Carolina Beach Municipal Marina

We highly recommend staying at the Carolina Beach Municipal mooring field. The best part of our stay was meeting Harbor Master, Larry Denning, who was a tremendous help and couldn't do enough for us. North Carolina southern hospitality at its best. Thank you, Larry!

Always love staying in Carolina Beach, and the dockmaster is the greatest

Very courteous dock master, mooring balls in excellent shape, nice town

Larry very helpful with mooring and local intel

I love stopping in Carolina Beach. Affordable. Well organized process. Moorings are well and safely placed. The Harbormaster, Larry was very helpful and enjoyable to talk with. One of my favorite places on the east coast- even though they currently do not have hot showers.

Great stop stayed on a mooring ball. Larry the dock master was very friendly and helpful. Walking distance to the beach About a 15 minute walk to a Publix and a little further past Publix is a Dollar General We’ll definitely make this a stop in the future

Only used a mooring overnight, but the process was easy & dockmaster very accommodating over the phone.

Great place to stop for a few days. Dinghy dock close by mooring field.

Harbor master extremely helpful, much appreciated.

We stay here often on our way to and from Florida. Always a nice experience. However, if I have any concerns it would be the two commercial vessels docked at both dingy docks. Also a few more cleats on the dock would help accommodate the morning dog walk dingoes. Thanks, Captain Mike

The harbor master is very friendly and helpful.

Great place to anchor

Excellent mooring management. ThAnk you Larry! Ten moorings you can reserve ahead… more to come! Two dinghy docks, donuts, dining, Publix, beach access. A favorite stop for us for more than eight years.

Stayed on mooring ball on 4/23/23. Booked thru Dockwa & received fast confirmation. Ball was easy to grab, very slight current, quiet mooring field. Took dinghy to local restaurant, Stoked..great atmosphere, good food! Highly recommend. Free anchorages nearby if mooring field is full.

Well maintained mooring

Great mooring balls. Short dink ride to dinghy dock. Then 2 blocks to beach. The dock master is the best. Plenty of places to eat downtown.

Easy in easy out 👍 what more could you ask for!

This is our 4th time staying at the Carolina Beach Municipal Marina. We stayed on a mooring ball one night this time & I was great! The dinghy dock is close by to get to shore and the beach is a block or two away! We love this spot and stop everytime we go up & down the east coast. Larry, the Dockmaster is wonderful too!! We will be back again!

Stayed on the mooring ball. Ball was in good condition and there are two public dinghy docks nearby. One takes you right to the beach and the other is close to Publix and restaurants. Carolina Beach is one of our favorite stops.

Stayed at mooring field for 1 night.. Nice location. We enjoyed our stay.

Larry the Dockmaster was great!

Great stay, harbor Master couldn't have been nicer.

Outstanding! Larry could not be nicer. Perfect dinghy dock and a short walk to restaurants.

Easy peazy, straightforward, and courteous.

QUIET ANCHORAGE, NOW WAKE ZONE MUCH APPRECIATED AFTER PREVIOUS NIGHT ANCHORED IN WRIGHTSVILLE BAECH, NC. MOORING TACKLE IN GOOD CONDITION.

Stayed on well kept mooring ball. Nice Publix was a 3/4 mile walk. Beautiful beach was one block from the East public dinghy dock. Ate at the Sea Witch Cafe outside. Food was good casual food. Fun eclectic bar called the fun pelican in easy walking distance. Overall, a very nice stay.

Quiet. Good time of year, only one other boat.

Very easy process to reserve and good information (email) from the harbor master. Website said the site was closed during renovation, but it is active and half the moorings in used. Dinghied to Stoked restaurant for dinner.

This is my place... nicest mooring area, with nice beach, good restaurant close by and a nice boardwalk. Thanks to Larry and his team there a doing a very good job.

Great stop easy access very helpful harbor master great price

Can’t say enough about the Harbor Master Larry. Has always been pleasant and extremely patient. He is a gem. We love the moorings! Thank you for such a pleasure to stay with your marina.

