Crystal Coast

Map of Onslow Bay. The Crystal Coast extends southwestward from Cape Lookout to the New River Inlet

The Crystal Coast is an 85-mile stretch of coastline in North Carolina that extends from the Cape Lookout National Seashore, which includes 56 miles of protected beaches, westward to the New River. The Crystal Coast is a popular area with tourists and second-home owners in the summer. The absolute boundaries of this coast are often disputed, but the main area includes all the major Carteret County beaches (those on Bogue Banks, which face south). It also includes eastern portions of Carteret County, such as Harkers Island, Down East and Shackleford Banks, as well as the northern Onslow County beaches (Bear Island/Hammock's Beach), and a few ports along the Intracoastal Waterway. Some tourism marketing calls the region the Southern Outer Banks, to draw connection to the main Outer Banks, which traditionally terminates at Cape Lookout; the point of which marks the northern extent of the Crystal Coast.

Tourism

The crystal water beaches that give the area its name.

Beaches

The very name Crystal Coast was coined as part of a tourism campaign by the Carteret County Tourism Development Authority, which exists to serve visitors and residents of the Crystal Coast. It is also known as the Crystal Coast Tourism Authority. There are more than 100 restaurants in the area and many hotels, including the Doubletree Atlantic Beach, the largest full service hotel on the coast of North Carolina. Beach cottages, which are often rented out for a week during the summer, are also popular here, especially in Emerald Isle. Several of the properties in the area, especially Atlantic Beach, are second homes of people from the interior part of the state, including those from cities such as Kinston, Goldsboro and the capital city of Raleigh. There is also public access to the beach in many areas, with one of the most popular being an area known as "The Circle" in central Atlantic Beach. It is a collection of shops, houses and amusement rides along the ocean at the end of the causeway from the bridge to Morehead City. The Circle is undergoing a redevelopment, replacing the rides that were in the center of the area, which is actually more triangular, with high-rise apartments, as well as new restaurants and shops.

Diving and fishing

In addition to the beaches, two other major activities that draw visitors to the Crystal Coast are diving and fishing. It is one of the two spots in North America where the warm waters of the Gulf Stream approach the coastline, creating a “wreck diver’s dream” with near-perfect conditions, according to Scuba Diving magazine. Known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” there are more than 2,000 vessels that have sunk along the North Carolina coast. During World War II, German U-boats frequently targeted merchant vessels sending them to their final resting places 100 feet beneath the sea, viewable by divers thanks to the clear, warm waters with average temperatures around 80 degrees Fahrenheit and more than 75 feet of visibility. More recently, a new mystery discovered on the Crystal Coast is the Lionfish, a poisonous non-native invasive species with sharp spiny fins and brick red bands covering its body. Lionfish were previously thought to only inhabit the tropical and subtropical waters of the South Pacific, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Other diving activities include underwater photography clinics as well as shark and spear fishing dives.

The proximity of the Gulf Stream also makes the Crystal Coast a popular fishing destination. The warm waters provide the Crystal Coast with the longest fishing season on the Atlantic coast. The area is home to one of the largest fishing tournaments in the world, the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, based out of Morehead City. Other fish caught along the Crystal Coast include bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, red drum, false albacore, sea trout, striped bass, cobia, sailfish, dolphin and wahoo. There are several private chartered fishing excursions or the more affordable, family friendly, headboat fishing trips that can take up to 100 people.

Morehead City and Atlantic Beach

Entrance to Fort Macon

Other attractions to the area include the North Carolina Seafood Festival, one of the largest festivals in the state, which has been held in Morehead City for nearly 20 years, as well as one of two state ports in North Carolina, the other being in Wilmington.

In Atlantic Beach, Fort Macon is a major draw for its Civil War history, making it the second most visited state park in North Carolina. During the war, the fort changed hands several times between Union and Confederate forces, eventually fell into disrepair and was finally restored as a part of the state park system in 1934. The fort was taken over by the federal government once again during World War II and used to protect a number of important nearby facilities. Now the state park is home to a protected beach. One of three North Carolina Aquariums is at Pine Knoll Shores, with the other two in Manteo and Fort Fisher. All three have been recently renovated, with the Pine Knoll Shores location the latest, making it three times larger than before. The “Living Shipwreck” features a life-sized replica of a German U-352 submarine and Blackbeard’s infamous ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, which was found nearby off the coast a decade ago.

