Swansboro District

 
You’ll fall in love with the charm Swansboro has to offer, especially if this town is where you choose to rest your head. An affordable choice of hotels, bed and breakfasts, and inns will put you in close proximity to the beaches found on the Atlantic Ocean, as well as to the charm of this cozy town. We’ll warn you — you may never want to leave.

Beaches Of the Greater Jacksonville North Carolina Area

For the ultimate beach experience, choose a vacation rental — a condo, single-family home, resort, or hotel — located directly on the beach. You’ll quickly discover there’s nothing like hearing the sound of the ocean when you wake up in the morning. Choose from a variety of options, all which are unique and comfortable, to make your vacation a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
 

Sneads Ferry

Stay in the heart of seafood country with the lodging you’ll find in Sneads Ferry. Everything from quaint inns to oceanfront condos to affordable hotels will make your stay relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable. Best of all, you’ll have quick, easy access to the pristine beaches of Topsail Beach.

2013 Outer Banks Wildlife Sandcastle Contest

 

2013 Outer Banks Wildlife Sandcastle Contest

August 3, 2013 
This fun-in-the-sun event gives attendees a chance to learn from master sandcastle builders, view professional sculptors’ sand creations and compete in amateur-level contests. 

It’s a great way to spend time with your family and friends; just be sure to bring your camera to catch some of these amazing and intricate sandy creations.

OWL’s Sandcastle Contest is a great time and for a great cause. All proceeds raised during the weekend event go toward the rehabilitation and care of native North Carolina wildlife that have been injured or orphaned.

Find Outer Banks Wildlife Sandcastle Contest schedule information by calling 252-240-1200.

Listing Updates: Things To Do In Greater Jacksonville North Carolina

Events

Sand Sculpting for Teens

6.19.13

Be the envy of the beach crowds this summer: learn the art of sculpting a fabulous sandcastle with just a few simple items. Local sand artist, Sandi Adams of Sandicastles, will give hands-on lessons to participants. Registration is recommended for this program; please call your local branch.

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Juneteenth Community Celebration of Freedom

June 20th-23rd

The June Teenth Celebration of Freedom will be held June 20-June 23 2013. Please see the following schedule: June 20th at 6pm, Community Unity Service, St. Julia Amez Church. June 21st from 7-11pm, Community Social and Sunset Cruise at Marina Cafe. June 22nd from 11am-3:30pm, Community Fair at the Riverwalk Crossing Park. Also on June 22nd, Community Best Talent Show held at 5pm at the JT Kerr Memorial Baptist Church. June 23rd from 1-5pm, the Military and Community Cemetery Honoring and Food Giveaway at Georgetown Park located on Broadhurst Rd. Volunteer opportunities include singing in the Unity Choir and assisting with the community Fair. Vendor and Booth rental fees are $45 for Non-Profit and $95 for all other businesses. Students ages 6-18 are more than welcomed to enter the Essay Contest. Please contact avscott1@yahoo.com for more information.

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Jacksonville Movie in the Park Featuring Hotel Transylvania

June 21, 2013

Free family movie night under the stars! Hotel Transylvania will be showing on the big screen. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets for some free family fun!

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Dig It!

6.26.13

Learn all about fossils -from sharks teeth to fish bones and beyond! Discover how fossils are made and learn what kinds of animals would have lived in Onslow County! End the lesson by digging for your very own fossils! Program led by Chance Hellmann from the Onslow County Museum.

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Vendor Blender Shopping Extravaganza

June 29th, 2013

Come shop and save at this huge event!

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The Anointing- Gospel Music Competition

June 29th, 2013

Do you like music and good, clean family fun? Well then look no further!!!

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July 4 Freedom Festival

July 4, 2013

JACKSONVILLE, NC — Enjoy a great family festival on the July 4, 2013 at the 30th Onslow County Parks and Recreation Fourth of July Freedom Festival! Held at Onslow Pines Park, the event offers games, food, rides, face painting and a fossil dig. Guests will enjoy the very best in musical entertainment with headliner performances by The Embers 5pm – 9pm and The Buzz Rocket Band 3pm – 9pm. To round out the event, a spectacular Patriotic Fireworks Display will begin at 9pm.

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Swanboro July 4th Celebration

July 4, 2013

Fireworks 9 pm /Live Music by Coastline Band/Food/Shopping !! Celebrate the 4th on the waterfront of Downtown Swansboro.

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Earth and Surf Fest

BMX Stunt Show, Yoga, StandUp Paddleboarding, Live Music, Surf, Sun, and even and 5 and 10K Run!! www.earthandsurffest.com

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Ocean City Jazz Festival

July 6, 2013

What could be better than the beach and great Jazz? The Ocean City Jazz Festival has both! This years festival keeps it jazzy with The John Brown Quintet, The Stanley Baird Group, and Kim Pacheco with Richard H White, Jr.

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Surf, Sun and Run

July 6, 2013

Get your feet wet at the Onslow County Parks and Recreation 5K,10K and One Mile Fun Run

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Summer eBook Workshop

7.8.13

Learn how to browse, check-out, and download eBooks using the North Carolina Digital Library (NCDL). All downloads are free! Learn how to get the most from your virtual library!

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Discovery Table & Sea Turtles with Hammocks Beach State park

7.10.13

Onslow Beaches are known as the "graveyard of the Atlantic" due to the interesting items that wash ashore-­from shipwrecks to fossils to seeds from another continent. Come and learn to identify the mysterious treasures that can be discovered in our own backyard!

