Oak Island

Oak Island is the Brunswick County town on the west and middle of the barrier island that shares its name. On July 1, 1999, Long Beach and Yaupon Beach consolidated into Oak Island. Caswell Beach stayed its own town and kept the east end.

Lockwood Folly Inlet, toward Holden Beach, is the west end. Atlantic to the south. Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway to the north. The 2020 census counted 8,396 residents. This one has a real off-season, not just a summer costume.

The landmark everyone means is the Oak Island Lighthouse, and it stands in Caswell Beach, not inside the Town of Oak Island. Easy mix-up. Worth getting right if you want to walk to it.

The concrete tower was finished in 1958, replacing the manned light on Bald Head Island. The Friends of the Oak Island Lighthouse describe it as 153 feet tall, with the light about 169 feet above the water because the site sits on a rise. Gray, white, and black were mixed into the pour, so the stripes aren't paint having a bad decade. Climbs use ship ladders, 131 steps, by appointment. Caswell Beach keeps the grounds and a beach boardwalk. The Coast Guard keeps the light, which is still an active aid to navigation.

Holden Beach is west, across Lockwood Folly Inlet. Caswell Beach is the next town east, on the same island. Southport, a historic river town on the Cape Fear, is the usual day trip off the sand. Bald Head Island is farther out, by ferry, and it is not one of the eight towns here. Fort Fisher and the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher are north, in Kure Beach, New Hanover County.