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Experience Bald Head
Aerial view of the Shoals Club: two pools and lounge decks beside the clubhouse, with a boardwalk over the dune to the ocean beyond

Private club

Shoals Club

Private access

Private oceanfront club. Guests can buy a pass only if their rental holds a full membership and is in the Annual Rental Program.

A private oceanfront club at the south end, overlooking Frying Pan Shoals: two saltwater pools, three dining venues, a fitness room, and direct beach access. Guests get in through a rental with a full membership.

Oceanfront at the south end

The Shoals Club sits right on the beach at the island’s south end, looking out over Frying Pan Shoals, the long sandbar that gives the club its name. Where the Bald Head Island Club is a golf-and-forest club, the Shoals is a beach club: pools, dining, and the sand, all steps from each other.

Pools and dining

Two saltwater pools overlook the dunes and the ocean, one with an inset children’s pool; in season they are heated to an average of about 81 degrees. There are three dining venues: AQUA, the club’s premier restaurant, built around seafood-forward coastal cooking; Latitudes, an indoor lounge and open-air deck with a tapas-style menu made for sharing; and the Sandbar Grille. The restaurants are open to members and guest pass holders only.

Alongside the pools and dining there is a fitness room, direct beach access, and family programming through the season.

Getting in as a visitor

Access works much like the Bald Head Island Club’s, with a tighter rule about which rentals qualify. To buy a guest pass, the home you are renting must both hold a Full-Time Shoals Club membership and be enrolled in the club’s Annual Rental Program. Meet both, and a guest pass gives you full run of the club for your stay.

  • Confirm the membership before booking. Not every rental qualifies, and the two conditions matter.
  • Register early. Passes are limited and handed out first-registered, first-admitted.
  • Mind the deadline. Buying a pass fewer than five days before arrival adds a $100 service fee.