One of our favorite stops. Larry the harbor master is wonderful and accommodating. Great true value hardware/tackle shop as well as a supermarket within walking distance

Excellent mooring balls and great little harbor. We will be back.

Forgot to add to my previous review that I have met several boats that had planned to stay at Carolina Beach but were unable to because of lack of space. Hopefully you can figure out how to make a few more available. I had a great stay. Hats off to Larry who helps coordinate the traffic!\nThank you. Seabird

Great place to stay, easy access to town and beach by dinghy. Our favorite bar was Hoplite. Great vibe and staff. Publix has a great store very close to town also.

We had a nice stay in Carolina Beach. There are restaurants, grocery, hardware, and other stores close by. Larry was easy to reach and was very helpful. The dingy dock near the mooring field and the other one at the end of the harbor helped us numerous times. The beach is an easy walk. Look forward to visiting next time.

Very good mooring ball. Harbor master was great!!! Nice town

Well maintained moorings, great Harbormaster very nice town. Only thing lacking is there are too few mooring balls! Otherwise very happy and look forward to more visits.

Our favourit stop up and down the ICW. The dockmaster makes all the difference. Next time we stay longer and enjoy the area.

Stayed on Mooring ball. Excellent shape. East access to walk dog, and two blocks to the beach! Friendly Dockmaster. Will definitely return here.

Mooring balls are well placed, with plenty of swing room. Pendants are new and dockmaster goes around and places the pendant thimble back in the top of the mooring prior to the next arrival. Very helpful

This is always a wonderful stay as the mooring balls are in excellent condition and dock master Larry Denning is always available and very helpful. The dinghy dock is close by, the local restaurants are great, and the beach is almost across the street. A great stop once again! Thanks Larry!\n. \n\n

We hardly ever stay on mooring balls, but Ian was coming at us and we found ourselves having to re-anchor anyways, so I figured, \"what the hell? It's only $20\". After having a great conversation with Larry, the Harbormaster, who described the moorings in detail, we decided to ride out Ian on a ball. Good decision. We were able to relax a bit more than we would have at anchor, especially when the winds shifted. \nIn more pleasant conditions, this is still a great spot. For one thing, the moorings are very well maintained and easy to grab. Also, there is a dinghy dock right off the mooring field that leads to public bathrooms, outdoor showers, and, of course, the beach. At the end of the canal, about 3/4 of a mile, there is another public dock which has everything within walking distance.\nSV Mollynogger\n37' Endeavour sloop

The Carolina Beach Municipal Marina is great! We always make sure we stop here on our way up or down the ICW!! We have stayed at both the Marina & a mooring ball and have always had a great experience! There is a very nice public dinghy dock right by the mooring field that is a quick walk to the beautiful beach. Larry the Dockmaster is the BEST!! He is so friendly, helpful & accommodating!! We will be back again soon!!!

Great place to moor and enjoy a float on the water… high quality mooring balls easy to access.

Mooring field work a short ride to the public dinghy dock. We really didn't have any interaction with anyone other than the app. It would have been nice to have access to bathroom facilities. The boardwalk is close by a couple of fast food restaurants.

Great mooring balls and location. Dockmaster Larry is great! Dinghy to the restaurants or to the beach.

Excellent stay! Larry was an absolute delight. Very welcoming, accommodating and informative! The mooring was in excellent shape. There was even a very nice stainless steel eye on the pennant. The line was fresh and clean. The dinghy docks are really close and convenient. This is a great little town.

We enjoyed our stay in the mooring ball and appreciated the nearby municipal dock to land our dinghy. We were also able to get our dog to shore and to the beach for exercise after 5pm and before 9am. Great stay!

Great spot very nice mooring balls, Larry the harbor master is if not the most friendly person in the world he has to be amongst the top five! We enjoyed the town Smallville America feel with a beautiful beach just a short dinghy ride and walk away. Publix grocery store a short walk from the dinghy dock, and the best Mexican restaurant we've found since leaving Texas. Cudos to Larry great guy.

