Near the pier is the most crowded spot, especially in summer. Walk just a few beach accesses in either direction and the crowds thin out fast — even during peak season, you can find plenty of open beach without going far.

El Sol is closest to the 32nd Street beach access. Sol Mar is closest to the 28th Street access, or the access next to the pier. On the west end of the island, every street has its own boardwalk access over the dunes to the beach, so you're never far from an entry point.

Honestly, not many — it's a fairly shell-free beach, which is part of what makes the sand so easy to walk. Sand dollars are the exception. Walk toward the jetty around low tide and you'll likely spot pieces, and if you're lucky, a full one. After a storm, they can wash up by the dozens. If you find a live one (it'll feel soft and slightly fuzzy, not bone-white and hard), please put it back in the water.

Holden Beach has more shells if you are on the hunt — commonly found are whelks, olives, sea biscuits.

Yes — Sunset Beach is one of the few accreting (growing, not eroding) beaches on the NC coast. The same natural sand buildup that closed the old tidal creek to Bird Island in the late 1990s has helped widen and stabilize the beach here over time, which is part of why the beach stays so wide, even compared to other nearby coastal towns.

Yes — and it's genuinely rare. Sunset Beach faces south rather than east or west, which means from late fall through early spring, you can watch the sun rise and set over the water from the very same spot on the beach, without moving your chair. It's one of the things that makes this stretch of coastline unlike most other East Coast beaches.

More than you'd expect. White-tailed deer and foxes (both red and gray) are commonly spotted around dawn and dusk, especially near the dunes and marsh. Bobcats live here too, though sightings are rare and always a treat. On the water — especially kayaking the marsh — keep an eye out for herons, egrets, ospreys, fish jumping, and occasionally an alligator in the distance. And of course, loggerhead sea turtles nest on the beach itself in summer.

Possibly! Nesting season runs mid-May through August, and hatchings typically happen July through October. When a nest is ready, hundreds of hatchlings emerge together in what's called a “boil” — the sand appears to bubble as they all break the surface and scramble for the water at once. It happens almost entirely after dark (hatchlings wait for the sand to cool), so if you're out for an evening walk during hatching season, keep an eye on staked, flagged nests. The Sunset Beach Turtle Watch (a volunteer nonprofit) checks nests along the beach every morning and evening for signs of overnight activity.

A few ways to protect them if you're lucky enough to witness one: never touch or pick up a hatchling, keep flashlights and phone lights off (or use a red light, which doesn't disturb them) and skip flash photography, and give the nest space so the group can move toward the water on its own. Also fill in any holes and flatten sandcastles before you leave the beach each day — they can trap hatchlings on their way to the water.

Report any sightings of a nesting turtle, unmarked tracks, or a hatch in progress to Sunset Beach Turtle Watch at 910-209-1079.