Masonboro Island
Summer is winding down, and the start of school is just around the corner, so we decided to take a family trip to the beach. We had never taken a boat to the beach in NC before, so we searched for an easy place to leave the boat nearby without having to worry about it too much. A little internet research led us to Masonboro Island as a good option.
Masonboro Island Reserve spans 8.5 miles as a barrier island with no development. You can only access it by boat. If you’re looking for some secluded beach time and have a boat, this is the place. You could also camp here, depending on how big of an adventure you’re seeking.
Where to launch
You have a couple of options for launching that are about equidistant to the cove where we anchored. One option is Trails End Park. It has a small one-lane ramp, but we found that it’s somewhat poorly designed. The design slows down launching and retrieving. We did a blog post with more details about it here.
We worried that we might arrive and find it packed with no parking available, but when we got there just before 10 a.m. on a Saturday, there were still spots. (Caveat: Hurricane Debby had just rolled through a few days earlier, which may have scared off some boaters.) By the time we came in to pull the boat out around 4 p.m., all the spots were taken.
The other option is the Wrightsville Beach ramp. It’s considerably larger with a lot more parking, but from what I’ve heard, it also fills up quickly.
Both ramps put you close by and offer an easy run to Masonboro Island.
Anchoring
A quiet cove lies toward the north end of Masonboro Island, protected from the wind and boat traffic. When we anchored, there were probably a dozen or so boats in the cove, but there was room for plenty more. We dropped the anchor and then backed the boat toward the land. Then, we staked out the Power Poles to hold the boat in place. It worked like a charm.
Conclusion
With the exception of a freak thunderstorm cell that absolutely dumped rain on us for about 15 minutes before disappearing, it couldn’t have been a better day. We can’t wait to bring the surfboards and maybe even the camping gear and do it again soon.