Cape Point Beach
Cape Point Beach
4.5
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Beach located along North Carolina's Outer Banks that is recommended for surfing.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
16 reviews
Excellent
11
Very good
3
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
1
CyndyJoPo
Pittsburgh, PA274 contributions
Aug 2017 • Family
We walked to Shelly Island from beach access 44. You have to drive south on NC 12 to Buxton and then turn left at the sign for the Hatteras Lighthouse. Instead of turning into the Lighthouse, continue straight down the road to the beach access. Our family walked with two toddlers, ages 2 and 3. It was two miles on sand so not an easy walk! Make sure you go at low tide because the channel is too deep to walk across at other times. Our little girls loved the "muddy puddles" and shallow tide pools. There were a lot of large shells. It would be much easier to go there in a 4 wheel drive! Still, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure!
Written 20 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shirley W
New Kent, VA181 contributions
Jul 2017 • Family
We drove from Kitty Hawk to Hatteras to see Shelly Island. I wrote about Shelly Island on my Cape Hatteras review. We drove to the parking lot and walked to the water on the vehicle road access. When you crest the hill, you can see the island to the right of us. From there, the walk is about 1.5 miles to the end of the land. It was worth the walk! It is very cool to see the distance from the mainland to the island. The peninsula is full of trucks with folks hanging out in view of the island. We accumulated great shells just on the peninsula side without even being on the island. We did see a few people on the island and we even watched a few folks cross onto the island but it is important to note the warnings in doing so. You can see the churning of the waters between the island and the mainland and its dangers (rip tides and sharks) are well documented. Crossing has been discouraged.
Written 18 July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bob L
Boulder, CO50 contributions
Jul 2017 • Family
Drive on paved road to the parking lot beyond Hatteras Lighthouse and walk a mile. or get a four wheel drive permit and drive the same mile and you are at at Cape Point, the extreme south east corner of Hatteras Island. Two months ago, the sandbar off this point rose suddenly to become an island a hundred yards off this point.
We were there on the fourth of July. At low tide, it is a waist deep, one hundred yard wade to the new island. It is roughly 200 yards wide and a mile long. The density of large, interesting shells is amazing. We crossed at low tide and only stayed for 45 minutes. It would be better to cross an hour before low tide and have a couple hours before the same tide condition to return. The time we had was sufficient to walk most of the way around. The power and dynamism of the wind and waves to create this new land was the most fascinating aspect for me.
Go see the newest land in the world. Enjoy!
We were there on the fourth of July. At low tide, it is a waist deep, one hundred yard wade to the new island. It is roughly 200 yards wide and a mile long. The density of large, interesting shells is amazing. We crossed at low tide and only stayed for 45 minutes. It would be better to cross an hour before low tide and have a couple hours before the same tide condition to return. The time we had was sufficient to walk most of the way around. The power and dynamism of the wind and waves to create this new land was the most fascinating aspect for me.
Go see the newest land in the world. Enjoy!
Written 13 July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lisa_NJ_60
Somerset, NJ11 contributions
Aug 2018 • Friends
As of August 28th, 2018 there is no "Shelly Island". Drive to Ramp 44, walk on to the beach -- you cannot get there by car, you have to have a permit to drive a 4x4. It was hot and the water rough, and worst of all, no shells! Nothing at all. Very disappointing. No one in the area knew what we were talking about, but I suspect they were all tourists too. It's a good long walk and would have been worth it if there actually were shells. I do believe it existed at some point in time, but it must've been washed out withe the storm they had in NC weeks ago. I'm sure it will return, it just wasn't there when we went. If you DO go, make it an early in the morning adventure -- we came from Nags Head, so we drove an hour to find nothing but bits of broken shell
Written 3 September 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Paul P
Morris County, NJ117 contributions
Jul 2018 • Friends
Shelly Island, an instant shoal created by the vigorous tides at Cape Hatteras Point, popped up in 2017 and is gone now (in 2018) - one year and over. It is fascinating that the tides are so strong here than it can create and then bury a half-mile-long island. With a four-wheel drive vehicle and a permit (very important!) one can drive out to the point when the shorebirds are not nesting. Usually that begins in July, but this year the nesting season is running late and an August opening is expected.
Written 29 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
beachseeker2016
Port Hope, Canada12 contributions
Sept 2017 • Family
We went to Shelley Island, based on family informing us of this new island. We were fortunate to have been driven in a 4wd truck at low tide. The ride was a liitle rough, speed limit should be respected as you could get stuck in the sand. There were shells in abundance all over the island. We collected and brought home a great selection.
Written 31 December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DENNIS B
Wernersville, PA58 contributions
Nov 2017 • Family
Shelly island is everythings its name says it is. Walking there takes 30- 60 min. Depending were you park. Park at ramp 44 lot ,will get you fairly close . The walk still maybe 30 plus minutes. Plenty of conch shells and many other shells of evey color. Lots of fisherman ao be carwful of the lines when walking along the beach. My family and i came home woth 3 bags full of shells.
Written 21 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Marsha R
La Grange, KY73 contributions
Jun 2018 • Family
We vacationed on Hatteras 6/16 - 6/23. The day that we decided to trek to Shelly, it had just been sectioned off due to an endangered bird nesting in the area. And the area is regularly patrolled by park rangers.
So to get to Shelly Island you drive to ramp 44 to get to Cape Point. It’s a good mile and a half walk on the beach. If you have a 4x4 and beach permit, you can just drive there. But since it is closed right now, the ranger told us of another way on to Shelly. You drive through the campground and park at the campgrounds beach. It’s another small hike, but not nearly as difficult or long.
The beach is littered with broken conchs and shells. Even some sea glass. Best time to go is at low tide.
This area is also great for some surf fishing. My youngest caught herself a sand shark.
So to get to Shelly Island you drive to ramp 44 to get to Cape Point. It’s a good mile and a half walk on the beach. If you have a 4x4 and beach permit, you can just drive there. But since it is closed right now, the ranger told us of another way on to Shelly. You drive through the campground and park at the campgrounds beach. It’s another small hike, but not nearly as difficult or long.
The beach is littered with broken conchs and shells. Even some sea glass. Best time to go is at low tide.
This area is also great for some surf fishing. My youngest caught herself a sand shark.
Written 26 June 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rlhscott
Decatur, TX72 contributions
Sept 2017 • Couples
What an amazing place! We had so much fun wading through the shallow water to get to Shelly Island. The view from it was so cool! We saw a ray, a bright blue fish, a skate egg case and of course a bazillion shells! This will be an annual trip! Well worth it but pay attention to the tide.
Written 6 September 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brian C
Amherst, NH63 contributions
Jul 2017 • Family
Need to time this at low tide so that the current isn't too strong. When we went to visit they had closed it because they found an old ordinance on the island. Coast Guard, Navy, and local park rangers were all involved. It turned out to be nothing to be concerned about and they took it away. We saw four Navy jets fly over in a very cool pattern, and saw the Coast Guard cutter off the shore. You need to travel through a current of water to get to the island, and there is very soft squishy sand below the water. Once you are there you will see seashells galore in all different sizes and shapes. We used the current as a natural "Lazy River" ride and rode it the entire length of the beach. It was a great day.
Written 19 July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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