Wrightsville Beach fills with Fourth of July crowds as visitors navigate packed parking, traffic
WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Thousands of people packed Wrightsville Beach on Friday as residents and visitors celebrated the Fourth of July holiday, creating heavy traffic and filling parking lots across the island.
Beachgoers began arriving early in the morning in hopes of securing a parking spot before the crowds grew.
Colton Creech, along with Jacob Tholen and Eric Pittman, said finding parking was one of the biggest challenges of the day.
“We went around here for 30 minutes couldn’t find somewhere to park, then we had to park and walk another 30 minutes,” Tholen said.
Many visitors shared similar experiences.
Adrienne Woods, who traveled from Greensboro with her family, said they left home around 5:30 a.m. but still had difficulty finding parking after arriving around 8 a.m.
“It was already packed, so we drove down to the end and circled back and got parking at the pier, we feel very lucky, yeah everyone was really excited to get parking,” Woods said.
Another visitor, Leandra Gabbard, said good timing helped her group secure a space.
“We got here at the perfect time, we had a friend that already had one parking spot and then there was someone pulling out, so we asked if they could hold it for us,” Gabbard said.
Town officials encouraged visitors to check the PivotGo app before traveling to the island to find available parking. Throughout much of Friday, the app showed many parking areas at 100% capacity.
Ocean Rescue Director Sam Profit acknowledged the frustrations caused by holiday traffic, including delays when the drawbridge opens.
“I understand the frustration with the traffic especially with the bridge going up at the top of every hour,” Profit said.
He urged drivers to remain patient and watch for emergency responders.
“Especially with emergency vehicles trying to get up and down the beach as well so please if we are running lights and sirens please do your best to get out of the way so we can get to where we are going,” Profit said.
Profit also reminded beachgoers to swim only when lifeguards are on duty between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. during the busy holiday weekend.
