Bald Head Island, just a few nautical miles off the coast of North Carolina, in the Atlantic Ocean is not your usual beach resort.

Oh, it has water sports: kayaking, windsurfing, fishing and crabbing. You can turtle-watch, just as we do here on the Emerald Coast of Northwest Florida. You can play golf on Bald Head, just as you can here. And you can definitely walk, run and bike to your heart’s content on paths through forests and beside the ocean.

What makes Bald Head Island so special is the feeling you get once you allow yourself to become totally immersed in the island’s ambiance and atmosphere.

Dating back to the 17th century, this island with its 14 miles of wide, unspoiled beaches was once a pirate hideout. Now it is a somewhat pristine summer sojourn that smacks of nostalgia.

Bald Head, surrounded by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, is a semi-tropical island filled with Sabal palms, live oaks, dogwoods and palmettos.

From a South beachfront home we were able to witness the unusual phenomena of spectacular sunrises and sunsets, occurring over the Atlantic Ocean.

There are beaches on the south, east and west sides of the island, which Stephen “Dr. Beach” Leatherman in 2000 deemed included on his “America’s Top 20 Beaches" list. Fortunately, at least 70 percent of the island is being protected by the Bald Head Island Conservancy, which raises funds with its gift shops and offers nature hikes and walks to view sea-turtle nesting sites.

Most of the island’s visitors are just that - visitors. Most of those visitors are housed in private rented homes, villas or cottages. There are only around 200 year-round residents. There are no hotels on the island and only one bed and breakfast, the Marsh Harbour Inn, near the marina and yacht harbor.

There are some day-trippers, people who come over on ferry to spend the day, biking, hiking or just riding around the island in a rented golf cart.

Other than natural sites, such as vast salt marshes and the confluence of the Cape Fear River Intracoastal Waterway with the Atlantic Ocean, most of the other “sights to see” are the historic ones. The 110-foot high, Old Baldy Lighthouse, built in 1817 is the island’s iconic symbol. It is North Carolina’s oldest standing lighthouse and its 108 steps can be climbed.

Most sightseeing is accomplished by golf cart. These battery operated means of transportation are the only vehicles permitted on the island. And it is partly these golf carts which make Bald Head Island so unique and enchanting!

While Mackinac Island in Michigan has a no cars rule on its island, transportation there is limited to horse and buggies or bikes. Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts has its shuttle buses and small boats and skiffs.
Bermuda has its motor bikes.

But Bald Head has its golf carts. They come in all sizes, some seating six or more passengers, on three rows. Many carts have been personalized and decorated by their owners.

The one constant is that every home has at least one golf cart. They are the means by which everyone (including luggage and service staff) gets around the island. In the morning those carts can be viewed transporting visitors to the Bald Head Island Club where some island guests play golf or tennis and others just swim in the pools. The Bald Head Island Club also offers different dining options.

Other golf carts head toward the southernmost point of the island where many home or cottage guests have a temporary membership to the Shoals Club with its striking amenities including club dining facilities, pools, fitness rooms, boardwalk beach access and extensive recreation programs.

Which temporary membership a visitor receives depends on how you book your island accommodations. In the evening those same golf carts ferry their occupants to dinner at one of the island’s few restaurants or maybe to The Ice Cream Shoppe located at the center of the island inside the Maritime Market on Maritime Wynd. There is also a Market Café which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same location.

This market is the only outlet on the island to purchase groceries, toiletries, magazines, newspapers and other necessities.

We found some grocery items to be priced comparably to the mainland, others, especially fresh produce, meat and seafood were more expensive.
Some year-round island residents go off-island each week to stock up on groceries, paper products and even seafood. Visitors, who stay for more than a week at a time, or large family groups, bring food and other items with them in large plastic storage boxes.

One part-time island resident relayed how he places an order for seafood before he arrives at Southport, (which is located on the mainland, near the Ferry Terminal) and arranges for his order to be delivered to him on the island. This island homeowner doesn’t find shopping with this method difficult. “It is part of the charm on staying on Bald Head," he said.

In the last few years the island has added shops which feature everything from fine art to jewelry to a home improvement, garden and recreational supplies.

And while some old-timers lament the addition of these new shops and developments, others feel that it helps attract families and people who want an unspoiled landscape combined with more updates.

“It is a bit of Americana with modern accents,” said one visitor. “Bald Head is family-friendly, story-book memorable, but has a do-able sensibility," explained another.

The laid-back living starts with the ferry journey, which takes about 15-20 minutes and leaves from a new and efficient terminal near Southport, N.C. Daily parking for your car costs $10 a day and a round-trip ferry ticket currently costs $16.

There has been talk of the price of the ferry ticket rising shortly. You can bring a leashed dog on the ferry if you are staying in a house which permits pets. Dogs must ride on the outside decks. There seemed to be many families traveling with their pets.

Everywhere we looked there were lots of children. They were traveling in golf carts, swimming at the pools, flying kites and some were even selling lemonade and homemade cake from makeshift stands along the golf paths.

One family of 58 members, many of them residents of Knoxville, was celebrating a family reunion. “We are renting five homes near each other," said the Knoxvillians. “One member of the family does own a house here," they said. “Some family is coming from as far away as Hawaii."

The family group we talked with was traveling with a case of paper towels. It seemed that they had assigned each family to bring some supplies with them.

Even during rainy times Bald Head offers something - or nothing to do. You can dine alfresco on screened porches. We noticed lots of families sitting down to dinner together. Older people who can’t be outdoors for long stretches, for whatever reasons, seemed content to sit on covered porches and watch the water, sky and seagulls. Most visitors seemed genuinely friendly and happy with their surroundings.

After the last four months of watching the destruction in the Gulf of Mexico change the entire gulf eco-system and way of life for so many Americans, the allure of a traditional carefree summer vacation is now more appealing than ever.

For your information:
Bald Head Island offers a variety of island rental homes featuring from one to six bedrooms.
Check out the web site at: www.baldheadisland.com for information on how to rent. Or call 800 432-7368 or 800 234-1666.

Off-season rates (from after Labor Day to mid-May) range from $200-$1,200 a night.
Summer season (from Memorial Day to Labor Day) range from $865-$10,000 plus for a week stay.

Marsh Harbour Inn, the island’s only bed and breakfast offers nightly or weekly rentals.
Prices (in peak season) range from $295 to $550 per night and from $1,475 to $2,750 weekly. Off season rates are less. All accommodations include a golf cart.
For more information: 800 680-8322 or www.Marshharbourinn.com