Onslow Beach: Shark Teeth and Great Memories

Onslow Beach provides a remote get-away that is hard to find so close to a modern convenience. The limited access make the experience unlike any of its busy neighbors. Onslow Beach also has a peculiar reputation for sharks teeth.

Kaitlyn and I have found we prefer a loose sense of isolation when we go to a beach. Four-story beach houses crowding up on the dunes with difficulty parking and tons of beach goers quickly takes the fun out of a beach for us. Onslow beach had barely any development and is very open. Check and check! Most of the beach-goers were families and a few younger guys. As a bonus the shore had very few boats on the horizon.

The Catch

One important note. We had to present our Department of Defense ID’s in order to get access to the military post that houses Onslow Beach. At the time of writing, you need to have a military service member sponsor you in order to get into Camp Lejeune. Check this link out for more details on visiting a base.

If you have not been on a military base before, it can be a little intimidating but there are people living there just like you. The drive may seem a little odd getting to the beach but trust your GPS to get you there and you will have no problems. Drive the speed limit and watch for runners. When you get to the island, you will see a small convenience store (military ID required), a parking area and a handful of beach cabins. These are primarily rented out to servicemembers from what we could tell. Other than that, it is just a wide open swath of sand, dunes and un-corrupted NC shores to enjoy. We found parking right near the convenience store and were on the beach in only a few steps from the car. 

The Pay Off

We did not walk far at all before setting up our umbrella. Unlike other beaches, everyone seemed to value personal space and kept very spread out on the beach rather than piling up right next to the parking area. That being said, the beach had very low traffic for a holiday weekend. I highly recommend bringing lunch AND plenty of snacks even if you don’t have kids. There are few options for food once you get on base.

The beach slopes gently to the water. It seems like the restriction to the general public may have preserved much of the beach’s natural integrity. Walking down the beach, we passed less than 20 people in the 10-20 minutes we walked for. Most of these people were fishing and seemed to be enjoying the bright mid-morning sun as much as we were. Though I am not a fisherman, I can imagine how having fewer people around would make for better fishing.

What we did notice was the plethora of nesting turtle signs. This is obviously seasonal but we did see these signs all over the place to help keep the sea turtle eggs safe.

Sharks Teeth!

One thing that drew Kaitlyn’s attention to Onslow Beach was the promise of lots of Sharks Teeth. For some reason the beach has become well known for the sharks teeth people find. And some fairly sizable ones too. Kaitlyn has an unnatural knack for finding even the tiniest sharks teeth every time we go to the beach. She was hoping to find the next Megalodon tooth on the beach. We were not lucky enough to find any really big ones but Kaitlyn found a few normal ones. This can be a great activity to inspire your kids to do with you or just enjoy on your walk down the beach.

On top of the great sharks teeth, the shells are not too bad too. Nothing massive but plenty of in tack normal shells that most of us are happy to pick up. Madilyn picked up a few while we were walking and tried to eat one. Needless to say she quickly discovered they are much prettier to look at than to taste.

Overall

Onslow beach offers an uncorrupted view of the open ocean and an blank slate for your best beach vacations. It offers few frills or added activities but the remote feeling of the open beach is worth it. That is IF you can get there. 

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