A wonderful mooring ball field and the weather was good. We explored the area and enjoyed it very much.

Excellent mooring field with nice access to shore.

The moorings are in excellent shape and the area is very nice. I only rated it a because the on-shore facilities are minimal at best. We will be back on our trip back south.

Best Mooring balls so far. Lines clean and in a cool bucket on top of ball. 2 dinghy docks for beach and town center

Quick response to same day reservation request. Friendly and helpful.

We really enjoyed staying at the Carolina Beach Moorings. Larry Denning was extremely helpful in providing directions to the mooring field and in making us feel welcome. The location was lovely and the mooring worked out perfectly for us. One recommendation I have would be to send an email that provides 'what-to-expect' information regarding the mooring itself as well as instructions as to how to attach lines to the mooring. (We had never before seen a mooring like the one there, which gave us a bit of difficulty only because we did not expect what we encountered. At the end of the day, it was 'all good', but it would be helpful to provide this information for those who are accustomed to different types of moorings.)

Love Carolina Beach Moorings. Easy in and out. Easy to reserve on Dockwa. Larry, the Dockmaster, does a great job and works to help you out.

great good access to the beach and restaurants

Larry the Harbor master was Great!

Super friendly and helpful

Wonderful location. Easy access to the beach. Easy to pick up mooring.

Stayed for 5 days, May 8-12, 2022. Heavy-duty mooring balls and pendants with plastic ring on top of ball to protect topsides. No wake zone which is respected. USCG patrol passes through the harbor often. Two public dinghy docks and within walking distance are lots of restaurants, groceries, hardware stores, etc. Could not have felt more safe and secure. Bravo Carolina Beach!

Interesting right off ICW, this is a jewel. Very lively, lots of choices to stay a night. We chose a mooring. Larry was extremely helpful. I found a # on Dockwa. We only stayed a night but it was perfect.

Easy mooring, great access to dinghy docks. Nice location. Would definitely use again!

Friendly harbor master - easy in and out

Very solid moorings; very helpful staff. Excellent location, with both beach access and town access for dinghy.

Plenty of depth goin in, close to town,beautiful beach.

Reserved easy peasy on Dockwa. Top notch mooring gear, peaceful night!

Good stop along the ICW. Dinghy dock at the end of the bay.

Great customer service! Quick response to our reservation request late in the day. So convenient!

Excellent moorings, easy to grab with very good lines and gear. Larry was very informative and helpful. Very pleased with our stay.

Love using Dockwa and love the Carolina Beach mooring field. Short dinghy ride to town for some great walks, shopping, dining and ice cream. Love this spot!

Dockmaster was awesome and the mooring field was great.

Larry the dock master is there best. I was arriving late and he kept an eye out for the last mooring ball that no one would take it. It's a great Beach town and the moorings are top notch!

Great morning balls. Third time we stayed. The manager, Larry was very friendly and helpful. He came down to the dinghy dock to ensure we had all the information we needed to make our stay enjoyable. We will always stop here on our way south.

Excellent stop. Communication ahead of time from Dock Master is most helpful. Mooring balls very easy to use. Dinghy dock provides easy access to restaurants, groceries and area activities.

Customer service from Larry the dock master is superb. Moorings are well maintained, super easy to grab without leaving a mess on deck. Dogs are welcome on the beautiful beach across the street after hours during even peak season. Easy walk to Publix. I wish more places would learn from Carolina Beach.

Great cell service and TV reception, quiet night, not worrying about the anchor!😄

Mooring balls in excellent condition. No wake zone is honored. Communication from marina, provides all info you need to know about dinghy docking, local restaurants, grocery, etc. Any questions, Dock Master Larry is happy to help.

Easy to catch moorings. Nice town.

Carolina Beach has become one of our favorite stops - keeps getting better!

Always feel safe on the moorings! Easy access to good groceries, hardware and propane.

