Crystal Coast
The Crystal Coast is a scenic and tourist-oriented stretch of beaches and towns in North Carolina, stretching from Emerald Isle in the west to Beaufort and Cape Lookout in the east.| Tap on a place to explore it |
Photo: Bz3rk, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Essential Destinations
Top destinations include Beaufort and Morehead City.
Beaufort
Photo: Michelle Underhill, CC BY 2.0.
Beaufort is the easternmost town in the Crystal Coast region of North Carolina; the county seat; and the third-oldest town in the state. Established in 1713 on the Newport River, Beaufort was named after Henry Somerset, the Duke of Beaufort.
Morehead City
Photo: James Willamor, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Morehead City is the largest town in the Crystal Coast region of North Carolina, with a population of 7,691. Morehead is not actually in the Outer Banks, being situated on the opposite shore of the Bogue Sound from Atlantic Beach, and is the main gateway to the island of Bogue Banks.
Newport
Newport is a small town just outside the Crystal Coast region of North Carolina, situated on the scenic Newport River. Because it's inland, away from the touristy coastal area, and doesn't have much in the way of attractions, Newport remains a mostly residential community.Destinations to Discover
Explore places such as Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach.
Emerald Isle
Photo: Kd5463, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Emerald Isle is a beach resort on the Atlantic coast of North Carolina, just south of Morehead City. It is in the Southern Outer Banks of North Carolina on the island of Bogue Banks, in an area known and marketed as the Crystal Coast.
Atlantic Beach
Photo: James Willamor, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Atlantic Beach is a small town of 1,500 people in the Crystal Coast region North Carolina. A popular seaside vacation town since the 1920s, Atlantic Beach is on Bogue Banks, part of the southern Outer Banks chain of barrier islands, between Bogue Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.
Cape Carteret
Cape Carteret is a town of 1,214 people in the Crystal Coast region of North Carolina. Like Newport, it's mainly a residential community, even though it's right on the water and boasts some very nice views of the sound.Swansboro
Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Swansboro, sometimes called the "Friendly City by the Sea", is a town of 3,700 people in Onslow County, North Carolina, between the White Oak River and the Intracoastal Waterway.
Harkers Island
Photo: DrStew82, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Harkers Island is a small town of about 1,525 people. It's located in the Crystal Coast region of North Carolina, adjacent to the Crystal Coast. The island, as with the rest of the Core Sound area, has strong historical ties to fishing and waterfowling.
Crystal Coast
- Type: Area
- Description: coastal region of North Carolina, United States
- Category: landform
- Location: Carteret, North Carolina Coastal Plain, North Carolina, South, United States, North America
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Satellite Map
Discover Crystal Coast from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
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About Mapcarta. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “Crystal Coast”. Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.