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8 best spots to hunt for shark teeth in North Carolina

By Ryan Pitkin

January 31, 2025

We’ve scoured the fossil fan chats and expert websites to find out where to hunt for shark teeth in North Carolina.

With 320 miles of Atlantic coastline—second only to Florida—North Carolina is a treasure trove for folks on the East Coast looking for where to hunt for shark teeth. 

According to Coastwatch, the sounds, estuaries, and ocean waters in and around North Carolina provide a habitat for an abundance of sharks, including those of the blacknose, dusky, sandbar, sand tiger, scalloped hammerhead, spinner, tiger, and thresher varieties. 

And yes, even great white sharks have been tracked off the coast of the NC, but don’t fret, swimmers—they rarely come near shore. 

With all that shoreline, where is one to start in the search for shark teeth? We scoured a number of fossil fan sites, travel guides, Reddit, and expert websites to find out where folks have had the most success. 

Our list below includes the beaches where people have reported finding lots of shark teeth on the shore, plus a few quarries along the rivers and sounds leading from the beach where folks dig for the real treasure: megalodon teeth that can be the size of a fist. 

According to “An Expert’s Guide to Finding Shark Teeth” from Garden & Gun, you should search areas with lots of shells and other sediment of similar size and density to shark teeth, then look for the jet black color that marks a fossil. 

Of course, teeth that have come out of a shark’s head more recently will be a bit brighter, so that telltale triangle shape will be another key signal to search for. 

You don’t need much else besides a sifter, a shovel, and your eyes. The best time to look is early in the morning and/or at the first low tide, which gives you a better chance at being the first beachcomber in search of such a prize. 

Pro tip: Many beaches up and down the North Carolina coast are undergoing beach restoration projects, also known as beach rejuvenation or renourishment, which involves sucking up layers of sand from the sea floor and dumping it on the beaches to fight erosion. If you can visit beaches shortly after a restoration project is complete, you’ll be greeted with shorelines full of sand and sediment that may have never been combed through in all of history. 

Below are the top eight spots we found online for shark-tooth-hunting success. 

1. Holden Beach

This island features more than 8 miles of beach, but your best bet is to visit the eastern end, where sandbars and tide pools offer great searching grounds. A recent post on the public Holden Beach Shark Teeth Facebook page showed an impressive collection that one motivated hunter claimed to have found in a single January day. 

 

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2. Ocean Isle Beach

Located near the convergence of two major ocean currents, the Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current, the water surrounding Ocean Isle is always churning—as is the sand underneath it. That makes it one of North Carolina’s best spots to hunt for shark teeth. Like the neighboring Holden Beach, Ocean Isle was created from dredging, meaning it’s been a hotbed for fossil funders since its founding. 

3. Onslow Beach

Onslow Beach is known to hold a huge cache of shark teeth, especially fossilized ones. There’s only one problem: Since it’s part of Camp Lejeune, it’s accessible only to military members and their families. And considering that Lejeune is a camp specifically built for and inhabited by US Marines, we don’t suggest sneaking on. But if you are in a military family with access to the beach, happy hunting. You’ll have far fewer folks to compete with to make your finds. 

4. Shark Tooth Island

What else is there to say when the whole beach is called Shark Tooth Island? Located in the middle of the Cape Fear River, this small island was created by dredging and has turned up not only shark fossils but artifacts from Native Americans, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War. We suggest kayaking from River Road Park in Wilmington or taking a water taxi from Swansboro Paddle Boarding and Kayaking.  

 

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5. Topsail Island

A 26-mile island comprising three cities and stretching across two counties, the residents of Topsail Island have banded together to preserve the integrity of its beaches, which have become known as the top spot(s) for shark-tooth hunting. That includes the namesake Topsail and North Topsail beaches, which have strong currents but gentle waves—the perfect combo. 

6. Wrightsville Beach

Wrightsville Beach attracts the serious shark-teeth hunters. We’re talking about the ones who are willing to don diving equipment and go find their treasure. That’s because about 25 miles offshore sits the “Meg Ledge,” which drops 100 meters below sea level and features one of the highest concentrations of megalodon teeth in the world. 

7. Aurora Fossil Museum

You don’t need all that diving gear and training to find megalodon teeth. You just need to follow the rivers inland a bit. The Aurora Fossil Museum is a nonprofit science education resource center built near the banks of the Pamlico River in Aurora. The museum includes its own outdoor fossil pit dubbed “Pits of the Pungo,” where folks can dig for shark teeth and other artifacts in the piles of fossiliferous material dropped off regularly by the neighboring Nutrien Phosphate plant (it’s safer than it sounds). 

8. Castle Hayne Quarry

This quarry, owned by Martin Marietta near the New River, has long been a favorite spot for fossil hunters in search of megalodon teeth. It appears to have been closed to individual collectors but certain groups are allowed inside to dig, including the NC Fossil Club. If you’re interested in joining, check out this great 2023 article from The Assembly about the group’s work. 

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.8 best spots to hunt for shark teeth in North Carolina8 best spots to hunt for shark teeth in North Carolina

Author

  • Ryan Pitkin

    Ryan Pitkin is a writer and editor based in Charlotte, where he runs an alternative weekly newspaper called Queen City Nerve. He is also editor of NoDa News, a community newsletter in the neighborhood where he has lived for 15 years.

CATEGORIES: THINGS TO DO
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