Why North Carolina’s Crystal Coast is worth knowing
It's not often you can watch a sunrise and a sunset from the same spot on the shore, but North Carolina's Crystal Coast offers this rare opportunity. This southern-facing, 85-mile stretch from Cape Carteret to Down East gets its name from its clear waters. Here you can explore the region's beaches, maritime forests and estuaries, along with 11 waterfront towns on the mainland and the islands.
This area, also trademarked as the Southern Outer Banks, is idyllic to visit in fall, thanks to pleasant temperatures and fewer crowds. Spend your days watching wild horses, hiking on nature trails and fishing off the piers, or just enjoying the simple pleasure of dining on a great meal by the waterfront. Read our guide to outdoor and indoor adventures on the Crystal Coast.
Natural Playground
With so much water easily accessible from the Crystal Coast, fishing is a huge draw for locals and visitors. Head to the Oceanana Fishing Pier in Atlantic Beach or Bogue Inlet Pier in Emerald Isle, which offer fishing passes as well as rod and reel rentals. Choose from dozens of fishing charters that will take you inshore fishing for redfish, Spanish mackerel or speckled trout; or fly fishing for false albacore.
Every year, Morehead City plays host to the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, one of the oldest fishing tournaments in the country. It’s also quite a lucrative one; this past June, the winning team was awarded a $6.5 million payout for landing a nearly 920-pound blue marlin.
It’s easy to go hiking in nature no matter where you are based on the Crystal Coast. Consider 1-mile loops like Fort Benjamin Park Trail in Newport or Hoop Pole Creek Nature Trail, which takes you through the only remaining maritime forest left in Atlantic Beach. Theodore Roosevelt Nature Trail in Pine Knoll Shores is slightly longer than a mile, scaling up a high dune ridge and passing interior marshes. (It’s also located next to the aquarium; more on that shortly.) With a loop through a hardwood and pine forest and boardwalks over tidal salt marshes, Cedar Point Tideland Trail is considered an easy hike. Emerald Isle Woods Park stretches 41 acres and offers wheelchair-accessible trails.
Hop on a ferry to Cape Lookout National Seashore, where you can tour historic villages, see a historic lighthouse up close, plus go shelling or birding. Part of this seashore is the undeveloped island of Shackleford Banks, where you can watch a herd of approximately 100 wild horses roaming around.
Local attractions
Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores offers a “mountains-to-the-sea” approach with its four galleries. Beginning with a 32-foot Smoky Mountain waterfall and ending with the Crystal Coast, this 93,000-square foot facility holds more than 430,000 gallons of saltwater and freshwater (and all manner of marine life). Its Living Shipwreck exhibit, the largest manmade habitat in the state, offers visitors a replica of a U-352 German submarine sunk off the coast of North Carolina through a 60-foot viewing window.
Expect to hear frequent cannon and musket demonstrations as you stroll Fort Macon State Park, which is on the grounds of a restored pre-Civil War fort. Here, there are daily guided tours; a beach for swimming and beachcombing; as well as trails crossing salt marsh and dune fields, perfect for birders trying to spot some of the 300-plus species found here.
Meals with a view
Come hungry to the annual North Carolina Seafood Festival (Oct. 2–4), which takes place over three days on the scenic Morehead City waterfront. Admission is free, but there are about 200 vendors tempting passersby with an endless variety of seafood options. Along with daily rides and games, the festival includes events like Flounder Fling, the Southern Outer Banks Boat Show and fireworks that Saturday night.
No matter when you visit the Crystal Coast, you’ll be assured a fresh catch in a scenic location as waterfront dining is a way of life here. Bogue Inlet Pier in Emerald Isle draws surfers to its 2- to 6-foot waves, so head to Surf’s Up Grill & Bar to watch them. From March through November, kiteboarders take up residence in the flat, shallow waters of the Bogue Sound; watch them ride the waves from the patio at Amos Mosquito’s Restaurant in Atlantic Beach. The Beaufort waterfront is a major coastal hub for yachts, and the wrap-around patio at 34° North Restaurant not only gives patrons views of the boats, but also of the wild horses roaming the Rachel Carson Reserve below. The Crystal Coast is a feast for the eyes as well as your stomach.
