Unique Activities Around Sunset Beach NC

An Overview of Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach is a seaside town facing the Atlantic filled with beach houses, low sand dunes and long beaches. The area is part of the Myrtle Beach metropolitan and serves as an important storm-barrier island for the North Carolina mainland. With soft sands, amazing sunrises, flocks of seabirds and pockets of nature amongst beach houses, there are many unique activities around sunset beach.

Unique Activities Around Sunset Beach

Calabash

Calabash is a small fishing town near Sunset Beach, known for it’s numerous, outstanding seafood restaurants. The town has numerous mini-golf courses and a large beach-styled gift shop called Callahan’s at Callabash, which sells excellent fudge, artworks, trinkets, souvenirs, beach gear and a large section of year-round Christmas supplies.

Kindred Spirit Mailbox

This is a unique tourist attraction found about 1.5 miles south of the 40th street access point on Sunset Beach. The mailbox makes a vital appearance in the Nicholas Sparks bestselling novel Every Breath.

Bird Island Reserve

This is a large barrier island found at the southernmost point of Sunset Beach. The island is one of the few remaining protected natural islands in the mid-Atlantic region. Known for its high dunes and salt mashes, the island reserve is home to numerous birds, animals and plants.

Museum of Coastal Carolina

Found on the nearby Ocean Isle Beach, this museum holds beach-themed artwork, local-history exhibits and several touch tanks filled with live sea animals.

Vereen Memorial Gardens

Considered a local hidden jewel, this is a long, recreational boardwalk trail network wandering through the natural wetlands near the Intracoastal Waterway.

Old Bridge Museum

Prior to the construction of the Sunset Beach Bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway, this route used a rising drawbridge to allow vessels through. The construction project for a larger bridge was often opposed, believing that a new, larger bridge would oversaturate Sunset Beach’s tourism crowds. When the old drawbridge was retired, the center was converted into a museum and placed alongside several shops and stores which used to cater to crowds waiting to cross the bridge.

Sunset Seashells Tree

This is a locally famous tree growing close to the sea. Visitors often hang seashells or sand dollars on the branches like a Christmas ornament, with local tradition implying that it helps wishes come true.

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