Surf spot

Carolina Beach

Forecast conditions and map view for Carolina Beach in USA, South East, Southern North Carolina. Open the interactive surf map to inspect wind, waves, and nearby spots.

Country: USA, South East, Southern North Carolina
Coordinates: 34.0394, -77.8877

Metric
Metric	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00
Wave height (m)	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.6	0.7	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.9	0.9	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3
Wave direction	SSE	SSE	SE	S	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	S	SE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	SE	SE	ESE	ESE	ESE	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	ESE	ESE	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	ENE	ENE	E	ENE	E	E	ENE	ENE	ENE	E	ESE	SE
Wave period (s)	3.5	3.5	7.8	3.7	7.5	7.4	7.3	5.1	5	5.3	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.6	6.5	6.5	4.7	5.5	6	5.5	6.2	6.3	5.7	4.8	5	5	5.3	5.5	5.7	5.8	5.5	5.5	5	6.2	6.2	6.1	6.5	6.3	5.3	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.8	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.9	5	4.8	7	6.8	4.5
Wave energy (kJ)	5	4	17	4	18	19	19	9	9	9	15	14	13	13	13	12	10	3	16	16	30	17	17	25	33	28	29	23	27	40	39	43	43	21	29	30	32	33	27	47	32	21	16	10	8	6	5	5	4	3	3	2	2	3	4	3
Wind speed (km/h)	11.3	7.8	6.7	12.3	15.2	12.7	14.5	10.4	8.8	7.6	5.4	9.3	5.6	15.3	19.4	18.8	17.3	13.3	13.4	17.4	16.8	18.7	13.7	14.1	12	11.3	10.5	14.3	15.8	16.3	13.6	12.8	11.5	10.6	13	16.6	17.4	15.7	10.5	7.3	6.9	2.6	4.8	8	8	10.5	6.8	8	6.4	6.2	6.2	7.1	11.5	16.8	11	9.6
Wind direction	SSWCross-off	SWCross-off	SWCross-off	SWCross-off	SWCross-off	SWCross-off	SSWCross-off	SWCross-off	SWCross-off	WOffshore	NWCross-off	NWCross-off	NECross-on	ESEOnshore	ENEOnshore	ENEOnshore	NECross-on	NECross-on	NNECross-on	NECross-on	EOnshore	EOnshore	ENEOnshore	NECross-on	NECross-on	NNECross-on	NNECross-on	NECross-on	EOnshore	EOnshore	EOnshore	NECross-on	NNECross-on	NNECross-on	NNECross	NECross-on	ENEOnshore	EOnshore	EOnshore	EOnshore	SECross-on	SEGlassy	NEGlassy	EOnshore	ESEOnshore	SECross-on	SCross	SCross	SWCross-off	SWCross-off	WOffshore	WSWCross-off	SCross	SCross	SSWCross-off	NWCross-off

Carolina Beach, North Carolina (USA) is a classic East Coast surf spot on the southern end of the North Carolina coast, in the Southeast region. It sits on a barrier island near Wilmington and gets regular Atlantic Ocean swell, making it a fairly consistent beachbreak.

Surf character

Break type: Mostly beachbreak
Wave quality: Can be fun and punchy, but often variable depending on sandbars
Best for: Beginners to intermediate surfers, though solid swells can produce fast, hollow sections for more experienced riders
Wave shape: Typically short-to-medium rides, with occasional clean, peaky peaks when conditions line up

Conditions

Swell: Picks up northeast and southeast swell well, especially from Atlantic storm systems
Wind: Offshore winds are usually best, while onshore winds can quickly make it messy
Tide: Tide sensitivity can be significant; certain sandbars work better at mid tide, but this changes often
Consistency: Fairly reliable compared with some other U.S. East Coast spots, but quality depends heavily on sandbar setup

Bottom and hazards

Bottom: Sandy
Hazards: Shifting sandbars, strong currents, and occasional crowds
Crowds: Can get busy during good conditions, especially around warm-weather weekends and holidays

Best season

Fall and winter often bring the best surf, with more consistent swell and better wave quality.
Summer is usually smaller and more beginner-friendly.

Overall vibe

Carolina Beach is a fun, accessible coastal surf zone with lots of local activity and a laid-back beach town feel. It’s a good spot for everyday surfing rather than world-class waves, but when the sandbars and swell align, it can be surprisingly good.