Best Things To Do in Carolina Beach in Summer | Local Guide

Carolina Beach is one of the last real boardwalk towns on the East Coast. Not a themed shopping district pretending to be one. An actual boardwalk, with a Ferris wheel, a donut line that wraps around the building, and fireworks over the ocean on summer Thursday nights. Add a state park where Venus flytraps grow wild and you have a strange, wonderful little island that locals guard jealously.

We spend our summers here too. Our cannabis truck spends the season on the island, which means our crew has strong opinions about donuts, parking, and the right order to do all of this in. Here is the list we give friends who visit.

1. Start with the line at Britt's Donuts

Britt's has been on the boardwalk since 1939 and sells exactly one thing: a hot glazed donut. No app, no seasonal menu, no oat milk. Cash only, and there will be a line. The line is part of it.

Hot glazed donuts like the ones from Britt's on the Carolina Beach boardwalk — One item on the menu since 1939. It is enough.

Go in the morning, order a dozen when you meant to order four, and eat the first one standing on the boardwalk while it is still warm. People plan whole trips around this and they are not wrong to.

2. Ride the boardwalk, then stay for the fireworks

The Carolina Beach Boardwalk earns its reputation: amusement rides, arcades, fudge and funnel cakes, live music on summer evenings. It is busiest after dinner, when the lights come on and the whole island funnels toward the water.

Boardwalk amusement rides lit up at night — The boardwalk after dark, when the rides light up.

The move is Thursday night. Through the heart of summer, the town shoots fireworks over the ocean on Thursday evenings around 9pm. Claim a spot on the sand a half hour early. Double-check the town's event calendar before you build a night around it, since weather and holidays shuffle the schedule.

3. Find wild Venus flytraps at Carolina Beach State Park

Venus flytrap, the carnivorous plant native to the Carolina Beach area — Venus flytraps grow wild in only one small corner of the planet, and you are standing in it.

Here is a fact that surprises almost everyone: Venus flytraps are not from some far-off jungle. They are native to a small radius around Wilmington, and almost nowhere else on Earth. Carolina Beach State Park is one of the easiest places to see them where they actually live.

Take the Flytrap Trail, an easy half-mile loop, and look low along the damp edges. Then climb Sugarloaf Dune, a 50-foot sand hill sailors used as a landmark back in the 1700s, for the view over the Cape Fear River. Entry to the park is free. One warning: look, photograph, leave them alone. Poaching a wild flytrap is a felony in North Carolina, and the rangers do not consider it a cute souvenir story.

4. Drive onto the sand at Freeman Park

At the north end of the island, the pavement ends and the beach keeps going. Freeman Park lets you drive a 4x4 right onto the sand, set up for the day, and fish or float with your tailgate as base camp.

A 4x4 truck driving on the sand at the beach — Where the pavement ends: tailgate camping, Freeman Park style.

You will need a vehicle permit from the town, and access rules shift with the tides and erosion, sometimes literally. Check the town of Carolina Beach's current rules before you air down your tires. No four-wheel drive? Walk in instead. The north end is the quietest stretch of sand on the island.

5. Walk the Kure Beach Pier

A North Carolina fishing pier at golden hour — Golden hour on the North Carolina coast. Bring a rod or just an ice cream.

A few minutes south of Carolina Beach, the Kure Beach Pier has been standing since 1923, which makes it one of the oldest fishing piers on the Atlantic coast. Rent a rod and soak a shrimp, or just pay the walk-on fee and stroll it with an ice cream while the pelicans work the surf below. Sunrise here is worth the alarm.

6. Make the Fort Fisher run

Keep driving south and the island ends in a cluster of things worth your afternoon. The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is the best rainy-day card on the island and a legitimately great aquarium any day. Next door, the Fort Fisher State Historic Site marks where one of the Civil War's biggest amphibious assaults ended in 1865. Past that, the state recreation area offers a long, undeveloped stretch of beach that feels nothing like the boardwalk two miles north.

Visitors watching sharks at a large aquarium tank — The aquarium at Fort Fisher, the island's best rainy-day plan.

If you want the scenic exit, roll your car onto the Fort Fisher ferry and cross the river to Southport, then loop home the long way.

7. Cool off at the WD High Tide Truck (yes, this is the shameless shout-out)

It is our list, so our truck gets a spot on it. The WD High Tide Truck is Wilmington Dispensary's seasonal cannabis truck on the island.

Heads up: the truck is temporarily closed as of September 2026. The Carolina Beach page will have the reopening date as soon as it is set.

The WD High Tide Truck parked at Carolina Beach Market and Deli — The WD High Tide Truck.

The menu is a hand-picked slice of our Wilmington shelf: craft THCa flower, pre-rolls, gummies, disposable vapes, infused olive oil, and merch. The summer headliner is the cold cannabis slushie, made right on the truck, and there is no better version of Carolina Beach than drinking one in a beach chair at 4pm. Everything is hemp-derived, third-party lab tested, and 21+ only, the same standard as our three Wilmington-area shops. In season, it is open every day, 10am to 10pm.

New to THCa flower or wondering how it is legal here? We wrote up the plain-English legal explanation, and the crew on the truck genuinely likes answering questions.

A sample day, if you want the cheat code

Britt's at 9. Beach until lunch. Flytrap Trail and Sugarloaf Dune in the early afternoon, before the heat peaks. A slushie at the truck around 4. Dinner on the boardwalk, rides at dusk, fireworks at 9 if it is Thursday. You will sleep extremely well.

Frequently asked questions

When are the Carolina Beach fireworks?

Thursday nights during the summer season, around 9pm, launched near the boardwalk. The schedule pauses for weather and shifts around holidays, so confirm on the town of Carolina Beach's event calendar before you go.

Is Britt's Donuts cash only?

Yes. Bring cash, and note that Britt's is seasonal, roughly spring through early fall. There are ATMs near the boardwalk if you forget.

Where can you see wild Venus flytraps near Carolina Beach?

The Flytrap Trail at Carolina Beach State Park, a free half-mile loop. Flytraps grow natively only within a small area around Wilmington, so this is one of the few places on Earth to see them in the wild. Do not touch or dig them; poaching flytraps is a felony in North Carolina.

Is there a dispensary in Carolina Beach?

Yes, seasonally. The WD High Tide Truck, Wilmington Dispensary's cannabis truck, runs daily from 10am to 10pm when the season is on. It is temporarily closed as of September 2026; the Carolina Beach page has the latest. It carries THCa flower, pre-rolls, gummies, vapes, and cannabis slushies for ages 21 and up.

Do you need a permit to drive on the beach at Freeman Park?

Yes, vehicles need a permit from the town of Carolina Beach, and access can close when erosion narrows the drivable sand. Check current conditions and permit details on the town's site before you go.

See you on the island

Carolina Beach does not try to be sleek, and that is the entire charm. Come for a day, stay for the fireworks, and if you spot a blue truck with a surfboard sign, stop in and say hey. First-timers get patient answers. Everyone gets a cold slushie.

Best Things To Do in Carolina Beach During the Summer