P.O. Box 127, Atlantic Beach, NC 28512
(252) 726-3775
fort.macon@ncmail.net

Education and events, exhibits and fort tour, fishing, hiking, picnicking, swimming

Education and events
Rangers hold regularly scheduled educational and interpretive programs about Fort Macon State Park. Click here to search our database of park events.

To arrange a special exploration of Fort Macon State Park for your group or class, contact the park office.

Educational materials about Fort Macon State Park have been developed for grades 6-8 and are correlated to North Carolina's competency-based curriculum in science, social studies, mathematics and English/language arts. The Fort Macon program introduces students to the geologic process of barrier island movement and to the plants and animals that thrive in this shifting environment. Accompanying the program is a teacher's booklet and workshop, free of charge to educators. To learn more about environmental education or to search our database of upcoming workshops, click here.

Exhibits and fort tour
Explore history at Fort Macon State Park! There is something to discover in each of the fort's 26 casements (vaulted rooms). Exhibits and displays acquaint you with the fort's history, and restored quarters offer a look into the lives of officers and soldiers.

Admire the fort's powder magazines, counterfire rooms with cannon emplacements and wide moat that could be flooded to protect the fort during a siege. The fort features a historic cannon, two cannon replicas, a hot shot furnace and a bake oven.

Join a guided tour of the fort or conduct your own following the guide available at the bookstore. The fort is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and closed Christmas Day. Historic reenactments are often held on the fort's inner court or parade ground.

Click here to read a guide to Fort Macon.

Click here to view photographs of the exhibits within Fort Macon.

Fishing
Flounder, bluefish, spot, croaker, sheepshead and whiting are abundant in the inlet and the ocean. Fishing may be enjoyed at the park throughout the year.

Hiking
Hiking along the park beaches provides good birding. The dunes along the beach are sparsely vegetated with picturesque sea oats (Uniola paniculata) and other hardy grasses and shrubs. The rock jetties, although man-made, provide inter-tidal habitats for many marine organisms that are fed upon by birds.

Picnicking
Picnic facilities in the park include outdoor grills, drinking water, picnic tables, shelters and restrooms. Trash containers are centrally located.

Swimming
Fort Macon's beach is a popular source of recreation. From June through Labor Day, a seaside bathhouse and refreshment stand are open, and lifeguards are on duty from 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Because of strong water currents, visitors are encouraged to swim only in the protected area. Surfing is not allowed in the protected swimming area.