‘Don’t bring your chairs’: Wrightsville Beach to announce ‘limited access’ opening

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — A perfect day at Wrightsville Beach on Thursday, but not a soul on the sand.

It’s been nearly a month since many New Hanover County beaches closed in response to COVID-19.

But Wrightsville Beach Mayor Darryl Mills is shining some light at the end of the tunnel.

“We are looking at a limited opening of the beach here in the near future,” Mills said.

Information likely coming Friday outlining a limited access opening of the beach.

But what is limited access?

“Swimming, surfing, kite-boarding, this type thing,” he said. “Don’t bring your chairs, don’t bring your umbrellas. That will not be allowed.”

Mills says he knows people are eager to get on the beach.

“The way we’re looking at it, if you’re going to be active and moving and not violating the social distancing protocols then we’re probably going to be okay with it,” he said.

He says there have been countless conversations with New Hanover County commissioners, public health officials, and other local elected officials about what next steps to take.

“But that being said, each town is its own municipality and ultimately each town will have to determine its own course,” Mills said.

He says they are all trying to work together, so there is less confusion from citizens.

“We’ll all have decisions to make, but we’re trying to do it in a cohesive, cooperative way to the extent we can,” Mills said.

Mills extends a heartfelt thank you to the residents of Wrightsville Beach for being so cooperative and understanding.

“Moving forward, just please work with us,” he said. “Please continue to cooperate with what we ask you to do and we’ll get through this. We will.”

The mayor also says all public parking lots and hotels will remain closed, and short term rentals are still not permitted.