Neighborhood highlights
Life at Beau Coast extends far beyond your home.
Beau Coast is a rich, incredible way of life that’s inherently rooted within every detail of the community. When you visit Beau Coast, you’ll find yourself at the center of it all. The coastal charm. The compelling culture. It’s stunning natural areas. And so much more.
Located just steps away from your Retreat is Beau Gro To Go. Beau Gro To Go is a smaller version of the incredibly popular Beaufort Grocery Restaurant and offers delicious smaller versions of the fare from their historic Beaufort downtown location.
Only .7 miles away is 34° North Restaurant, renowned for its cuisine rooted in local farms & pristine waters in Beaufort, North Carolina. 34° North Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, weekend brunch, and upscale dinner. Take-out with curbside service available. There is a complimentary valet service for restaurant patrons.
Downtown is a 2-mile walk down Front Street. Enjoy the view across Taylors Creek to the islands and their population of wild horses. There is ample paid parking (summer) available downtown. There you can visit the many shops and restaurants and stroll the boardwalk where you will often see boats from all over the world.
From downtown, you can enjoy a scenic 15-20 minute National Park Service Ferry ride to the West End of Shackleford Banks, part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore, where you can go horse watching, shelling, fishing, birding, and camping. This ferry service is the best way to get to the island! Look for dolphins as you cruise to Shackleford Banks.
The island is famous for a herd of over 100 Banker horses, the possible descendants of Spanish shipwrecks from over 500 years ago. They make up one of the few remaining isolated groups in North America.
Beaufort is a historical town, established in 1709. As you walk the streets of the Historic District, you will note placards on some of the original homes dating back to the 1700's.
While downtown, visit the North Carolina Maritime Museum. The museum reflects coastal life and interprets lighthouses and lifesaving stations, the seafood industry, motorboats, and more.
For a longer day, there is the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and Fort Macon State Park just 3 bridges away.
Within a short walk from the Retreat, you will find Freedom Park. A great park for the little ones to play along with multiple fields for softball, baseball, football, and soccer! There is plenty of room for multiple activities and multiple groups at a time.
About one-half mile from the Retreat is The Boathouse Marina which offers a state-of-the-art marina and dry storage facility, the Chandlery – Ship Store, and Wine Shop. They offer short-term dockage for your boat at their docks for $2 per foot per day.
The Curtis Perry Public Park which is next to The Boathouse features four boat and kayak launch lanes on the edge of Taylor’s Creek, as well as ample parking for vehicles with trailers.
In addition to the instant water access, the park also features public restrooms, a small dock that stretches out into the creek, and a small picnic area for visitors who want to relax and enjoy the view.
The park is also a great destination for kayaks, canoes, and motorized vessels. From this launching site, vessels can easily cut across the creek to the Rachel Carson Reserve or take a longer expedition through the Back Sound to reach the Shackleford Banks and the Cape Lookout National Seashore. As a result, it’s a great and central destination for the waves of summer visitors who want to enjoy Beaufort’s life on the water.
One mile from the retreat is the town's newest park, Randolf Johnson Memorial Park, which will be your child's favorite. The park includes a splash pad, new playground equipment, shade areas, walking paths, a picnic shelter, grills, and restroom facilities.
We are often asked about beach access.
There are a wide variety of beaches nearby
The closest, and most fun for most people is to take a ferry from a dock that is 2 miles away from the Retreat to Shackleford Banks, a part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore.
The island is accessible only by water and provides miles of beaches (and is also a great place to pick up shells - don't forget to bring your own bag with which to collect shells). Here you have access to the ocean side of the island, where you will nearly always find breaking waves, as well as the much more kid-friendly Sound Side (no big, breaking waves).
Here you can often see the island ponies (descendants of ship shipwrecked horses from the 1800s.)
You can look this up with a search for the island express ferry services in downtown Beaufort.
The safest beach for small children is on Radio Island, about 4 miles away. This area is generally very calm and safe. Again you can do a search on Morehead radio island beach access.
Atlantic Beach, an 8-mile drive is a traditional beach with lots of commercial development (and crowds) This and the next one is where the big waves of the Atlantic are.
Fort Macon State Park is 10 miles away. It is surrounded by 3 bodies of water. The ocean side is to the south, Beaufort Inlet Channel is to the east and Bogue Sound is to the north. Visitors can enjoy fishing, swimming, surfing, picnicking, exploring salt marshes & the Civil War Museum.
Our favorite choice is taking a ferry from Harkers Island (about a 30 min drive) to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. Not only is there an ocean beach and sound side beach, but there is also the historic lighthouse and a chance (with reservations) to rent a 4-wheel 4 passenger beach buggy with which you can explore miles of beaches and historic houses on the island. My family recently did this for the first time and it is a real highlight. You can lookup Cape Lookout. The Ferry to the island/lighthouse is Island Express Ferry. The ferry service also rents the four-wheelers.
Our all-time favorite is a 45-minute drive to Cedar Island. There the beach is wide and beautiful and you can take a horseback ride on the beach
And, within the Beau Coast Resort, there is a beautiful swimming pool - without the sand. It's only a short walk from the Retreat.
I encourage you to review these areas on maps to get a better perspective.
And thanks for considering the Beaufort Retreat at Beau Coast Resort.
Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
