About Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach, formally known as Bald Beach, is the southernmost island in North Carolina, located halfway between Myrtle Beach, SC, and Wilmington, NC. It provides the perfect balance of a quiet, relaxing family getaway with proximity to nearby attractions for day trips or other occasions. Our beach house is located on the east end of the island on the 4th row, facing the ocean. Our favorite spot is the front porch where you can hear the ocean and feel it’s breeze. We also have views of the canal off the back of the house from the main floor and second floor bedrooms.

Sunset Beach Pier

The Sunset Beach Pier was originally built in June of 1960. It was rebuilt at its current location in 1976 over a sunken Blockade Runner named the Vesta. In 1864 the Vesta was set on fire in 10 feet of water. Many of the supplies were unloaded and the boat was abandoned on what was later to become sunset beach island. The vesta was 34′ wide and 180′ long and sat parallel to the beach (east and west). When the first pier was built they left a wide opening and you could look thru the planks and see the boiler. Today, because so much sand has accreted, it is totally submerged.

Click here for more information on the history of the pier.

Live Pier Webcam

Check out the webcam to see how things are looking at the beach before heading down.

Sunset Beach Pontoon Swing Bridge

When we first visited Sunset Beach in 2001, there was a swing bridge to get from the mainland to the island which we thought was so cool! There is actually a picture of it in the bonus room at the house. The Sunset Beach Pontoon Swing Bridge was unique in that it was a pontoon barge with a house on top, called the Tender House. The wooden road built over the pontoons rose and fell with the tide. When the tide was high, cars traveled over a slight incline in the middle of the bridge; when the tide was low, there was a small valley in the middle. All the while, the bridge Tender maintained a watchful eye from the little white house. When a boat approached, it would signal the bridge Tender who then opened the bridge just for that boat. There is little doubt that the biggest change the Town has experienced over its lifetime occurred on October 1, 2010 when the new Mannon C. Gore Bridge was dedicated. The long awaited and long debated span, 2,600 feet in length and 65 feet in height, is constructed of tons of steel and concrete. Held up by twenty-two concrete columns, the bridge has two vehicular lanes and two bicycle/walking lanes. Despite its massive size, the Gore Bridge quickly became part of the scenery and affords awesome views of the Intracoastal Waterway. Driving across it is when we first feel the peace of island time start to settle in!

Click here for more information about the history of Sunset Beach.

Kindred Spirit Mailbox

No trip to Sunset Beach is complete without a journey to the Kindred Spirit mailbox. Keep in mind, it is quite a hike from our home on the east side of the island (4 miles round trip), although you could park at the other side of the island and use one of the access walks to shorten the trip. Be sure to take some water and sunscreen for the trip…and a letter to leave if you feel led to do so.

Click here to learn more about how the Kindred Spirit came about.