The island map
Toggle the layers to show what you care about, tap a pin for details, and share the address bar to send someone exactly what you're looking at. Restaurants, shops, and other businesses are pinned from the GPS in our own storefront photos, so treat those pins as close rather than exact. The small blue rings are photo spots: every photograph in this guide is pinned to the place it was taken.
Everything on the map
Conservancy
Nature tours, environmental programs, sea-turtle headquarters, and a gift shop.
Ferry
Deep Point Marina (mainland terminal)
The mainland ferry terminal in Southport: parking, baggage drop, and departures to the island hourly in the morning and evening, about every 90 minutes at midday.
Island Ferry Landing
Where the passenger ferry arrives and the tram meets you. Old Baldy is about a five-minute walk along Lighthouse Wynd.
Map location approximate.
Landmarks
Forest Pavilion
Boardwalk pavilion with a palm sculpture fountain, in the heart of Harbour Village.
Map location approximate.
Marina
Harbour Village Marina
The island's harbor: boat slips, waterfront restaurants, and shops around the basin.
Parks & gardens
Marina Park & Pollinator Garden
Palm-lined lawn on the Monarch Trail with a pollinator garden and public restrooms.
Shops
Framed historic maps and nautical charts, from early North Carolina maps to 1850s Cape Fear coast surveys, in a small Merchant's Row shop run by longtime islanders.
Map location approximate.
Bald Head's own apparel brand since 2014: performance polos, button-downs, quarter zips, swim trunks, and hats, sold at its flagship store beside the Maritime Market.
Map location approximate.
The island's hardware and general store, complete with porch rockers and a branded cargo golf cart.
Map location approximate.
The island shop for Cape Fear Distillery: free tastings and bottles of its vodka, gin, rum, bourbon, tequilas, and rum creams, plus art and gifts, on Maritime Way.
Map location approximate.
A family clothing store at 14 Maritime Way: women's labels like Free People and Z Supply, surf brands like Roxy and Billabong, clothes for men and kids, and its own Bald Head Island tees.
Map location approximate.
The island's only grocery, with a bakery, deli, butcher, and restaurants under one roof.
A women's boutique in The Esplanade on Maritime Way: dresses, tops, swim, shoes, jewelry, and accessories from brands like Paige, PJ Salvage, Sam Edelman, and Jack Rogers.
Map location approximate.
Beach flair for your home: a Maritime Way home furnishings shop with new and vintage coastal furniture, lighting, rugs, tableware, original art, and gifts.
Map location approximate.
The Silver Peddler & Gift Accessories
Coastal jewelry, beach-inspired home decor, and gifts from more than 130 makers, on Maritime Way.
Map location approximate.
Viewpoints
Marsh boardwalk outlook
A boardwalk view over the salt marsh with Old Baldy rising beyond the grass; one of the island's classic photographs.
Map location approximate.
Old Baldy
North Carolina's oldest standing lighthouse (1817). Climb it, then visit the Smith Island Museum of History in the keeper's cottage beside it.
Map location approximate.
Dining
A wine shop and bar on Maritime Way: bottles to take home, wines by the glass and flights, draft beer and cocktails, snacks, and weekly tastings, with kids and pets welcome.
Map location approximate.
Wood-fired pizza at the Maritime Market: hand-formed sourdough pies from a 900-degree oven, from a Queen Margherita to the honey-drizzled Honeycup, ordered at the market's side porch window.
Map location approximate.
Cozumel Mexican Kitchen & Beach Bar
A sit-down Mexican kitchen and bar in Stoked Village: tortillas made daily, guacamole in a stone molcajete, ceviche and oysters, street tacos, fajitas, a mezcal-flamed ribeye, and margaritas.
Map location approximate.
A full-service restaurant and bar in the island's old police station: crab dip and poke nachos, seafood baskets, big salads, burgers and crab cake sandwiches, and island cocktails.
Map location approximate.
The marina's pizza and cocktail bar: build-your-own or signature pies in 9 or 18 inches, salads, hoagies, wine, frozen drinks, and island-named cocktails.
Map location approximate.
Places to stay
A 12-suite inn on Keelson Row overlooking the marina and marsh, with a hot breakfast each morning, a golf cart for each suite, bikes and beach gear, and Shoals Club access for an added fee.
Map location approximate.
A ten-suite, adults-only inn overlooking the marina in Harbour Village: breakfast and an afternoon social hour, bikes and beach gear to borrow, and guest access to both island clubs.
Map location approximate.
A neighborhood of privately owned villas along lagoons near the Bald Head Island Club and the beach. It isn't a hotel: some villas rent by the week through island rental companies.
Map location approximate.
Island services
Island Package Center & Post Office
The island's post office and package center on Lighthouse Wynd, run by the Village: stamps and shipping, PO boxes, and the pickup counter for every package sent to an island address.
Map location approximate.
Island Time Medical and Wellness
The island's medical practice: urgent care for everyday illnesses and minor injuries, house calls, IV hydration, and memberships, run by a nurse practitioner. Direct pay, no insurance.
Map location approximate.
The island's interdenominational chapel on Lighthouse Wynd beside Old Baldy, dedicated in 1987: Sunday services at 8:30 and 10am, a chapel open for prayer, and weddings.
