Bald Head Island, NC

Bald Head Island provides the perfect getaway for a peaceful vacation. Remotely located across the Cape Fear River, this 12,000 acre island has coastal charm with a laid back atmosphere. Accessible by a private ferry or boat, Bald Head Island is a true picture of an unspoiled beach. Visitors and residents leave their cars in a secured lot and board the 25-minute ferry ride to the island. Travel on the island consists of driving with a golf cart or bicycle. Enjoy the 14 miles of white sandy coastline with nothing in the air except the smell of the salty ocean and an occasional grill.

Bald Head Island's history like much of the surrounding area is filled with stories of the hundreds of notorious pirates, including Blackbeard, who roamed these waters and made the island their hideaway. However, many years before the pirates came to Bald Head Island, native Indians used the island as a recurrent camp and canoed over to the Island to hunt wild boar and fish.

Bald Head Island was named such because the southwest tip headland of the island was used as a reference point for navigating the rough waters of the mouth of the Cape Fear River, which was barren, but looking from the Ocean you could see the dense maritime forest behind the empty headland hence this reference point for sailors appeared a bald "headland."

"Old Baldy," Bald Head Island's eight-sided brick lighthouse and the second of three lighthouses constructed on the island is perhaps one of the Island's biggest attractions. The lighthouse, built in 1818, is open to the public. When the Cape Fear Light was erected in 1903, Old Baldy was decommissioned; however you can still take a tour of the lighthouse itself and don't miss walking up the 108 wooden steps to see one of the most beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean and Cape Fear River you will ever be privy to. The stunning views are only part of the allure of "Old Baldy." Take a fun and educational day trip to see some of the most amazing sites the area has to offer.

Keeping with the non-commercialism on the island, you will find no neon lights or high rises, (aside from the lighthouse!) - just charming homes with a southern appeal. A maritime forest with live oaks, palm trees and cedars adds to the beautiful nature of the area. You will find everything you want for a tranquil vacation on this stunning island.