freeman park

I love Freeman Park and the ability to drive on the beach. It's a really unique feature of Carolina Beach. However, I hate that the price of a yearly pass is gradually increasing. I get that they have to pay the people who work there and maintain the beaches, but it's getting ridiculous. I'm all about keeping riff raft off the beach, but raising the prices of the passes for everyone isn't the way to go.

Its fun to ride out on the beach but please be careful doing so here. People do not know how to drive on sand out here and are usually stuck every where you look. Always a crowd with usually no where to park esp during high tide. Def the party atmosphere out there. Just be cautious

Fiance and I went and camped overnight on late October, we pretty much had the entire beach to ourselves! Despite being colder at night, it was awesome. We woke up the next day and spent the day swimming in the ocean and tanning and headed down to the aquarium as well, we had a blast with no crowds there either! Definitely would suggest freeman park not during summertime if you don't really care about missing out on the summer events and want a more intimate, quiet ocean experience. They keep the area clean despite the other reviews, maybe it seems dirty in the summer because more crowding.

Whether you will enjoy Freeman Park depends on how you set your expectations before you arrive. One of the reasons that I traded my 2WD truck for a new 4WD truck was so that I can visit Freeman Park. If you are looking for a place where you can drive to enjoy the sound of waves, breathe clean ocean air, and enjoy clean sand, then forget it. You probably want to go somewhere else. However, there is no other drive-on beach around, so it is this, or nothing. If you want the sounds and smells and mess and energy and fun of a party atmosphere (except in winter), then this is your place. You will find many other people who share a love of off-roading and having a festive time. I visited Freeman Park three times so far this year (2014). Each time, the fact that it it is a four-wheel-only beach is clearly marked. Another clue is that the pavement abruptly ends and deep sand is visible. There is a ticket machine at the entrance. The cost is $20 per 24 hours beginning at 8:00 AM. You can buy longer passes too. An annual pass is available, but not at the machine. The machine is self-serve in the winter, but sometimes there is an attendant to assist in the warm months. There are no showers (that I saw) on the beach, but immediately after you exit and return to the pavement, there are public showers at the small parking lot on your left. There are plenty of port-a-potties all along the beach - no waiting lines. They were clean enough (for port-a-potties). They are a bit tilted due to the shifting sand, so hang on when inside. The constant ocean breeze helps keep down the smell. You never have to walk far, but you do have to walk across the traffic lanes to use the port-a-potties, so children need to be accompanied at all times. Cans for trash are everywhere, but for some reason cigarette smokers still throw their trash all over the beach. Fortunately, some other North Carolina beaches no longer allow smoking - their beaches are much more pleasant for everybody else. Hopefully Freeman Park will catch on soon to pass and enforce a no-smoking ordinance. Weekday in January (or end of December 2013?) - cold, windy, sunny, not crowded. We drove down just to spend some time parked on the beach (and to eat at Freddies in Kure Beach). There were only a few vehicles, and a handful of dogs running off-leash. It was quiet. The air was clean (no smokers and no camp fires). The usual cigarette trash was all over the ground. Weekend in August (not a holiday weekend) - an absolute ZOO, which is typical and expected for a North Carolina beach in the summer. NC is a quickly growing state, and as more people move here, you might as well get used to beaches that are going to be increasingly overcrowded. The beach was completely full, double and triple rows of camp sites & vehicles, people everywhere, a LOT of campfire smoke blowing everywhere, second-hand cigarette smoke, traffic, generators running camper air conditioners, and loud music. Overflowing trash cans. Pizza delivery. Pay-for-towing service vehicles standing by if needed. Visible law enforcement. In spite of all of the traffic, beach drivers seemed to be attentive, careful, respectful of the speed limits, and polite to each other (moving out of the way for each other). Thursday September 11, afternoon - not crowded, but active. Lots of cigarette trash on the ground again. I was able to park with 50 yards of empty beach on either side of me, hoping to catch a few Z's, read, and enjoy the sound of the waves. Even 50 yards away, drums from a loud stereo were present. Smokers were somewhere upwind, so there was second-hand smoke interrupting the otherwise clean ocean air. A dog on a 60-foot leash kept barking at something. In a lot of ways, Freeman Park has become like popular downtown Raleigh street festivals: second hand smoke, cigarette trash, people people and more people, traffic, noise, energy, sunshine, and fun. If you are used to living a big city and just want to get outside, then you will fit right in at Freeman Park. If you are hoping for a more nature-centered experience, then seek other alternatives, or go only in the winter. I plan to return.