Beaufort and Harkers Island

Historic Beaufort and Down East Carteret County are known for their history and culture. Beaufort (pronounced "Bo-furt") is the third oldest town in North Carolina, after Bath and New Bern. It is also the home to the North Carolina Maritime Museum, which is the official repository for all of the artifacts discovered on the Queen Anne’s Revenge. There is also a display of seashells from around the world with 5,000 specimens from more than 100 countries. At the museum's Watercraft Center, volunteers actively build and restore boats in an effort to preserve the Crystal Coast’s tradition of “backyard boat-building.”

Feral horse on Shackleford.

On nearby Harkers Island, the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum was built as a tribute to the history and heritage of the residents to preserve the island's practice of decoy carving, a popular pastime of the area that involves skilled artisans carving a perfect replica of a duck from a block of wood. The ducks were used as decoys during duck hunting season. Trips to visit the black-and-white diamond pattern lighthouse at Cape Lookout can also be made from Beaufort and Harker's Island. Nearby Shackleford Banks is home to herds of feral horses called Bankers.

Neighbors

The Core Sound shoreline communities east of Beaufort are known as the "Down East" area of North Carolina, but since they are in Carteret County, they are technically part of the Crystal Coast. The beaches north of here, starting with Portsmouth Island and Ocracoke are known as the Outer Banks. South of the Crystal Coast is an undeveloped stretch of coast around the mouth of the New River that is part of the Camp Lejeune military base near Jacksonville. The next developed area to the south is Topsail Island in Onslow County.

Places

Map of Carteret County, North Carolina with Municipal and Township labels

Map of Onslow County, North Carolina with Municipal and Township labels

The following are the communities, islands, military bases, and parks most commonly associated with the Crystal Coast:

Transportation

The following highways are major arterial roads in the Crystal Coast area:

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Crystal Coast.

The Crystal Coast of North Carolina

Landforms	Cape Lookout Harkers Island Core Banks Shackleford Banks Bogue Banks Bear Island

Places	Counties: Carteret County Onslow County Towns/Cities: Beaufort Morehead City Atlantic Beach Pine Knoll Shores Salter Path Indian Beach Emerald Isle Cape Carteret Cedar Point Swansboro

Waterways	Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Core Sound Bogue Sound

Protected areas	Cape Lookout National Seashore Shackleford Banks Fort Macon State Park North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores Hammocks Beach State Park

Transportation	Highways: U.S. Highway 70 North Carolina Highway 58 North Carolina Highway 24 North Carolina Highway 101 Airports: Michael J. Smith Field Albert J. Ellis Airport Coastal Carolina Regional Airport

State of North Carolina

Raleigh (capital)

Topics	Climate Geography Government History Music Law North Carolinians State Parks Wildlife Visitor attractions

Society	Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Gambling Politics Sports

Regions	Cape Fear Coastal Plain Crystal Coast Eastern Foothills High Country Inner Banks Metrolina (Charlotte) Outer Banks Piedmont Piedmont Triad Sandhills Triangle Western

Largest cities	Asheville Cary Chapel Hill Charlotte Concord Durham Fayetteville Gastonia Greensboro Greenville High Point Jacksonville Raleigh Wilmington Winston‑Salem

Smaller cities	Albemarle Apex Asheboro Burlington Conover Eden Elizabeth City Garner Goldsboro Graham Havelock Henderson Hendersonville Hickory Kannapolis Kings Mountain Kinston Laurinburg Lenoir Lexington Lumberton Monroe Morganton New Bern Newton Reidsville Roanoke Rapids Rocky Mount Salisbury Sanford Shelby Statesville Thomasville Wake Forest Waynesville Wilson

Major towns	Beaufort Boone Carrboro Clayton Cornelius Dunn Fuquay-Varina Harrisburg Holly Springs Hope Mills Huntersville Indian Trail Kernersville Knightdale Leland Matthews Midland Mint Hill Mooresville Morehead City Morrisville Mount Pleasant Oxford Shallotte Smithfield Southern Pines Tarboro Winterville

Counties	Alamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey

Coordinates: 34°41′41″N 76°32′09″W / 34.6946074°N 76.5357571°W / 34.6946074; -76.5357571

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