Convenient and easy mooring

Would normally give this type of marina 3 stars due to the lack of amenities ie no wifi, but the service and the location are tremendous. This town has it figured out for attracting boaters to spend money in the town. Good floating docks, power and water, easy walk to Publix, the boardwalk and restaurants. Well done.

Just stayed on one of the moorings for three nights on my return north in March. Took the dinghy ashore and walked to Flaming Amy's for lunch (great!), then to Publix for reprovisioning. Got an Uber back to the dinghy dock with the groceries. Next day (Sunday) had lunch at Sea Witch Cafe, again great, then walked on the beach. Carolina Beach is such a nice place, and the moorings are a great and affordable way to see it!

Great experience, always an easy transition to dock. Great location too!

Larry was so accommodating, always so friendly and helpful! We will stay here every trip up and down the coast, great restaurants, very safe harbor Thanks so much Larry, see you again soon Steve - Irish Wake

They don't have 30 amp service so it was a little inconvenient to run a 110 extension cord and then it tripped in the middle of the night causing us to be cold. There is no internet, we weren't able to fill the water tank no fault of the marina.. it was because of winter otherwise food is in walking distance and it was a safe night I will come back again when I passed through

Cheap and easy. Larry was a great help. No frills just the basic necessities.

Nice Moorings. Easy in and out. Very friendly Harbormaster.

Wonderful mooring. Larry has been very helpful and is available an amazing 24/7. Highly recommended.

I hate to talk this up too much, cuz I don’t want the competition for a spot! But, I have to say that Carolina Beach is doing it right! The moorings themselves are in excellent shape, the location is quiet, and while you’re surrounded by homes, it doesn’t feel claustrophobic at all. We dinghy-ed to the dinghy dock and took a walk on the Atlantic beach side. Then later in the evening, we dinghy-ed to the town dock (tie-up for less than 3hrs), and walked to a phenomenal restaurant - “Coast”. And I have to mention that I checked in with Larry, and he was kind and helpful with info about the two dinghy docks and some pointers on points of interest.

nice stop, easy on off mooring

Clean, well maintained mooring ball and gear. Convenient dinghy docks. Protected harbor. Easy reservation system. We'll be back.

Great, protected mooring ball field, with balls and tackle in good condition. The location is well protected from winds and weather, and a fun, low cost and secure stopover on the ICW.

Excellent mooring field. Balls and pennants in perfect condition. Two dinghy docks. Well managed.

Thanks Larry! Always a pleasure stooping into Carolina beach.

Very positive experience with the mooring balls. Larry the dockmaster is the difference. He was great to work with and ensured we had a great stay. Mooring balls are near the dingy dock to the beach and the dingy dock further in town provides easy access to provisions. Great stop!

Simply simple, we make this a must stop North & South. Quality mooring, easy access, what more could you ask for?

Larry is the best and location right in town. No showers but there is a public restroom.

These are the best mooring balls! They are always kept so nice and they are located in a terrific spot. There are two convenient dinghy docks. One in town and one close to the beach. A new Publix is an easy walk from the town docks. There's a great little sandwich shop/convenience store by the beach dock. Then there's Larry! What a terrific Harbor master. He approved our request on a Sunday night at 9 pm and is as pleasant to work with as they come! Love this town!

Another great couple of days in Carolina Beach! The mooring field is outstanding with plenty of swing room between boats and well maintained buoys and mooring lines. The 2 dinghy docks are well maintained and in protected areas. A very well stocked Publix grocery store is maybe a 15 minute walk from one of the docks. Clearly Carolina Beach sees the value in attracting transient boaters and done a great job of making this mooring field hassle free and extremely reasonable ($20 per night). Ted

Easy in easy out , nice setup. Quiet area. Great place to time the cape fear river currents

Larry the harbor master is so hospitable! Always available! Love staying here! Walking distance to anything and everything Carolina Beach has to offer!

Close to all. Very good harbor master. Could use WiFi.

