actually one of several towns on Bogue Banks near Morehead City, North Carolina. The beach runs east and west – something that may be a little strange for people that want to watch the sun rise over the water. Other towns on the island include Atlantic Beach, Indian Beach, Pine Knoll Shores, and Salter Path. Where one ends, the next town picks up. Emerald Isle’s population is about 50,000 during the Summer – part of the reason I like going in the Winter.
At the far eastern end of the island is Fort Macon State Park, the 2nd most visited state park in North Carolina. The 5-sided brick and stone fort with 26 casements was built to protect Beauford Inlet from attack by pirates and foreign forces. Blackbeard was known to hang out in the area passing through Beaufort Inlet. The Spanish plundered Beaufort in 1747, and the British did it in 1782. There are too many details about Fort Macon and its history to cover here including the Civil War, but check it out if you’re in the area. It’s also a great place to fish and watch the boats go in and out of the inlet. (BTW…there’s a video of the firing of the cannons on YouTube I did on the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Fort Macon.)
Another place to visit while on the island is the North Carolina Aquarium on Pine Knoll Shores. They’re open 9-5 most days including holidays with the exception of Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. They’re also known to not charge fo admission on Veteran’s Dy and Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, but check that out for yourself to be sure. They also have special events for Halloween in October and Christmas in December. It’s a great place to visit, especially if it’s raining. The Theodore Roosevelt Natural Area, a 265-acre maritime forest, surrounds the Aquarium.
The Atlantic Beach area hosts numerous restaurants and shops. Some close for the Winter, but there are still some great places to eat and buy those souvenirs. Atlantic Beach, the oldest of the towns on the island, considers itself a family-friendly place and has one of the two remaining fishing piers on the island.
You’ll not want to miss a visit to Beaufort back on the mainland. Beaufort is the 3rd oldest city in North Carolina, and there’s a lot of history to discover. Be sure not to miss the North Carolina Maritime Museum with displays on Blackbeard and an Expanded Queen Anne Revenge Exhibit. If you want to see the wild ponies on the Outer Banks, take a boat tour of Shackelford Banks, and you may want to visit the Cape Lookout Lighthouse area as well.
Regardless of the specific things you like to do, visiting Bogue Banks and the surrounding areas during off-season is a lot of fun and a much less stressful than a Summer visit. This is my latest trip on Backroads Carolina.