The Two Nights Fort Macon Stays Open After Dark This Winter

When does Fort Macon State Park actually have something going on in winter? Mostly on weekday mornings, it turns out. From now until the end of December, the park's posted hours have it emptying out by late afternoon. The bathhouse area runs 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in November and December, and the fort and visitor center keep 9-to-5 hours every day except Christmas, when the park is closed. Day use is free.

The calendar has two exceptions. On two Friday evenings, Nov. 20 and Dec. 4, the park hosts the Crystal Coast Stargazers from 6 to 8 p.m. in the bathhouse parking area, after that area's posted 5:30 p.m. closing. They are the only evening programs on the fort's calendar this season. The second one starts at the same hour as the Town of Atlantic Beach's Christmas parade, which runs on East Fort Macon Road.

The daytime calendar comes first

For the next eight weeks, the fort's schedule is built around mid-mornings and early afternoons. As of this Thursday, Nov. 5, here is what remains through the end of the year, drawn from the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources events calendar.

The free 1 p.m. tour is the only fixed point on the calendar. It runs every day of the non-summer season, from mid-October to mid-April, and the group meets at the fort entrance. Pets are not allowed inside the fort. The park's general rules also keep pets off the swim beach and out of buildings, and anywhere else a pet must be on an attended leash no longer than six feet. If you're planning a winter walk with a dog, that rules out the fort itself, though the trails and the rest of the grounds are still open to you.

The Small Arms Demonstrations are the most frequent of the scheduled programs after the daily tour. They're half-hour, blank-fire demonstrations on the parade ground every listed Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. The list jumps from Dec. 16 to Dec. 30, so there's no demonstration the Wednesday before Christmas. The one on Dec. 30 starts a long day in Atlantic Beach that comes up again below.

Two of the nature programs give you a reason to stay outside the brick walls. Natural Side of Fort Macon starts in the visitor center lobby and heads out along the trail and the beach on Nov. 19 and again on Dec. 17. The Beach Scavenger Hunt on Nov. 16 is ranger-led and sends participants looking for shells, sea glass and drift beans. If you'd rather walk on your own, the park's trail page describes the 3.2-mile Elliott Coues loop, which links the fort and the beach, as well as Yarrow's Loop.

Run the Fort on Nov. 28 is the earliest start on the calendar and the only program with a fee. It's an 8 a.m. run/walk on the Saturday after Thanksgiving that raises money for the Boys & Girls Club of the Coastal Plain. Registration is online, and fees run $25 to $45, with youth 18 and under at $25.

All of this happens in daylight, and most of it on weekdays. If your weekday mornings are free, you can fill the rest of the year here. If you work weekdays, the November calendar gives you the daily 1 p.m. tour on weekends, Run the Fort, and two Friday nights.

What the stargazing nights involve

The Astronomy program is a partnership with the Crystal Coast Stargazers. It meets at the beach access and bathhouse parking area off Picnic Park Drive, inside the park at 2303 E. Fort Macon Road. Visitors look through telescopes and learn about the night sky, and you're welcome to bring your own telescope. Pets are not permitted at this program.

The park also asks for a specific parking routine, because the program depends on keeping the observation area dark:

1. If you're not setting up equipment, park in the west lot, which is the first one you reach as you enter.
2. Walk across to the east lot, where the program is held.
3. Leave the east lot to people setting up telescopes, so headlights stay out of the observation area.

The program depends on the weather. The listing says either night may be canceled for rain or heavy cloud cover. The Stargazers post their schedule on their own events page, which is the place to check on the afternoon of a program.

With only two dates, cancellations matter. If clouds take out Nov. 20, the only remaining night this year is Dec. 4. That date has its own complication.

Dec. 4 puts two events at 6 p.m. on the same road

On Friday, Dec. 4, the Town of Atlantic Beach holds its Light Up the Night Christmas Parade at 6 p.m. The Stargazers' second session starts at the fort at the same hour. The Town's event page gives the parade's location as "East Fort Macon Road and AB Circle." The fort's address is on East Fort Macon Road too.

The Town's parade page spells out the route:

The route will begin at the Oceanana Pier and head west towards the Circle in the most ocean-side lane (south.) The parade will travel backward around the circle along East Dr. to Atlantic Blvd.

For viewing, the Town suggests setting up chairs along the ocean side of East Fort Macon Road or around the Circle, from the stoplight to the Water Plant and along Atlantic Boulevard. After the parade, Santa greets children at the Fire Department with free cookies, juice and hot chocolate.

The two events each mention a bathhouse lot, and they aren't the same lot. The Town has reserved the bathhouse lot on Atlantic Boulevard at the Circle as the staging area for parade bands. The Town notes there's plenty of free public parking around The Circle, and it asks people who park in commercial lots along Fort Macon Road or the Causeway to be courteous. The stargazers' bathhouse lot is the one inside Fort Macon State Park, off Picnic Park Drive. If someone tells you to "meet at the bathhouse lot" that night, ask which one they mean.

Both events start at 6 p.m. The Astronomy session runs until 8, while the parade ends with Santa at the Fire Department. Families who want both will have to decide which one gets the start. If the sky is clear on Nov. 20, that Friday is the night with nothing else scheduled against it.

Dec. 30 brings the morning and evening calendars together

The year's last Wednesday is the one day that has events at the fort in the morning and on the beach at night. The final Small Arms Demonstration of the year runs from 10:30 to 11 a.m. on the fort's parade ground. That evening, the Town of Atlantic Beach holds its annual Smoke on the Water Bonfire from 6 to 8 p.m. on the beach at the Circle, 201 West Atlantic Blvd.

The Town's listing covers what to expect:

• A bonfire on the beach, with live music by Robert McDuffy
• Traveling Tom's Coffee Truck, set up from 5 p.m. and selling coffee and hot cider
• Free admission with no tickets required

The Town is direct about that last point: if someone offers to sell you a ticket to the bonfire, the Town says to consider it fraud. If relatives are visiting between the holidays and come across a "bonfire ticket" online, show them that line on the Town's event page.

The bonfire is the season's final evening event, as the stargazing nights were in November and early December. The fort stays on its daylight hours, closes on Christmas Day, and reopens Dec. 26 with the 1 p.m. tour running every day into April.

If you live near the east end of Bogue Banks and want help finding a home that puts Fort Macon's Wednesday mornings and the Circle's winter evenings within easy reach, Michele Moffitt is glad to talk through which stretches of Atlantic Beach match how you spend your time. Talk With Michele.