Frisco Pier:
While North Carolina’s Outer Banks will always hog the lion’s share of Southeast surfers’ attention, the southern flank of the Tar Heel State — home to Wrightsville Beach — is no slouch when it comes to fun, sometimes tubing, surf. Because Wrightsville is the home beach of the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, it is one of the East Coast’s more lively and diverse surf towns (in the warmer months). It also makes for line-ups crowded with surfers of myriad ability, as UNC Wilmington is ranked quite high in the Best Colleges for Surfers list.
Wrightsville’s hint of surfing magic comes most from it’s fortunate geography. Positioned toward the southern end of North Carolina’s last, and only mainland, coastal sawtooth, Wrightsville can pick up Autumn and Winter Nor’easters, as well as the full brunt of hurricane swell from the South and South-East. Like any East Coast U.S. beach town, Wrightsville is a collection of sandbars that shift seasonally, with the exception of its pier and jetty breaks, which offer up reliable peaks year-round. And also true to EC form, when it’s good, Wrightsville can spew some of the most round, makable, A-frame barrels one could ever hope for.
While summer days in Wrightsville promise trunks and hours of beach lounging, the winters promise cold temperatures in and out of the water. Plan accordingly.