Genuinely a great spot to visit. What makes it great is the gentleman that manages the mooring field is the most professional and even tempered dock master I have met. Don't think twice about visiting Carolina beach mooring field.

Another magical evening watching the fireworks. Close to all the restaurants and attractions. Would stay for the month if I could afford it!

Larry was very helpful!!

Dock master Larry was nice and helpful. Be advised they only have 50 amp power.Great location easy access to heart of the town.

3rd time on a mooring ball and the best experience of all! Great moorings. Well organized. Both dinghy docks in excellent condition. Walked to Publix from Town Docks. At the kayak docks you can take dogs to the beach before 9 or after 5 on a leash. Only a couple of blocks to walk. Great take out breakfast sandwich place.

Larry (I think that was his name) was the friendliest and most helpful dockmaster we have come across in our three years of cruising. Great dingy dock and everything you need and more within walking distance. Will be back!

Communication on day of our arrival was non-existent after leaving voicemail with question. Prior to that time, communication was fine

Larry was incredibly helpful & hospitable! This is our second time we’ve stayed here & are already looking forward to when we can return. We highly recommend this mooring field & beach! Thanks for everything! 😎 SV Wyndfall

Very Nice quiet anchorage, dinghy dock very close, public restrooms were clean, the little grocery store new and just setting up. Highly recommend this mooring field well worth the $20/nt. We had a couple nights of high winds and thunderstorms slept well.

Excellent place. Cllean and easy access. Enjoyed it !

Larry the harbor master is the absolute best. He goes above and beyond to be more than accommodating. The Pennents on the moorings are the cleanest I’ve ever seen anywhere. I’d feel comfortable on a heavy blow in this harbor.

Always a good stop on the ICW. Very calm, no wake even though there is boat traffic everyone is at idle speed. We’ll maintained moorings. The Dockmaster is very helpful.

Love this stop on the ICW. The town and harbor have all a cruiser needs. The dock master is gracious and does a good job with acknowledging reservation requests.

Great place to hang out for a few days...the dinghy dock is close by the mooring field and just a block walk to the beach or you can tie up in town as well. Larry, the dockmaster, is a super man to deal with......we really appreciated his kind service.

great place Dockmaster is on top of everything and very helpful

Loved it. Perfect place

As close to perfect as you can get. Thanks

Wonderful mooring. Good dingy access to beach and provisioning

The moorings were very well maintained and the staff were very helpful and friendly. We will definitely be back!

You can't beat a mooring ball to get a good nights sleep. This location was recommended. Very protected area, access to the beach from the Carolina Beach DInghy Dock. South end of bay is another city dock where you can walk to the local grocery store if needed. Wish more cities would put in mooring fields.

Mooring ball was easy to retrieve and mooring field was right in the middle of all of the action. The city dock and marina dock were both accessible by dinghy. The beach, boardwalk and restaurants were easy to get to. We enjoyed our 2 days at Carolina Beach!

Great stay. Wonderful Hospitality and the Fried Chicken was delicious!

Just needed an overnight. But easy to pick up moorings

Great place to grab a ball. Nice new moorings with easy to grab lanyards. Dinghy dock next to morning field with beach access and public restrooms right there. Larry was so nice and helpful and so friendly he made everything very easy. Wish we could have stayed longer.

Fantastic operation. Mooring balls are well maintained and line is coiled. Easy pick-up. Larry is available to answer questions and very helpful. Dinghy dock and two block walk to the beach. Will return next time in the area.

Mooring balls are well maintained and easy to pick up. Short dinghy ride to town dinghy dock - two locations. Supermarket was a 12 minute walk from dinghy dock. Pump out and water available at town dock. Easy beach access.

Wonderful little town, very charming, everyone friendly. Several nice anchorages and mooring balls available. Laid up here for two days while winds were gusting to 35mph. Nice dinghy dock to use.

Mooring was awesome and close to the dinghy dock. Larry was only a phone call away and answered questions immediately. Extremely friendly and helpful. Will visit again. Also loved Havana’s restaurant food and service great.

