It’s nearly time to fill your summers with trips to the beaches, and according to one study, the most popular beach in North Carolina this year will be Nags Head.
Now, if you’ve spent any time around the beaches of North Carolina, you know this is probably NOT the most popular beach to go to, so it’s important to put this into perspective.
The good folks over at BetCarolina.com (pssst…gambling is probably coming here soon), put together this list of the 10 Most Popular Beaches in North Carolina. And the data is entirely based entirely on search interest across Google Trends for the past 90 days.
“BetCarolina.com used U.S. News & World Report’s “Best North Carolina Beaches” list as a starting point to see which beaches to use in our research. We then utilized Google Trends to gather the search interest of each beach listed in their report over the past 90 days to finalize the Top 10 beaches that people are looking to visit in NC.”
So, it’s likely that Nags Head is the most popular VACATION destination, based on the Outer Banks being somewhere that people flock to from all over the country.
“It’s a skinny strip of an island – its narrowest point is barely wider than the length of a football field – that has the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds to its west,” author Howard Gensler said in his BetCarolina.com piece. “Nags Head has nearly 12 miles of shoreline, featuring the highest sand dunes in the east, great views, plus some of the Outer Banks’ best restaurants. Also, dogs are allowed on the beach.”
The data also shows a serious lean toward other Outer Banks locations as well. So let’s take a look at the Top 10 Most Popular NC Beaches this Summer, at least according to this study.
1. Nags Head - Dare County
Nags Head is a particularly popular spot for beach visits when hurricanes are coming in. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
2. Emerald Isle - Carteret County
Dusk at Emerald Isle, NC, along the Crystal Coast. (Getty Images)
3. Carolina Beach - New Hanover County
Sunset at Carolina Beach, near Wilmington. (Getty Images)
4. Oak Island - Brunswick County
The lighthouse of Oak Island, in Brunswick County, is a huge draw. (Getty Images)
5. Topsail Beach - Pender County
Sea turtle rehabilitation is a popular draw in Topsail Beach. (Photo by Sara Davis/Getty Images)
6. Wrightsville Beach - New Hanover County
Another popular beach near Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach also draws out onlookers during tropical weather systems. (Photo by Logan Mock-Bunting/Getty Images)
7. Corolla Beach - Currituck County
Wild horses rest on the beaches of Corolla, and it’s extremely common to see them. (Getty Images)
8. Atlantic Beach - Carteret County
Oceanana Pier in Atlantic Beach on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina at sunset. (Getty Images)
9. Duck Beach - Dare County
A beautiful pastel colored sky reflects soft morning light onto the beach in Duck, North Carolina. (Getty Images)
10. Kitty Hawk - Dare County
With its placement on the Outer Banks – and its famous first in flight history – Kitty Hawk is always a popular draw. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