Map location approximate.
The Village of Bald Head Island's government offices on Lighthouse Wynd, and the source of the island rules every visitor should know, from golf carts and beach gear to turtle-season lights.
Map location approximate.
Things to do
Rentals and outfitting on Maritime Way: bikes, beach chairs and umbrellas, paddleboards, kayaks, and surf lessons, plus a store stocked with Patagonia, YETI, and Lilly Pulitzer.
Map location approximate.
The excursion desk and outfitter in Stoked Village: inshore, offshore, and fly fishing charters, sunset cruises, scuba trips, jet ski tours, surf-fishing rentals, and Stoked-brand apparel.
Map location approximate.
A family arcade at Stoked Village with skee-ball, basketball, air hockey, motorcycle racing, claw machines, and a virtual coaster.
Rental & real estate offices
Ivester Jackson Christie's International Real Estate
The island office of Christie's International Real Estate, on Merchant's Row: homes, homesites, fractionals, and boat slips, led by David Berne, a Bald Head broker for more than 30 years.
Map location approximate.
Locally owned vacation rentals and real estate, formed in 2026 when Wendy Wilmot Properties and Bald Head Island Services joined forces: about 189 rental homes, every one with a golf cart.
Map location approximate.
Beaches & accesses
The furthest north public beach access on West Beach. West Beach faces the Cape Fear River, so the water is calmer and better suited to wading and other activities than to surfing.
A public West Beach access. West Beach faces the Cape Fear River, so the water is calmer and better suited to wading and other activities than to surfing.
A public West Beach access on the north side of the marina access inlet. West Beach faces the Cape Fear River, so the water is calmer and better suited to wading and other activities than to surfing.
A public West Beach access on the south side of the marina access inlet. West Beach faces the Cape Fear River, so the water is calmer and better suited to wading and other activities than to surfing.
A public West Beach access near public restrooms and the marina restaurants. West Beach faces the Cape Fear River, so the water is calmer and better suited to wading and other activities than to surfing.
A public West Beach access off Green Teal Trail. West Beach faces the Cape Fear River, so the water is calmer and better suited to wading and other activities than to surfing.
A public West Beach access off Seagull Trail. West Beach faces the Cape Fear River, so the water is calmer and better suited to wading and other activities than to surfing.
A public West Beach access off Cape Fear Trail; the furthest south on West Beach. West Beach faces the Cape Fear River, so the water is calmer and better suited to wading and other activities than to surfing.
A public South Beach access on the bend toward West Beach, off Sand Piper Trail.
A public South Beach access near the Bald Head Island Country Club, off South Bald Head Wynd. A wooden staircase and walkway carry you over the dune to the sand.
A public South Beach access off South Bald Head Wynd, with handicap access.
A public South Beach access off South Bald Head Wynd.
A public South Beach access off Starrush Trail, with turn-out parking and wooden stairs and a walkway over the dune.
A public South Beach access off Sandspur Trail.
A public South Beach access off Sandspur Trail.
A public South Beach access off Silversides Trail.
A public South Beach access off Silversides Trail. An emergency telephone is available nearby.
A public South Beach access off South Bald Head Wynd. An emergency telephone is available nearby.
A public South Beach access off Peppervine Trail.
A public South Beach access off Peppervine Trail.
A public South Beach access off South Bald Head Wynd.
A public South Beach access off South Bald Head Wynd.
A public South Beach access off Brown Pelican Trail.
A private South Beach access.
A private South Beach access.
A private South Beach access.
A private South Beach access.
A public South Beach access off South Bald Head Wynd. The walk crosses more grass than sand and can be buggy.
A public South Beach access off South Bald Head Wynd. The walk crosses more grass than sand and can be buggy.
A public South Beach access off South Bald Head Wynd. An emergency telephone is available nearby.
A private South Beach access; the furthest access east before the Shoals Club on the point.
A short ride down Station House Way from Access 42, close to another bend in the road, and near the Shoals Club. A wooden walkway runs all the way from the parking area over the dunes and onto the sand. Parking at the access is limited, and carts quickly line both sides of the street at this popular spot. Like the other East Beach points, the water generally runs calmer than the south side, and it's shallower here, with a long, accessible sandbar. Access 39 also puts you near the tide pools that form at the point, a favorite with families; near the pools the sandbar can sit fully exposed. Be careful, though: shifting tides can overtake the pools and the bar fast. An emergency telephone is available nearby, and Access 39 is the furthest south of the East Beach accesses.
A public East Beach access.
Arguably one of the best access points on the island, and the last East Beach access heading north before Middle Island. It sits on the wrap-around turn where Station House Way connects with South East Beach Drive. The parking lot is large but fills during the busy season. The access itself is sand only with no wooden walkway, and the sand gets extremely hot; wear something on your feet so you aren't stranded halfway up the dune with burning feet and an armful of beach gear. Conditions vary with the weather, but East Beach generally runs calmer than the south side, with a gradual depth and a sandbar an easy reach for a comfortable swimmer. The sandbar drops off at its north and south ends. A favorite for families, and this guide's favorite sunrise surfing spot.
A private East Beach access, restricted to Middle Island residents.