Excellent mooring area. Larry was extremely helpful in giving us information about the mooring field & local sites close to field & dinghy dock!

East in and out. Nice new pendants. Quite no wake zone, that is respected. I would stay there again, for sure.

What an excellent mooring! Loved that the painter is in a bin on the top of the mooring buoy. Nice and clean! We stayed for just a night and did not dinghy into town, but it's not far and there are lots of restaurants around.

Easy to pick up mooring. Spent a safe quiet night.

When we first started visiting Carolina Beach, for the same $20 price someone came out to the boat to collect the fee and they took off trash, gave recommendations, directions, and offered assistance or a move to a slip at Mona Black in bad weather. With Dockwa the personal touch is lost.

Very friendly and accommodating staff. Will definitely stop there again.

Larry the dock master was really helpful and the price and location are both excellent. There are no facilities such a showers or it’d be a five star spot

Stayed on a mooring ball for several days in November, 2020. Larry (harbormaster) is super helpful and friendly. Moorings are well spaced and held in a 40k blow. This has very easy access from the ICW. We came in to the ICW up at Wrightsville Beach, came down to Carolina Beach where we spent a couple weeks (the rest of our time on the hook in the anchorage just north of the mooring fields), then down the Cape Fear river and back to the outside at the Cape Fear inlet. Gave us a nice and safe 20 mile stretch of the ICW, some excellent time at Carolina Beach, then back out to the outside.

Nice docks. Dockmaster was very helpful.

Always a nice visit here. We were in a mooring when Tropical Storm Eta came through with 45 mph winds. Was great to be on a town mooring that is inspected.

The mooring field is the best stop along this part of the ICW. The harbor master for the mooring field is one of the most pleasant and helpful persons you can wish for. Thank you Carolina Beach.

Outstanding location with friendly service.

Nice quiet anchorage with new equipment. Each mooring ball has a pennant with a thimble on it to run your mooring line through.

We reserved two nights on a mooring ball. Arrived Saturday about 4:30 and no balls available. We anchored and cancelled the first night reservation to get a refund. Larry called us shortly thereafter, apologized, and offered a free night on the town dock. We declined, but we thought his responsiveness was excellent. This used to be the problem here, but Larry has really cleared that up. In spite of our disappointment we still gave 4 stars because Larry is doing such a good job.

Great spot! Convenient to everything!

We had a great two nights. The mooring balls and lines were in good shape and the weather was fabulous.

Great spot! We stayed for 2 nights. Called ahead for instructions and Larry, the very kind dock master, told us to pick any open mooring ball and if we needed anything at all to call him. Dinghy dock was very close to mooring balls. Bars, restaurants, hardware stores, and grocery stores not far. We have bikes, so we spent the day running errands and then a couple beers at Good Hops brewing where we played a round of disc golf (for free). Love this funky beach town and mooring field. We’ll be back!

Always a pleasure at Carolina Beach. The moorings are well placed and easy to catch. Close to the dingy dock.

Larry is very nice- great location for 1 -2 block walk to into town/beach. Minimal amenities- great rates. floating dock with 35’ distance fixed dolphin poles. 55’ is max. No wifi. I would definitely go back for another short stay,

Larry, the Dockmaster, is such a nice man. So helpful and friendly!

Great mooring field convenient and affordable

This was our first stay in Carolina Beach. The area was lovely and we had a first class dinner at the Surf House. There are decent bike lanes for getting around on bicycles and the beach was beautiful. A nice Publix grocery is only about half a mile. There are only two transient slips but if you can get one, the price is terrific!

One of our favorite places. Convenient to restaurants, shopping. Dinghy dock is a one block walk to the beach. Mooring balls and penants in great shape.

Very nice stop. Easy in and out from the ICW. Balls have a good length heavy duty pennant with a large thimble to accept two 3/4 to 1” lines. The field tender Larry was very nice to deal with..friendly and helpful.