One of the best things about owning a 4×4 vehicle (or a Jeep in my case), is the ability to go just about anywhere. For me, one of the “anywhere” destinations I had always wanted to try, was driving on the beach. Luckily, if you live in the Old North State, we have plenty of beaches along our beautiful, long Atlantic coastline that allows Off-Road-Vehicle access. Before you go beach driving though, it’s best to do a little research, like I did, about this unique environment and become familiar with the local laws and regulations. I must admit upfront though, I was a bit nervous about the potential of getting stuck in the sand, but with knowledge, comes a bit of confidence, and the excitement of the experience was sure to outweigh any trepidation I may have had. Are you ready to hit the sand? Great, let’s go.
This blog is written specifically about my first beach driving adventure, but really, most of the information I’m about to cover can be applied to just about any four-wheel-drive beach excursion. It’s also notable to point out that even though my own beach driving experience took place in July, at the height of the summer tourist season, most of our N.C. (off-road beaches) allow 4WD access year-round, just be sure to check any restrictions on hours, as they can change by the season.
Otherwise, just load-up your off-roader like you would for any trip to the beach. Again, in my case, it was July, so that meant a cooler with ice, some vitamin water, lunch, sunblock, a couple of beach chairs, a beach umbrella (with an anchor screw), and the usual beach bag filled with miscellaneous items for a day in the sun (or shade) as it were.
For my beach driving trip, I wanted to make the most out of our day by not spending too much time on the highway getting there, so I chose a destination that was closest to Raleigh, our starting point. The 4WD beach at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, just south of Carolina Beach, (east of Wilmington) is an easy two-and-a-half-hour drive on I-40 from Raleigh. Once you arrive in Wilmington, two hours from Raleigh and a good place to make a pit stop, it’s about another thirty minutes, depending on traffic, to Fort Fisher. There’s another off-road beach north of Carolina Beach called Freeman Park but it’s a bit smaller in area and tends to fill-up sooner on busy summer days. Either location is a great choice, so take your pick.
The first thing you’ll need to do upon arriving at Fort Fisher S.R.A. is park and head for the Ranger’s office, (upstairs, near the elevated beach access point). Here, you’ll purchase your 4WD “day pass” which will allow you to operate your 4×4 vehicle on the beach during park hours. In the case of the Fort Fisher 4WD beach, permits are $20 weekdays and $30 weekends. You may also purchase an annual pass for $90.
From June through August, the 4WD beach at Fort Fisher is open 8 am to 8:30 pm. Those hours are rolled back a bit after the peak season and then opens 24-hours a day from September 15th to March 31st, except for Christmas Day, when the park is closed.
Before my friend and I hit the sand in my Jeep, I did some research on what to expect, precautions to take, and looked into any extra safety or recovery equipment I might want to buy for my 4X4 rig. Like I mentioned earlier, driving on beach sand has its own unique conditions that you’d best be aware of before you go. Here are some basics to help make your beach drive a fun experience instead of a hassle.
Before you enter the sand, (preferably while you’re still parked nearby in the parking lot), deflate your tires using a standard tire pressure gauge, to between 15 and 20 psi (pounds per square inch). Since my Jeep tells me the air pressure in each tire, I just verified the totals by checking my gauges in the instrument cluster. The reason you want to deflate your tires some, for beach travel, is so your tires will “bulge” out a bit on the sides, which will give you a wider track through the soft sand. If you try driving on soft sand in fully inflated tires, the narrower tread width may begin to dig-in to the sand, resulting in you getting stuck.
Once you enter the sand, shift into 4-Low and stay on the same tire path as the vehicles that entered before you, until you reach your destination (usually the first open spot to park that affords you a great view of the surf).
Try to maintain a steady speed as you traverse the beach sand (while staying in those tire tracks I mentioned). Keeping a consistent speed of 15 – 20 mph is plenty enough to keep your momentum going, but also try to maintain some extra following distance between you and the vehicle ahead in case they need to slow down or stop. (You don’t want to get stuck behind them if they get stuck).
