Ideas & Escapes

Favorite Year-Round Coastal Escapes

There’s no escaping it. With beautiful sunshiny days and just a hint of seasonal change, you’ll find there’s much to do on the North Carolina coast all year round. So, if you think the coast is just for beach vacations, think again.

Escape to the Outdoors
Any time of the year is a great time for hiking, biking, watersports, or exploring the many state parks and natural areas of the Coast. Birding on the North Carolina Birding Trail is particularly good in winter when migratory birds come south to escape the northern cold. Perfect for canoeing, fishing and alligator watching in the summer, Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge near Swan Quarter is also the place to go to see thousands of tundra swans that make the area their winter home.

If you’re looking for adventure, try hang gliding. Lessons are available at Kitty Hawk Kites as are parasailing and airplane tours of the area. If that’s too much adventure, you can relive the original flight at Kitty Hawk made by Wilbur and Orville at the Wright Brothers National Memorial and then spend the day in the 16th Century at the Roanoke Island Festival Park. The park offers a living history of the first English colonists in America with special events scheduled throughout the year.The Pamlico Scenic Byway is a great way to see the changing seasons of the North Carolina coastal wetlands, or follow the Civil War Trail from Roanoke Island to Fort Fisher and see where the battles were won and lost.

Escape to the Indoors
Whether the weather is hot and humid or chilly and windy, you can learn about sea creatures, shipwrecks and pirates at the North Carolina Aquariums. Three locations at Fort Fisher in Kure Beach, Pine Knoll Shores and Roanoke Island offer a unique look at the ocean and its environment. Go from under the sea to on top of it at the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA, where a visit is always in season. Events are scheduled throughout the year including the famous ghost tour in October and the lighting of holiday lights in December.

More lights, cameras and action await you at the Screen Gems Studios where you can tour the studio any time of year, then take a walking tour or carriage ride through the downtown historic district of Wilmington. You’ll also find great shopping at the Cotton Exchange, the New Castle Antiques District and the dozens of shops along Front Street and the waterfront. Walking tours are also available in Elizabeth City, where you can spend a day at the Museum of the Albemarle, and in New Bern. Here you’ll also find Tryon Palace, where colonial history comes alive.

So, whether its boat building at the North Carolina Maritime Museum, star gazing at Ingram Planetarium, or enjoying a hayride at Mike’s Farm, you’re sure to have a great time any time when you escape to the North Carolina Coast.

By Pam Watson

added: December 15, 2008

updated: April 6, 2011