Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach, N.C.

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Fort Fisher State Recreation Area

Fort Fisher offers a surprisingly wide and sandy beach a few miles south of Carolina Beach, a classic North Carolina beach town. The state recreation area is among a trio of state attractions at the south end of Pleasure Island that includes the Fort Fisher State Historic Site, which commemorates the Civil War fortress, and the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher.

We made a quick stop at Fort Fisher in early August 2009 on the way home from Sunset Beach.

Fort Fisher has a visitors center with a small classroom, picnic area, beach and bathhouses, concessions stand, and a hiking trail.

The sandy beach is open year-round, with lifeguards on duty typically from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Four-wheel-drive vehicles are allowed on the beach from September 15 to March 31.

There are about six miles of beach in the entire recreation area.

The lifeguard-protected area is directly behind the visitors center.

An elevated boardwalk surrounds the picnic area. In all, there are 23 tables and grills, which are first-come, first-served with no fee. Some tables are ADA-accessible. That’s the bathhouse behind the picnic area.

The Basin Trail is 1.1 mile long, and goes through a marsh to an observation deck. We skipped the hike the afternoon we were there because we had spent the morning exploring Bird Island, a Coastal Reserve at Sunset Beach.