I'm headed to Wilmington this weekend for a wedding. Any recommendations on which beach to hit up? I've been there once like 4 years ago so suggestions would be great.

5/24/2010 3:00:11 PM

If you go to Wrightsville this weekend prepare to get their EARLY in the day because that place will be packed. Last year the line to just to get to the beach was lined up all the way to Wrightsville Ave.

5/24/2010 3:04:37 PM

hmmm, I probably wouldn't be able to get there until 1 or 2.

5/24/2010 3:05:55 PM

I am a local and here are my 2 cents....

Unless you are going to show up by 10 AM, have a friend with a house ( parking spots), or don't mind parking at the park/elementary school/church on middle island and walking 10-15 mins to reach a beach access; I would avoid Wrightsville Beach.

Everyone including their grandma, uncle, 2nd cousin, long lost friend, and their platoon of marine friends will be at Wrightsville this weekend. Last year we got there right before noon, drove around for 40 minutes (traffic is horrendous), and finally dumped our friend foot off at one of the access with all our gear. We then drove back to middle island and walked back to the beach. The only time with worse crowds is July 4th.

If you want to avoid fighting for parking or just somewhere a little more chill, then you are better off going to Carolina/Kure beach or going north to Top Sail. I for one plan to take dodge out of town and will be heading to Charlotte.

BTW they also fucked up the stop lights going down to the beach from I40. Eastwood/MLK & Market as well as Eastwood & Military CutOff are way to short. If you are staying somewhere in Wilmington I would take Wrightsville Ave or US76 (Oleander which turns into Military Cutoff).

There will literally be a city of people on the beach. The stretch from the beach bars adjacent to Tower 7 (access 25?) down past Johnny Mercer's peer will be the most packed (access 10). Mercer's is access 16. The north side past the holiday inn and the south-end around the Oceanic peer are a little more casual. This may also be your best chance at parking if you get there past 10am.

For nightlife I recommend 22 North and Jerry Allen's.
Palm Room and Buddie's near Johnny Mercer's are nice too if the main beach bars are to crowded.

Lagerhead's is cool with the outdoor porch. Service though can suck with only 2 bartenders, the bathroom only has one toilet so there is always a line, and it can be down right impossible to move sometimes when crowded.

Red Dog's sometimes has a cool scene and a little less crowded compared to 22 or Lagerheads. I do not like Red Dog's as lately the place seems to be attracting a lot of douchebags. This is also the only bar to charge cover (except for Palm Room who only charges to cover the live music).

King Neptunes- Dive bar typically older crowd and locals.

[Edited on May 24, 2010 at 3:20 PM. Reason : l]

5/24/2010 3:09:42 PM

drive 30 extra minutes to Long Beach, on Oak Island

5/24/2010 3:10:12 PM

wow...why would you want to get married at one of the most popular beaches in NC on memorial day weekend? that sounds like a disaster.

glwt

5/24/2010 3:11:37 PM

I dunno why, but whatever. I'm flying in from Chicago so I really want to hit up the beach. We are staying here:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=34.242459,-77.939286&spn=0.016248,0.043945&z=15&iwloc=lyrftr:m,11606036567595133791,34.24136,-77.951345

Maybe I can head south to Carolina/Kure beach. I'm just looking to relax for a bit and not deal with traffic and tons of people.

5/24/2010 3:19:52 PM

Damn, you are walking distance to the downtown bars! Nice.

yeah i'd recommend taking 3rd street down to US421 and going to Carolina/Kura Beach

5/24/2010 3:24:12 PM

Sounds like a plan. Any idea of where to park around there or will I be able to figure that out once I'm in the area?

5/24/2010 3:29:11 PM

I always park between K and L avenue at Kure Beach. There's a big row of public spots right in front of the beach there. You usually have to drive around the block a few times, but it's never taken me more than ~15 minutes to catch someone getting in their car and wait for the spot to open up. It might be worse considering it'll be a holiday weekend, but that's where I've had the best luck.

[Edited on May 24, 2010 at 3:51 PM. Reason : l]

5/24/2010 3:50:19 PM

we were there for 2 nights and both nights ended up at 22 north. probably best bar to choose from

5/24/2010 4:07:53 PM

I have never like wrightsville beach. Don't go out there unless you want to sit in traffic and have to walk a mile to get to the beach. It's way to crowded with people who act like they want to be mma fighters too and military people...

5/24/2010 4:41:18 PM

Cool, thanks for the tips. I'm not training to be a MMA fighter so I'll avoid Wrightsville.

5/24/2010 4:46:26 PM

Now that I think about it I'm pretty sure those spots had parking meters. Make sure to grab $5-$10 in quarters if you're planning to spend the day there. A small price to pay, but an inconvenience if you're not prepared for it.

5/24/2010 5:23:40 PM

i think i remember it being $2/hr for parking at the meters.

5/24/2010 6:03:00 PM

Most people ruined WB the 4th of july 2006. Since then everything has been horrible. If I were you I would head to a Lake somewhere. I have a free place to stay in Wilmington and I still will probably head to Lake Norman. Enjoy the sun though!

5/24/2010 10:06:10 PM

Yeah Wrightsville is terrible.

Topsail is where it's at

5/24/2010 10:13:49 PM

Quote :

"i think i remember it being $2/hr for parking at the meters. "

As much as I hate the fact that Wrightsville increased parking from 1.50/hour to 2/hour, deep down i am hoping that this will discourage all the guido's, wanna be MMA fighters, Jarheads, and college frat tools from out-of-town to take the I-140 Wilmington ByPass to head on down to Myrtle beach instead of crapping up our beach.

After years of loathing Myrtle Beach the true purpose occured to me. Myrtle Beach is like roach trap, that attracts all the red necks, high school kids, and other tools from polluting NC beaches.

5/25/2010 8:39:51 AM

wrightsville is cool at 7 AM when the surf is up. Once 10 AM comes around and waves die off and the surf zone flags go up, it sucks.

5/25/2010 9:51:38 AM

Quote :

"drive 30 extra minutes to Long Beach, on Oak Island"

5/25/2010 9:56:34 AM

As much as I love Oak Island, and frequent it often, me and a few girls are going to withstand the crowds and hit up Wrightsville Sunday.

5/25/2010 9:59:59 AM

Quote :

" After years of loathing Myrtle Beach the true purpose occured to me. Myrtle Beach is like roach trap, that attracts all the red necks, high school kids, and other tools from polluting NC beaches. "

That's how I view Myrtle too

5/25/2010 10:02:59 AM

Wrightsville is cool if you have parents that have a house right on the beach.

In all seriousness, we have been at Wrightsville for 20 years, and we usually skip Memorial and 4th down there. To many assholes on the water. Although, 22 North is a pretty awesome place to go.

[Edited on May 25, 2010 at 10:03 AM. Reason : .]

5/25/2010 10:03:35 AM

what are some nice hotels to stay at that are up against the beach down there? Any suggestions?


tia

5/25/2010 11:08:52 AM

Only 3 in Wrightsville. Shell Island, Holiday Inn, Blockade Runner. All are about the same.

5/25/2010 11:20:21 AM

I went to Wrightsville today. Their was a decent crowd but not many people there. It was cloudy and in the 70s for most of the day but wasn't too bad. Plenty of open spaces there. I did see this black truck with spikes on top and on the back bumper. I thought it was satan's truck.
Plus, their were some Wrightsville businesses that either a) don't have public restrooms and/or b) don't take credit cards. That was just weird to me with the summer traffic they usually get there.

5/29/2010 11:46:32 PM