Parks and the outdoors in Wilmington

11 parks, gardens, beaches and walks in and around Wilmington.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

Do
Airlie Gardens
Airlie Gardens encompasses 67 acres of quintessential Southern gardens with 10 acres of freshwater lakes. Features include azaleas, camellias, statuary and the Historic Airlie Oak. This once privately owned garden was purchased for the public by New Hanover County in January, 1999.
See
Battleship North Carolina
Moored across the river from downtown Wilmington, this battleship offers visitors the chance to envision the daily life and fierce combat her crew faced in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. Exhibits tell the story of the ship's crew through their oral histories, photographs, and mementos. The tour is self-guided and is well-marked so that you can tour at your own pace. Allow at least two hours for the tour, but for the true enthusiast, you can spend much more than that.
Daily 8AM–8PM (summer), 8AM–5PM (autumn-spring); ticket sales end one hour before closingAdult $14, senior (65+) $10, military $10, child (6-11) $6, age 5 and under free
See
Bellamy Mansion Museum
Tours on the hour Tu-Sa 10AM-5PM and Sunday 1-5PM. Built for planter Dr. John D. Bellamy in 1859, the Bellamy Mansion is Wilmington's most spectacular example of antebellum architecture. Today, the mansion operates as a museum of history and design arts, and is owned by Preservation North Carolina. See exhibits on architectural history, historic preservation and design arts, and see the newly restored carriage house and gardens. Plans are being made for restoring the slave quarters. Free parking lot on Market St. side of the museum and free street parking on block surrounding the museum.
Mon–Fri 9AM-5PMAdult $12, military or senior $10, student $6
See
Burgwin-Wright Museum and Gardens
Tours on the hour M-F with the last tour at 3:30PM. On Saturdays, tours on the half-hour, with the last tour at 3:30PM. From the house museum's own website: "Using the old jail as the foundation, the Burgwin-Wright House was built in 1770 by John Burgwin, planter, merchant, and treasurer of the colony of Carolina. In 1781, 'the most considerable house in town' was occupied by Lord Cornwallis as his headquarters shortly before his defeat and surrender at Yorktown, Virginia."
Mon-Sat 10AM-4PMAdult $12, military or student $10, youth (6-18) $6, child 5 and under free
Eat
Dockside Restaurant & Marina
Open daily 11AM-until. On the water just south of the Wrightsville Beach drawbridge. Locals' favorite "place to be" for friendly Carolina service, relaxed island lifestyle. Fresh seafood, famous drinks, families love kid's menu. Live music most weekends.
Eat
Elijah's
Main dining room closed daily from 3PM-5PM, oyster bar open all day, reservations are recommended. Casual American Grill and oyster bar, downtown on the river. Sunset hues are said to be spectacular.
Sun-Thu 11:30AM-10PM, Fri Sat 11:30AM-11PM
Eat
Flaming Amy's Burrito Barn
Mainly serves burritos and other Mexican style food. Advertises its food as "hot, fast, cheap and easy" and is a local favorite. Restaurant features a psychedelic theme. They have a restaurant on Carolina Beach also.
$7-10
Do
Jungle Rapids
Water park closed during off season but dry park open all year round. Hours vary and park may close due to inclement weather, so call ahead. Its main feature is the water park, but it includes an arcade, mini golf and go karts. Prices vary for admittance to the waterpark, but the best price is the 4PM-7PM $14.95 for all ages special.
Buy
Mayfaire
Mayfaire is all outdoor but very nice. If you are in good health, you should have no problem parking in one place and walking around the mall. It's sort of upscale (but not out of reach of the average family) with Belk's and such. It also has an incredibly large and nice movie theater. Definitely the best in town. There are also condos upstairs to some of these buildings. They are costly, but very beautiful. It is a gorgeous place to walk around and shop for the day.
Do
Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington
Riverfront at Market & Water Streets.
See
Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden
Piney Ridge Nature Preserve
See carnivorous plants including Venus flytraps.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Wilmington (CC BY-SA 4.0).