Day Tripping at Wrightsville Beach
Durham, NC is located in a prime location for day tripping, close to Raleigh and Chapel Hill, plus a two and half hour drive to the beach and three hours to the mountains. A quick trip to the beach was a no brainer for Saturday, it was sunny and beautiful. Packed up the car with a cooler full of ice cold beverages, lunch and a few snacks. Grabbed a towel, beach chairs and an umbrella and off we go.
The drive is straight to the coast on I-40, cutting off to the beach just before Wilmington. An early start was imperative to find parking once we arrive at our destination.
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- Almost there.
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- Trail to the beach at Access Point #7.
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- Enjoying a little beach time
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- Access Point #7
What you need to know:
Get there early. Parking fills up fast on the weekends, plan on being there by 9 a.m. at the very latest. We arrived at 9:30 a.m. and grabbed the last spot along the street. If you want to park by the pier, there are metered spots as you enter Wrightsville Beach, but still arrive early.
Parking. Again, it fills up fast. Bring change for the meters, it will cost you $2.50/hour or $15 for the day. Or, better yet, sign up before you go with Pay By Phone and use your phone to pay. You will have to enter your phone number (with a pin or password), your license plate number and a credit card when you sign up. Then when you find your parking spot, you sign into the app and plug in your spot number and amount of time–done! I use T-mobile and the reception was horrible, I ended up calling the available phone number (1-888-380-PARK (7275)) and spoke with an agent who set me up.
Beach. When arriving at Wrightsville Beach, you can choose to go left or right, we chose left. Along the road there are metered spots on one side, there are also Beach Access parking lots, which fill up much sooner than the street. If you choose to access the beach away from the central area, there are no facilities–––no food, no water, no restrooms at most of the access points. You will find restrooms at #36, #16, #4 and #2. You will find ADA restrooms at #3, #8, #9 and #43. Click here for a map and full listing of the access points and the available amenities.
What to bring. I know you probably know what to bring to the beach, this is just a helpful reminder. Towel, beach chair, hat, sunglasses, a good book, sunscreen, umbrella, small cooler, and it’s a good idea to bring along a few stakes and nylon rope to secure that umbrella down. We were lucky to have friendly and prepared neighbors (who happen to be day tripping from Raleigh) help secure our umbrella which did not want to stay put.
Rip Current! Beware the rip current, check ahead of your visit or look to a life guard stand to see what flags are flying. You will find more information HERE.
Helpful links:
–Nile Mueller
