The Top 18 Things to Do on Pleasure Island, Ranked

Pleasure Island is a seven-mile strip with the Atlantic on one side and the Cape Fear on the other, and nearly everything worth doing sits along a single 25-mph road. That geography is why a cart works here at all — and it's why this list doubles as a route. We built an interactive map version of this guide with every stop pinned; this is the same list with the reasoning, the current hours, and the cart rules spelled out.

Two notes before the list. The numbers are our ranking, not a mileage order, though the groups run roughly north to south. And every hour below was checked against the venue or the town in August 2026 — hours on this island change with the season, so if you're making a special trip for one thing, confirm it that morning. Where we couldn't verify something, we say so instead of guessing.

The boardwalk and downtown: stops 1 through 6

1. Carolina Beach Boardwalk. North Carolina's only oceanfront boardwalk, and the one stop everybody makes. Arcade, souvenir shops, and — new for 2026 — a ten-story Giant Gondola Wheel you can see from most of the island. In season the amusement rides run nightly from 5 to 11 PM, and on summer show nights there's free live music from 6:30 with fireworks at 9 PM sharp. The series runs Memorial Day through Labor Day, normally on Thursdays — but a few 2026 shows moved to Fridays, including July 3 replacing the July 2 show, so check the town calendar before you promise the kids fireworks. Best window: 6 to 10 PM.

2. Britt's Donuts. Hot glazed donuts over the same counter since 1939, at 13 Boardwalk. Cash only — there's an ATM on the boardwalk, but the line moves faster if you arrive with bills in hand. Know that Britt's is seasonal: roughly early April to mid-September, weekends only in spring, then daily through Labor Day, about 8:30 AM to 10 PM. The one reliably short-line window we could verify is right at opening. The midday line is famous for a reason.

3. Carolina Beach Lake Park. A freshwater lake one block from the ocean, with the Brandy Myers Memorial Playground on its shore. Two free programs are worth planning around: the farmers market runs Saturdays 8 AM to 1 PM, May 23 through October 3, and Movies at the Lake runs every Sunday at dusk through September 6 — every Sunday, not "select" ones, which surprised us too.

4. The beach accesses. Street-end ramps the whole length of town, many with cart spaces striped right at the sand. This is the entire reason you rented a cart: park at the house, load once, and trade the parking hunt for a two-minute ride. Every JellyCart carries the town LSV pass, so the marked spaces and most town lots are covered. Our advice on timing hasn't changed: out by 10, back by 4, and let the peak-sun crowd have the middle.

5. Dining and the tiki bars. Hurricane Alley right on the boardwalk, SeaWitch a block off the ocean, and the Fat Pelican if you want the dive-bar version — it's the one your friends will photograph. Kitchens vary, but 5 to 9 PM is the reliable window in season.

6. Surf lessons. Tony Silvagni Surf School, downtown a block off the sand. Morning water is glassiest before the sea breeze fills in, so book the 7-to-10 AM slot, and book a day ahead in July and August.

The north end and the docks: stops 7 through 11

7. The marina and charter docks. The Canal Drive basin is where the island still looks like a fishing town. Charters run from half-day trips to full-day Gulf Stream runs, with departure times set when you book — no uniform "boats leave at dawn" schedule, whatever the postcards imply. The town's municipal day docks are free for non-commercial boats 25 feet and under, up to three hours; confirm specifics with the harbormaster at 910-386-1492. Even if you never board a boat, late afternoon at the docks when the catch comes in is free entertainment.

8. Good Hops Brewing. The island's brewery, on Harper Avenue: a patio, cornhole, and the free Trinity disc golf course out back — nine baskets, played as eighteen with alternate tees. Dog friendly. Open daily from noon; closes 9 PM Sunday through Thursday, 10 on Friday and Saturday.

9. Federal Point History Center. A small, free museum covering Snow's Cut, wartime Fort Fisher, and how the island became an island in the first place. Worth about an hour, and a good heat or rain break. Open Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 AM to 4 PM — note that's Tuesday, not the Wednesday-or-Thursday pattern people assume.

