Fort Macon State Park
No admission feeTour a restored five-sided 1830s brick fort on the tip of Bogue Banks, then swim or fish at the beach beside it.

Photo: Kd5463, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
A regional state history museum in Beaufort focused on North Carolina's seafaring heritage.
Beaufort, NC
The North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort is one of the regional branches of the state's history museum network. It belongs to the broader system overseen by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which runs the flagship history museum in Raleigh alongside several regional locations. The network offers hands-on activities, lectures, films, and events, and it also supports school groups through on-site and distance programs. Visitors should check the official site for current details on exhibits and visiting arrangements.
The closest stops to North Carolina Maritime Museum, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
Tour a restored five-sided 1830s brick fort on the tip of Bogue Banks, then swim or fish at the beach beside it.
1.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
A regional heritage museum on Harkers Island that showcases the culture, crafts, and community life of the Core Sound area.
8.1 mi awayMore like this
Ride a ferry to undeveloped barrier islands for shelling, wild horses and a diamond-patterned lighthouse.
11 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors
Ride the passenger ferry or paddle out to Bear Island, a four-mile undeveloped barrier island with dunes, a wide beach and oceanside camping.
27 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors
A nonprofit fossil museum in rural Beaufort County, North Carolina, with a fossil park where visitors can dig for their own fossils.
41 mi awayMore like this
Non-profit hands-on children's museum in downtown Jacksonville, NC, designed for kids up to age 10.
43 mi awayMore like this