If you feel your tires start to spin, stop immediately, and dig out a path. Dig, you say? yes, dig. Which brings me to my next point…you may want to look into acquiring a few pieces of recovery equipment too, as I did prior to my beach drive. I searched online for a few Jeep essentials like a small, compact, foldable steel recovery shovel (for digging out a stuck tire or two), and a heavy-duty 3-inch x 30-foot recovery strap rated at 30,000 pounds. “If” you ever become stuck, like on beach sand or anywhere that traction has become an issue, a good, strong recovery strap will allow you to hook your 4×4 (using the built-in hook on your Jeep or a special hitch hook you could have installed on your off-road vehicle) to another 4×4 via the strap. This will enable the other vehicle to pull you out to safety.
It’s important to note that a recovery strap is different than a tow strap in that you will need a recovery strap for its elasticity, which makes it perfect for pulling you out of a jam. Do not use a “tow strap” to get you un-stuck, as a tow strap is meant to be more rigid (for on-road towing) and could snap during a recovery operation. Other helpful items like traction mats (to place on the sand for your tires), an air compressor (for re-filling your tires after your beach drive), a first aid kit, and a fire extinguisher may come in handy in a pinch. Whether you get any optional safety/recovery gear is up to you, but now you know how they’re used and what to look for if you want to add some items to your off-roader.
For me, the best part about beach driving, (and in the case of our location, Fort Fisher 4WD beach), was the feeling of slowly bouncing up and over the sand, almost like a boat, cresting each wave, but waves of sand. The way my 2018 JL Wrangler handled the soft beach sand really made me appreciate even more, why a Jeep is engineered the way it is, which partly, is to conquer environments like beach driving. It was a blast to feel the Jeep rise and slowly fall, sway, and even slide a bit as we cruised along the tire tracks ahead of us. It really was a new driving sensation and so much fun (and even a little nerve-wracking at times as a Jeep Grand Cherokee ahead of us, started to slow down to make more room for oncoming traffic). No worries though, as we were able to maintain our forward momentum and take-in the incredible beauty of the surrounding beach dunes and seagulls.
Once we arrived at an open space on the beach, basically a spot between two other 4x4s that someone had left a few minutes prior, I stopped, put the Jeep into reverse, and carefully backed-in to our very own spot on the beach. Now that all the off-road driving was done, it was time to do beach stuff like setting up an umbrella, a couple of beach chairs, and enjoying the view.
This particular beach had plenty of room for those of us venturing out to claim our little oceanfront paradise for the day, and having the extra utility of my Jeep parked right behind us, where a cooler full of food and drinks was just an arms reach away, could not have been more perfect.
It was also fun to “Jeep watch” as much as “people watch,” as a wide variety of Jeeps, other 4x4s, and even a huge, desert-camo-painted surplus military vehicle cruised up and down the beach behind us. There were lots of folks fishing along the beach too and as you can imagine, being able to simply drive up to your fishing spot on the beach, certainly has its advantages.
Once you’ve gotten your fill of beach time and are ready to head back to the paved road, just remember to follow the same rules going back, but in reverse order. If you’re like me, you’ll also feel much more confident in driving out of the beach than when you first drove on to the sand as you now have that initial experience behind you and you can now enjoy the trip even more.
Follow the tracks in the sand ahead of you. Once you’ve cleared the sand, shift out of 4-Low and back into 2-wheel-drive (2-High) for pavement. You’ll also want to re-inflate your tires to the correct air pressure as soon as possible. Since Fort Fisher is at the far south end of the beach, I needed to drive a few miles north before finding a convenience store with an air pump. We were not the only 4-wheeler needing to do the same thing, so I had to wait my turn for a few minutes, but otherwise, it was an easy process. Remember to have your credit card handy though, so you can feed the air meter. Finally, now that you’re off of the beach, be sure to wash your vehicle as soon as possible, especially if ocean water has splashed on your undercarriage, saltwater can ruin your 4×4. Better yet, try to keep away from any ocean wash as it’s not the safest place to be for you and your Jeep.
Now that you’ve had a glimpse of how fun and unique a beach driving excursion can be in your Jeep or 4×4, it’s time for you to chart your own course. Just keep in mind that my experience was at just one of several Off-Road-Vehicle (ORV) permitted beaches in North Carolina and each area has its own rules. You may find yourself wanting to camp overnight near Cape Lookout, drive along the northernmost, isolated beaches of Carova to do some wild horse spotting, or go surf fishing down by the Hatteras Light. Do your research first, be prepared, then go have some fun…beach driving.
Written by Mark Arsen for LeithCars.com.
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