Things to Do at Wrightsville Beach

The Loop: 2.5 Miles Around Harbor Island

The Loop is a 2.5-mile walking and biking path on Harbor Island, situated between the town's two bridges, running along the Intracoastal Waterway, Banks Channel, and salt marshes -- you can start anywhere on the loop, and it's free, flat, and scenic. Along the way it passes the Wrightsville Beach Historic Square and the town's Arboretum, a small green space. On select weekends throughout the year, a self-guided 'Loop Through History' walking tour uses signs placed along the pathway to share stories and images from the island's past -- a real, low-cost, family-friendly activity distinct from anything beach- or water-based.

Wrightsville Beach Park

Wrightsville Beach Park, on Harbor Island, offers outdoor basketball and tennis courts, beach volleyball pits, grassy open areas, softball fields, and pickleball courts -- described as rapidly growing in popularity here as elsewhere. An outdoor fitness area serves exercise-focused visitors, a playground with modern equipment serves families, and Harbor Way Gardens at the park's west end includes the 'Plant It Pink Garden,' honoring breast cancer survivors, alongside seasonal Witherspoon Roses and native plantings.

The Birthplace of North Carolina Surfing

The surfing that occurred at Wrightsville Beach in the early 1900s is the earliest documented surfing in North Carolina, with Burke Haywood Bridgers credited with first bringing the sport to the island in 1909. A state historical marker titled 'Pioneer East Coast Surfing' was dedicated on October 18, 2015 at the intersection of Waynick Boulevard and Bridgers Street, per the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources -- a real, physical, visitable landmark documenting this history, not just a claim in a brochure.

That history continues into a living surf culture today: the O'Neill/Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest is described as one of the largest surfing contests on the East Coast, the Wrightsville Beach Wahine Classic is a dedicated all-female surf competition, and the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History added a permanent Waterman Hall of Fame exhibit in 2014, honoring individuals who shaped the island's surf and water culture across generations.

Two Historic, Rebuilt Piers

Johnnie Mercer's Pier, extending more than 1,200 feet into the Atlantic, has a genuinely dramatic history: built in 1930, partially destroyed by Hurricane Hazel in 1954, damaged by Hurricane Bertha and then destroyed outright by Hurricane Fran in 1996, and finally rebuilt as North Carolina's first all-concrete fishing pier, reopening in 2001 -- a real, storm-driven engineering evolution you can walk out on today. Crystal Pier, the town's other named pier, hosts the Oceanic Restaurant at its end, combining a fishing pier with a genuinely scenic dining destination.

Wrightsville Beach Museum of History

The Wrightsville Beach Museum of History offers self-guided tours at various times through the year, and, as noted above, houses the Waterman Hall of Fame exhibit added in 2014. This page did not independently confirm the museum's current hours, admission fees, or exact physical address -- confirm current visiting details directly with the museum before planning a visit.

The museum's focus on the town's water culture connects directly to the surf-history marker at Waynick Boulevard and Bridgers Street and to the town's documented storm history -- the same institution that commemorates the island's surfing pioneers also sits within a community that has rebuilt after Hurricane Hazel (1954), Hurricane Fran (1996), and Hurricane Florence (2018), making a museum visit a genuinely useful way to understand the town's identity beyond just its current beach and dining amenities.

Wrightsville Beach Park: Courts, Fitness, and Gardens

Wrightsville Beach Park, on Harbor Island, rounds out the town's non-beach recreation with outdoor basketball and tennis courts, beach volleyball pits, pickleball courts, and grassy open space, plus an outdoor fitness area for exercise-focused visitors and a playground for families. Harbor Way Gardens, at the park's west end, includes the 'Plant It Pink Garden' honoring breast cancer survivors alongside seasonal Witherspoon Roses and native plantings -- a genuinely landscaped, maintained green space rather than an incidental patch of grass.

Boating, Fishing, and Water Rentals

Beyond the beach itself, Wrightsville Beach's marina infrastructure -- Seapath Yacht Club & Transient Dock and Bridge Tender Marina among them -- supports roughly a half dozen boat rental providers covering skiffs, pontoons, and yachts, per Waterway Guide, plus numerous inshore, nearshore, and offshore fishing charters and headboat operations including Vonda Kay Deep Sea Fishing's 73-foot vessel. This site's Boating & Water Access and Fishing Guide pages cover these options in more depth, including the real permitting rules that apply to any private dock work.

Masonboro Island: A Day Trip to an Undeveloped Barrier Island

Masonboro Island Reserve, immediately south of Wrightsville Beach across Masonboro Inlet, is reachable only by boat, kayak, or canoe -- public and private boat ramps in and near Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach, plus New Hanover County's Trails End Park, serve as launch points, and private fee ferry services also run to the reserve. Once there, visitors can walk trails across the island to the ocean beach, or walk the undisturbed ocean beach for miles. The reserve is open year-round, and overnight camping is permitted -- a genuinely rare, undeveloped-island experience directly accessible from a developed beach town.

What This Page Doesn't Cover

This page covers the real, well-documented, distinctive draws of Wrightsville Beach -- The Loop, Wrightsville Beach Park, the town's documented 1909 surf-pioneer history and living surf culture, its two historic piers, the Museum of History's Waterman Hall of Fame, and boat-only access to Masonboro Island. It does not state current event dates or ticket prices for the O'Neill/Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest or the Wahine Classic, current Museum of History hours or admission, or current boat ramp fees or ferry pricing to Masonboro Island. Confirm current event dates, museum hours, and access fees directly with event organizers, the museum, and NC DEQ's Coastal Reserve program before planning a specific visit. Nothing on this page is a substitute for current, official visitor information.