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Population: 4,701 Located in New Hanover County
Carolina Beach has undergone a dramatic transformation during the 1990s. Once considered a wild party spot, it is now a heavily residential community dedicated to creating a wholesome family environment. Recent years have seen the cultivation of improved services, pleasant landscaping, attention to zoning and tangible citizen action to make Carolina Beach an attractive visitor destination. There's a busy central business district centered around an active yacht basin. The boardwalk is undergoing revitalization with an increase in the number of family-oriented establishments, including a planned arcade and restaurants.
A drive through Carolina Beach reveals a pleasant 1950s-style beach of modest cottages, increasingly more upscale single-family dwellings and an abundance of three- and four-story condominiums. Unfortunately, these taller structures were built on the oceanfront and tend to obstruct the view of the sea for several congested blocks on the north end. Newer development to the south is much more spread out and lower in height along the shoreline.
In the heart of Carolina Beach is Jubilee Park, one of two amusement parks on the southern coast. Nearby, you'll find waterslides, miniature golf courses and other things that appeal to the kids. The town also has a movie theater, grocery stores and bait shops. The beachfront motels -- including several vintage motor courts -- offer a "blast from the past." If you were a kid during the `50s and your parents took you on vacation to the beach, this was the kind of place where you probably stayed. Some of the best beachfront lodging values are offered in these spots.
Anglers will love Carolina Beach. The surf promises wonderful bounty all year long, and there are plenty of tackle shops and piers as well as the opportunity to experience deep-sea fishing from the sterns of a number of charter boats berthed in the municipal yacht basin. Several annual fishing tournaments are based on the abundance of mackerel, and you can pay a nominal entry fee for a chance to reap as much as $50,000 for the winning fish.
At the extreme northern end of the island the beach is open to four-wheel drive vehicles. While there is a certain allure to driving right off the street onto the sand of this expansive space, don't do it if you are in a car. Getting stuck in the sand is as easy and frustrating as getting stuck in the snow.
Carolina Beach also offers one of the few state parks in the region. For a modest fee, you can camp and enjoy the wonders of nature. Venus's-flytrap, a carnivorous plant, is abundant in the park. This plant, a relic from pre-human existence on the planet, only grows naturally within a 60-mile radius of Wilmington.
Away from the seasonal bustle at the center of town, Carolina Beach is a quiet community of about 5,000 regular residents. That number jumps five times at the peak of the vacation season. The community is growing in appeal to locals from Wilmington for one big reason: It isn't crowded, yet. You have plenty of elbow room on the beach; there is no problem finding parking at the bargain rate of $2 a day in the central business district; and some of the better vacation rental deals are here. Many a Wilmingtonian has given Wrightsville Beach over to visitors for the summer in the past few years and turned to Carolina Beach for a quiet spot on the sand.
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