So overrun by tourists and vacationers that there is hardly any room to turn around, let alone enjoy the beach. Used to have very little cars there and it was our go to beach but lately, that is not the case.

Currently the tides are running higher than usual and there has been some beach erosion. If you go to the very north end be aware of where the tides are so you don't get trapped out until after half tide falling.The sand will be soft this Labor Day Weekend - let air out of your tires and read some about driving on sand. Bait fish are schooling up and running along the beaches. They will not hurt you, but I don't suggest playing in them. These fish are food for larger fish. If a large fish is after it's supper, it can't distinguish between a hundred bait fish and your leg. Play smart.Remember - there is a fee for driving on the beach. None for walking. If you walk from the north pier to the very north end and back, it is about 3 miles. Great time to look for shells.Food still available at the pier and it's very good.

Last full day of vacation we discover there is a place we can rent 4 wheel drive Jeeps. We rented one for the evening. They include the park pass as part of the rental.We got on the beach just after a bad storm. It was really fun! It was dark & there were lots of people setup with campsites all over the place.We found a nice spot by the ocean between some campers. We built a campfire and roasted marshmallows to make s'mores. It was so relaxing with the cool breeze. People around us were friendly. I can't wait to come back to do this again.

air down your tires and read up on driving on sand if you haven't. i thought i knew what i was doing but the sand was dry and soft. had to get pulled out. most people there are great but i did get heckled by some. i guess its funny to some.

I buy the annual pass for $100. Well worth it. Life is easy when you can just drive out, open your back doors and not have to carry all of your stuff. Alcohol is allowed but NO GLASS. My only complaint is there are no showers here to rinse off with. I would not take an AWD vehicle out here. 4x4 is not the same is AWD. If you get stuck, people help each other all the time. But air down your tires and fill them back up before hitting the road.

Use to live in CB and I stayed one weekend with a group of friends on the beach for a weekend. While in town for supplies we came back and found two of the four campsites have been completely STOLEN!!! Lost tents, sleeping bags,chairs,coolers, and cooking stoves all totaled about 500.00 worth of gear. People said this could happen I found out later! Just a heads up of what could be lurking while your having a good time!

This is a 4x4 beach and yes, there are signs telling you that, you just need to pay attention to them. We took our bikes over and talked to Jason, who answered some questions about whether we could take our AWD vehicle out onto the beach. Pleasant guy who provided some great advice. We opted to rent a vehicle and so glad we did. We got there around 6pm and had fun just watching the 4x4's coming in and out. Crazy folks having a blast!! Had a fire once it got dark which was super cool and relaxing. If you have the ability to visit the North End - this is a must!!

Great off-road sand park. Easy access. Buy your day pass right at the entrance. Portable potties on site. Lots of play area. Safe & patrolled by police. BUT..absolutely packed on summer week-ends & especially Holiday week-ends. Camp, fish, or just soak up the sun...Visit the web-site for minutia...if you like the sandy scene...you will enjoy Freeman Park.

We have drove on beaches in Daytona, fl before using our van. There were no signs warning of 4wd. After we payed $20 for access. We discovered we could night drive on this beach. A local beach bum told us he watched over 200 vehicles get stuck during memorial weekend. He told us a local wrecker charged around $170 for each vehicle. Also the local police would not let any of the local people help anybody get unstuck. In my opinion this is set up to help boost local economy. This is a local beach that the local folks would like to keep local. Unless u have major 4WD stay away because it IS NOT CLEARLY MARKED.

I just got my 4WD, so I was ready to try it on the beach for the first time. WHAT A FUN PLACE. Drive right up to your spot without having to worry about dragging down your chairs, coolers, etc. Everyone I met here was just amazing and all out to have a good time. Relax, play music from your rig, drink some beer, no one's going to bother you. I recommend heading out early in the day because one day my friends and I headed out in the afternoon and traffic was backed up so it took nearly an hour to get on. Other than that, not a care in the world at North End.

4x4 heaven. Geared towards the young adult for partying. Make sure you have the air pressure dropped on your tires for beach driving.