Reporting by Charlie Kingree, Wilmington StarNews
Southern Living readers have ranked the best beaches in the South, and North Carolina beaches were all over the list, including several within driving distance of Wilmington.
The magazine conducted a survey asking its readers to rate their favorite places across the southern United States. The final result was over 10,000 responses that ultimately became a list of the 50 best beaches in the South, according to Southern Living readers.
Nine different North Carolina beach town made the cut, ranging from the Outer Banks down toward the Brunswick Islands.
See where your favorite beach town landed and what Southern Living had to say about it.
Oak Island
Oak Island claimed the very last spot on the list: No. 50. Southern Living highlighted how Oak Island’s coastline faces south toward the Atlantic, unlike the east-facing New Hanover County beaches. This allows you to see parts of both the sunrise and the sunset from the Oak Island beachfront.
Topsail Beach
Coming in not far ahead of Oak Island, Topsail Beach was the 46th ranked beach on the list.
Southern Living emphasized the more peaceful nature of the beach. Although Topsail Beach is one of three towns on Topsail Island, it remains less developed than many other beaches on the list. In particular, The Point, the undeveloped stretch at the southern tip of the island, offers a quiet place to enjoy nature and wildlife.
Wrightsville Beach
Perhaps the most well-known of the Wilmington-area beaches, Wrightsville Beach came in at No. 28 — the highest ranked North Carolina beach on the list.
Southern Living touched on the variety that Wrightsville Beach offers. The beach is home to a number of stores, restaurants and piers for visitors to enjoy — though all those attractions do lead to bigger crowds. Still, with 44 public beach accesses, it’s easy enough to get out onto the sand once you’re there.
What are the best beach towns across North Carolina?
Several other North Carolina coastal towns outside of the Wilmington area made the list, putting the state’s total at nine.
- No. 48: Hatteras Island
- No. 43: Ocracoke
- No. 39: Duck
- No. 38: Beaufort
- No. 35: Emerald Isle
- No 32: Nags Head
Charlie Kingree is the trending topics and Pender County reporter for the StarNews.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews.
