Holden Beach is a tranquil resort town on the southern North Carolina coast. This quaint seaside community welcomes visitors with its stunning natural beaches and plenty of water-related attractions for all ages. Holden Beach offers an abundance of things to do, which include swimming, boating, fishing, surfing, golfing, and spending the day at amusement parks. A Holden Beach vacation rental puts you in proximity to the most popular local attractions, so you can easily travel to and from most points of interest. Check out the top activities in and around Holden Beach.
1. Check Out Lighthouse Watersports
Lighthouse Watersports is your one-stop for everything water-related at Holden Beach. They can provide you with everything from stand-up paddleboards to kayaks for rent. They also offer boat and kayak eco-tours to observe wildlife of the local wetlands.
2. Perfect Your Paddleboarding Techniques at the Carolina School of Surf
Whether you need a little help standing upright on a paddleboard or want to conquer your fear of all water boards, visit the Carolina School of Surf. The school specializes in surf camps, surf lessons, and standup paddleboard lessons, saely teaching beginners the sport of surfing. The owners have assembled a carefully curated staff to make your experience memorable.
3. Visit the Ingram Planetarium
Located in nearby Sunset Beach, Ingram Planetarium is one of the area’s most popular attractions. Interactive exhibits in the Paul Dennis Science Hall let you learn about the cosmos. In the 85-seat Sky Theater, movies and live star shows educate and entertain, thanks to state-of-the-art digital projection equipment and surround sound. Thursdays and Fridays are Laser Light and Music nights. Dance to all your favorites under the 40-foot dome.
4. Putt Your Heart Out at Lockwood Folly Country Club
Tee off on the 18-hole, par-72 golf course at the Lockwood Folly Country Club. Designed by William Byrd, the course features tree-lined fairways, quiet ponds, and the roar of ocean. The course was recently reseeded with Sunday Ultra-Dwarf Bermuda grass. The course is owned by its members and has been named the Best of Brunswick numerous times.
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5. Bowl a Strike at Planet Fun! Center
Planet Fun! is Brunswick County’s largest family entertainment center, featuring family specials all weekend. Its 32 bowling lanes, two-story laser tag arena, bounce house, bumper car arena, billiards, and redemption arcade are sure to keep the whole family busy for hours. Black lights illuminate the complex with a purple glow on weekend nights for Constellation Alleys, Cosmic Bowling, Space Quest Laser Tag, Asteroid Arcade, and Billiards. After working up an appetite, head next door to the Starz Grill for chicken wings, nachos, potato skins, and baskets of homemade potato chips or fried pickles.
6. Snag Your Best Catch With Deep-Sea Fishing Charters
Holden Beach offers several options for fishing charters. Contact Twister Charters, Ollie Raja Charters, or Bottom Line Charters for half-day inshore or offshore excursions that provide all of the gear and equipment needed to hunt black bass, Spanish and king mackerel, grouper, cobia, and sharks. Yes, sharks! Don’t worry. The seasoned staff are more than capable of ensuring you take home your trophy without suffering a scratch. Stand-n-Down Charters can take you even further out during one-quarter day to full-day charters for tuna, mahi-mahi, and wahoo.
7. Rev up a Go-Cart at Magic Mountain Fun Park
Prepare yourselves for thrills, spills, and chills at Magic Mountain Fun Park, an amusement park that brings smiles of excitement to everyone’s face. Magic Mountain Fun Park has something to do for everyone. There’s a miniature golf course, a Super-Track Go-Cart Raceway, indoor arcade, a water park with slides for adults and children, and a 30-flavor ice cream parlor.
8. Score a Hole in One at Treasure Island Miniature Golf
Foster some friendly family competition at Treasure Island Miniature Golf, which offers 18 holes of classic miniature golf in a tropical-themed park with animal topiary. A small river runs through many of the holes to enhance the difficulty. After getting your fill of the green, indulge yourselves in the best ice cream in Holden Beach.
9. Tour a Real WWII Battleship
The U.S.S. North Carolina is another of the Holden Beach area’s most popular attractions. It is moored across the river from Wilmington, having completed an illustrious tour of duty in the South Pacific during World War II. After a group of local citizens rescued the ship from the scrapheap in 1958, she was dedicated as a memorial to the 11,000 North Carolinians lost during the war. Visitors can tour the vessel’s nine levels, which include mess decks, berthing areas, engine room, bridge, and Combat Information Center. Experience the ship’s inner workings, and see how the men stationed aboard ate, slept, and lived. You can play with the ship’s guns, relax in the mess decks, or take a nap in a berth. Just watch out for Charlie, the ship’s resident alligator.
10. Go Ziplining in Shallotte River Swamp Park
The Shallotte River Swamp Park offers something to do for everyone. Choose from three attractions. A 1.25-mile zip line tour features 10 stations with bird’s-eye views of the park’s landscape and wildlife, including deer and wild boars. The aerial adventure park combines an obstacle course with a jungle gym, treating guests to three difficulty levels and 53 separate challenge elements. The swamp river tour that lets you kick back while a guide shuttles you down the river, describing points of interest along the way.
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