10. Carolina Beach State Park. Wild Venus flytraps — native to only this small corner of the Carolinas — grow along a half-mile, wheelchair-accessible loop trail, and the three-mile Sugarloaf loop climbs a 50-foot dune above the river. Day use is free and summer gates run 7 AM to 10 PM; the free ranger-led Flytrap Hike currently runs Fridays at 9 AM. Now the honest part: this is the one stop on the island we can't tell you to drive a cart to. State Park Road's only connection is Dow Road, which is posted above 35 mph, and whether a plated LSV may use state park roads at all is genuinely unsettled — call the park at 910-458-8206, or just bring the car. We rank it this high anyway because the flytraps are worth it.

11. Snow's Cut Trail. The shaded path along the island bank of Snow's Cut, under the bridge, where you can watch barges work the Intracoastal as the sun drops behind the mainland. Golden hour is the whole show. Park the cart on the north-end street grid and walk in. One warning that will save you a wasted ride: the old county Snow's Cut Park across the water closed permanently in 2021 — it was on the mainland bank anyway, unreachable by cart — and several tourism sites still list it as open with hours. Ignore them.

Kure Beach: stops 12 through 14

12. Kure Beach Pier and Ocean Front Park. Not "one of the oldest" — the oldest fishing pier on the Atlantic coast, first built in 1923. Free to walk; anglers buy a day pass at the pier house. The pier is open around the clock in season, spring through late November. Next door, Ocean Front Park's pavilion hosts the free Boogie in the Park concerts on the first and third Sundays, 5 to 7 PM, May through October.

13. Kure Beach's accesses. Wider, quieter sand, no high-rises, and a lower-key beach day than the boardwalk end — about nine minutes south by cart. The catch is parking: Kure Beach runs its own paid program, March 15 through September 30, 8 AM to 6 PM, and the Carolina Beach pass on your cart does nothing here. The two-town parking split is its own article.

14. Kure Beach dining. Jack Mackerel's by the pier and a short strip of family places along K Avenue and Fort Fisher Boulevard. Slower, quieter, and easier to park at than anything by the boardwalk. Same 5-to-9 window.

The Fort Fisher run: stops 15 through 18

The whole southern run is legal by cart — we mapped the routes and the rules separately — and it's about twelve minutes from the boardwalk to the fort at cart speed.

15. Fort Fisher State Historic Site. The Civil War's largest land-sea battle, told through a 20,000-square-foot visitor center that opened in late 2024. Free. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 to 5 — closed Sunday and Monday, which is worth underlining because a Sunday drive down ends at a locked door.

16. Fort Fisher State Recreation Area. Miles of undeveloped shoreline at the island's tip, with a picnic area and grills near the park office. Gates run 8 AM to 9 PM in summer and day use is free. The famous drive-on-the-beach corridor is permit-and-four-wheel-drive only — carts stay in the paved lot, and the sand is better on foot anyway.

17. The NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Closed. It shut on May 26, 2026 for a roughly 30-month rebuild, and no reopening date has been published — late 2028 at the earliest. We covered what the closure means. It stays on this list purely so nobody drives twenty minutes south to find out the hard way.

18. The Fort Fisher–Southport Ferry. A roughly 35-minute crossing of the Cape Fear, first come, first served. Summer boats leave Fort Fisher from 6:15 AM to 7 PM, about every 45 minutes, and the last return from Southport is 6:15 PM. Here's the detail that surprised us: NCDOT's fare table lists golf carts at $3 each way — carts are a published vehicle class on this ferry. That said, Southport is outside our service area, so if a JellyCart crosses the river, roadside help can't follow it. Most guests do the better version anyway: walk on for a dollar, ride to Southport for lunch, and take the afternoon boat back for the view.

The rules that make all of it work

Two roads are closed to you — Dow Road and the Snow's Cut Bridge are posted above 35 mph, though you may cross Dow at an intersection, and Ocean Boulevard at 35 is the legal east-west connector. No cart touches sand anywhere on the island, and Freeman Park's 4WD corridor prohibits golf carts outright. Carolina Beach enforces paid parking March 1 through October 31, 9 AM to 8 PM; Kure Beach runs its own program on its own dates. And the original by-cart guide to the island pairs with this list if you're planning a first visit.

Every stop above is pinned with its hours on the live map. Ready to do the list properly? Text or call 910-999-2278 and we'll have a cart — parking pass already on it — waiting.