North Carolina central beaches guide: Where to stay, play and eat on the middle coast

You’ve set an out-of-office response on your email and turned up the A/C setting at the house. The cooler is packed. The gas tank’s full.

Finally, you’re bound for ocean breezes and blue skies.

There’s a lot to explore on North Carolina’s central coast, also called the Southern Outer Banks, from Cape Lookout National Seashore to end of Bear Island. Plus, Atlantic Beach, Pine Knoll Shores, Surf City — you’re an oyster and it’s your big sandy world, for a while anyway.

Here are some ways to make the most of your seaside escape.

Where to stay on North Carolina’s beaches

Unconventional beach lodging:

▪ Marketed as the Crystal Coast by its tourism bureau, the Bogue Banks area has a mix of hotels, motels, private house rentals, bed & breakfast inns, RV parks and a few campgrounds.

▪ You can even reserve a rustic beachfront cabin on an undeveloped barrier island between March and November, weather permitting and if private boats are running. Since Hurricane Dorian in 2019 damaged the Long Point Cabins within the Cape Lookout National Seashore, only the 26 Great Island Cabins on South Core Banks opposite the mainland community of Davis are available, but they provide a unique lodging opportunity away from the bustle of a busy beach town. If you want electricity and air conditioning, you literally must bring your own.

Camping also is allowed on the island’s beach.

King Mackerel fisherman Sunny Patel, of Emerald Isle, heads to the far end of the Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier in Emerald Isle, N.C. in July 2015.

Popular hotels and motels

Beaufort and Atlantic Beach:

Inlet Inn, Beaufort
Caribbe Inn, fun beach-themed rooms, across the street from the ocean, Atlantic Beach

Bogue Banks:

Atlantis Lodge, pet-friendly, three-story 1960s motor lodge with a saltwater pool in Salter Path
Bogue Inlet Motel - small brightly painted motel near the Bogue Inlet Pier, Emerald Isle
Islander Hotel and Resort, oceanfront, Emerald Isle
Hotel Alice, Atlantic Beach, paying homage to Alice Hoffman, a member of the extended Roosevelt family who was instrumental in the early development of Bogue Banks
The Inn at Pine Knoll Shores

Patrons enjoy afternoon outdoor dining in Beaufort in June 2022.

RV Parks and Campgrounds:

There are no developed campgrounds within the Cape Lookout National Seashore, but primitive camping is allowed on the beaches there and also on Bear Island within Hammocks Beach State Park, near Swansboro. The island is reached by way of a ferry from the park.

Here are some options:

Waters Edge Campground and RV Park on Bogue Sound, Newport
Oyster Point Campground, on the Newport River within the Croatan National Forest, Newport
Whispering Pines Campground, Newport
Goose Creek Campground, Newport
Holiday Trav-L Park, Emerald Isle, beachfront
Cedar Point Campground near the White Oak River in Croatan National Forest, Cedar Point
Waterway RV Campground, Cedar Point
White Oak Shores Campground, Stella

Where to eat at the beach

Morehead City

Southern Salt: seafood
Floyd’s 1921: seafood, steaks

Atlantic Beach

Amos Mosquitos: seafood
Four Corners: breakfast

Salter Path

The Crab Shack, Salter Path: seafood

Beaufort

34 Degrees North: seafood
Cru Bar and Wine Store/Beaufort Coffee Shop: wine and coffee
Black Sheep: pizza

Emerald Isle

Fish Hut Grill: fish tacos, shrimp
The Village Market: deli sandwiches

A fisherman casts out in the channel at Fort Macon at Morehead City on in June 2015. In the background a tug boat pulls a barge back after it took a load of sand out to sea that was dredged from the channel at the port in Morehead City.

Things to do at the beach

In, on or over the water:

▪ Surf fishing is popular almost year round, or hire a boat and crew through one of dozens of guide services such as Cape Lookout Charters in Morehead City and Capt. Andy Bates Guide Service in Beaufort.

▪ Paddleboard at Hammocks Beach State Park through Paddle NC’s concession on the Cape Fear River.

▪ Rent a kayak from Beaufort Paddle or take the Island Ferry to explore the four islands of the Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve.

▪ Take a cruise aboard Beaufort Pirates Revenge, which sails from Beaufort and can accommodate private parties and wedding or just add your crew to a regular cruise. Sword fighting and cannon fire included.

▪ Take the ferry from Hammocks Beach State Park near Swansboro over to Bear Island, and hike to the undeveloped beach. There’s a snack bar and pavilion and often, great shell hunting.

▪ Walk out on the Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier (here’s a live cam of the pier) and climb the platform on the end to get a great view of the beach.

Firmly on land:

▪ Ride a bike around Beaufort, or rent one at Emerald Isle and pedal along the greenway that rolls for miles.

▪ Tour the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort, which has artifacts from Blackbeard’s ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge and a gift shop with great T-shirts.

▪ Tour Fort Macon, the Civil War fort near Atlantic Beach. Explore the park’s trails or catch a small-arms demonstration or cannon firing.

▪ Skateboard — or watch others do it — at the Atlantic Beach Skate Park, which also has an 18-hole mini-golf course and a splash pad for children. Concession stand has cold drinks.

▪ See the fish at the N.C. Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and walk the trails through the marshes and maritime forest of the Theodore Roosevelt Natural Area on the grounds. The aquarium’s gift shop is great.