As the summer beach season ramps up, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) Public Beach and Coastal Waterfront Access Program reminds coastal residents and visitors about its helpful, interactive public beach and waterfront access map. The map can be accessed directly from mobile devices and desktops to help locate a spot to visit along one of North Carolina’s beaches or coastal waterfronts this summer. The map includes a tool called “Find Sites Near Me,” which will help to locate sites within 10 miles of a location.
The online access site map provides information on the location and amenities for more than 800 local, state and federally funded access sites along the ocean beaches and estuarine waters of North Carolina.
Access Map Tool instructions:
- My Location tool allows the map to pinpoint your location. Tip: This works best when you enable sharing of your location on your device.
- Near Me tool allows up to search for locations within a distance of 1-10 miles from a location. This tool also can be used in conjunction with the “my location” and “filter” tools.
- Filter tool allows you to filter locations based on the type of access amenities available. For example, if you are looking for a beach that has restrooms and showers simply click the slider buttons to activate those filters. Results will show only sites with those amenities chosen.
- Basemap tool allows you to switch between a gallery of basemaps including satellite imagery, street maps, topographic maps and others.
DCM provides funding for land acquisition and construction to improve pedestrian access to the state's beaches and waterways through its Public Beach and Coastal Waterfront Access Program. The program has awarded 530 grants totaling more than $55 million to improve public waterfront access sites since it began in 1981.
Access projects may include walkways, dune crossovers, restrooms, parking areas, piers and related projects. Funds also may be used for land acquisition or urban waterfront revitalization.
Click here to go directly to the beach and waterfront access map. Question and comments should be directed to Rachel Love-Adrick at Rachel.love-adrick@deq.nc.gov and include the site location in your correspondence.
IMAGES AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD: Photo credit NC Division of Coastal Management