Topsail Beach

Topsail Beach covers the southern tip of Topsail Island and is the original small-town beach people imagine when they hear “Topsail.” Incorporated in 1963, the town caps building heights at 35 feet, bans high-rise hotels, and maintains a year-round population of about 500 that swells to more than 7,000 in summer.

History lovers flock to the concrete observation towers of Operation Bumblebee, a U.S. Navy guided-missile test program (1946–48) that paved the way for NASA rocketry. The former launch Assembly Building now houses the Missiles & More Museum, which also explores pirate lore and Women Airforce Service Pilots history.

Of the island’s three towns, Topsail Beach is the most nostalgic—think roller rink, single-screen theater nights, and shell-strewn stretches at Serenity Point where the sound meets the Atlantic.