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Jacksonville Movie in the Park Featuring The Pirates

July 12, 2013

Free family movie night under the stars! The Pirates will be showing on the big screen. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets for some free family fun!

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Gideon T. Johnson Sr. Football Camp

July 13th

Promoting a sense of respect and responsibility.

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Sand-Sational 8K Beach Run

Now-July 13, 2013

Join us at Onslow Beach for the Sand-Sational 8K Beach Run. This scenic course at Onslow Beach includes sand, dirt roads, and pavement. Sand portions include some areas where your feet may get wet depending on the tide.

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Behind the Scenes

7.16.13

Learn some basic stage makeup techniques & have fun turning the clock forward with old-age makeup make overs!

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A Year With Austen

July 25, 2013

OCPL will celebrate "A Year with Jane Austen," in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice.

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Discovery Diving

July 30, 2013

Fun for teens!

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The Best Places To Shell Comb In Onslow County and Greater Jacksonville North Carolina

 

North Carolina is comprised of more than 300 miles of coastline. From barrier islands to inlets and sounds, North Carolina's beaches are popular with vacationers. The beaches are small, which affords visitors the opportunity to find rare and untarnished sea shells as they comb the beaches. North Carolina's climate and Atlantic waters provide optimal conditions for sea shell collection.

Oracoke Beach

Within North Carolina's Outer Banks are small beach towns and villages, such as Oracoke. These towns and villages are often the best beach locations for finding seashells. In fact, Oracoke was ranked the second-best beach in America for sea shells in 2007 by Coastal Living Magazine. You can also find seashells in the more traveled parts of the island, but your chances are better during low tide or after a storm.

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Hatteras Island

Also within the Outer Banks is Hatteras Island. Between the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound, Hatteras Island is 30 miles from North Carolina's mainland. Hatteras Island sees sea shell seekers in droves each summer. The region's location within the Atlantic, its stormy and rainy seasons as well as its frequent sandbars allow for unique beachcombing experiences Sea shell seekers on Hatteras Island often find Scotch bonnets and the North Carolina state shell along its beaches.

Bald Head Island

Accessible only via boat or ferry is North Carolina's remote and serene Bald Head Island. The island is encompassed by 14 miles of white sandy beach and has year-round mild temperatures due to its proximity to the Gulf Stream. As a recipient of such warm waters, Bald Head Island's beaches are ideal for collecting sea shells. The sand from Fort Fisher to Cape Fear provides a pristine stretch of beach for shell searching.

Wilmington

Wilmington, North Carolina, is home to three beaches along Cape Fear's coastline. Wrightsville Beach, Kure Beach and Carolina Beach are all within a half hour's drive from one another. Wrightsville Beach's white sandy beaches are an ideal setting to beachcomb for shells as they are easier to recognize against the lighter background. Kure Beach's early morning sandbars present sea shell collectors a ripe opportunity for distinctive finds.

Emerald Isle

Emerald Isle, just southwest of the Outer Banks along the Bogue Banks barrier island, is home to lush and beautiful Atlantic beaches. While sea shells often wash up along the Emerald Isle coastal shorelines, more plentiful sea shells can be found just a short ferry ride from the island to Cape Lookout or Shackleford Banks. Both Cape Lookout and Shackleford Banks receive waves from the Gulf Stream, which allows for more shells to wash up and be found while snorkeling.

Kayaking In The Greater Jacksonville North Carolina and Onslow County Area

Under the canopy of cypress trees, floating through marshes and swamp forests, catching glimpses of alligators, birds and wildlife, the way to truly experience Onslow County's natural resources is to canoe or kayak right through it. Situated on Carolinas richly diverse coastline, Onslow County's creeks, rivers, marshes and inlets offer limitless opportunities for paddlers to search and explore the beauty of North Carolina.
Cow Horn Creek and New River trails lead paddlers through smooth black waters in the dense marshes and hardwood forests from Richlands to the New River inlet, with skill difficulties of 2 and 3. The White Oak River boasts an exciting AA Black Rapids trail teeming with wildlife including the infamous alligator, birds and other Carolina critters. Hammocks Beach State Park offers 3 marked trails over seven miles, navigating canoeists and kayakers through the stunning barrier island estuaries, sounds, salt marshes, and maritime swamp forests with highlights such as bottlenose dolphin sightings.
For more information on all the paddling possibilities, call Onslow County Tourism at (800) 932-2144 or stop by our office in Jacksonville for full-color brochures of all canoe and kayak trails.

Geochaching in the Greater Jacksonville North Carolina Area

 

Find Geocaching Coordinates In Onslow County and The Greater Jacksonville North Carolina Area!

Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier

 

 Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier

Topsail Beach North Carolina

Topsail Beach is a town in Pender County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 581 at the 2008 census. It is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area

Area: 5.9 sq miles (15.28 km²)

Local time: Tuesday 12:57 PM

Population: 377 (2011)

Hammocks Beach And Bear Island

 

Venture to Bear Island and reward yourself with vivid memories of one of the most unspoiled beaches on the Atlantic coast. Accessible only by passenger ferry or private boat, there's just one thing at Hammocks Beach that's crowded?the list of things to do.

Stroll the beach with laughing gulls and sandpipers. Cast a baited hook into endless rows of foaming breakers. Discover tiny specimens of marine life in tidal pools and mudflats. Use a camera or paintbrush to capture the green and gold grasses that color the salt marshes. Spend the night among the sand dunes, or simply bask in the sun and do nothing at all.
Secluded and tranquil, free from intruding commercialism, Hammocks Beach may not be for everyone, but the island is a retreat for people who welcome the challenges of relentless sun, sand, sea and sky.