Nature, Museums & Parks

North Carolina Birding Trail

The Town of Sunset Beach is part of the North Carolina Birding Trail. The Coastal Plains area of this statewide trail includes 102 sites separated into 16 groups located east of Interstate 95. Five of these spots are in Sunset Beach. 

Kindred Spirit Mailbox on Bird Island

You can’t come to Sunset Beach NC and not visit the Kindred Spirit Mailbox on Bird Island. Standing for nearly 30 years, what started as a tribute to the island’s beauty is now an established landmark visited by thousands yearly. Photo...

Sunset Beach Park

Located on the mainland banks of the Intracoastal Waterway, the Sunset Beach Park offers a beautiful recreational venue for families and individuals to enjoy. Dotted with majestic Live Oak Trees and offering breathtaking water views, the new park ...

Old Bridge Preservation Society Museum

Visit the Old Bridge Museum and Interpretive Center in Sunset Beach and learn the history of the original single lane swing bridge. Built by Mannon Gore, the island’s founding father and visionary pioneer, the swing bridge offered serenity t...

Sunset Beach Turtle Watch

Loggerhead sea turtles are common visitors to our beaches. Although their population is more stable than that of other sea turtles, the loggerhead is a "threatened" species. They are called Loggerheads because they have the largest head of all sea...

Ingram Planetarium

Visitors to Ingram Planetarium are sure to enjoy state-of-the-art high definition digital projection and surround sound systems in the 85-seat SciDome Sky Theater. Here adults and children alike can take part in entertaining and educational progra...

Museum of Coastal Carolina

A visit to the Museum of Coastal Carolina is a treat for the young and the young at heart. Many vacationers include it as a multi-generational activity for the whole family. Local residents know that it is one of Brunswick County's best family act...

Fort Anderson

Brunswick Town and Fort Anderson were founded in 1726 and burned by the British in 1776. The state historic site has been excavated, revealing much of the life in this colonial town. A museum displays artifacts gathered from the ruins. Ruins inclu...

Fort Fisher Civil War Museum

The last major stronghold of the Confederacy, Fort Fisher was the largest earthwork fortification in the south during the Civil War. It kept the port of Wilmington and the Cape Fear River open to blockade-runners. The alert visitor may catch a gli...

USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial

Just up highway 17 to Wilmington is the immortal showboat, the USS North Carolina. She survived every major pacific naval offensive of World War II and earned 15 battle stars. Brought to the Cape Fear River in 1961 by the citizens of NC as a memor...