What to Do in Wilmington

What to do in Wilmington during the fall? There are plenty of fun activities! Wilmington is a coastal North Carolina town I have been hearing about practically my entire life. So many shows and movies have been filmed there and I have always wanted to check it out! When the opportunity for a work conference there popped up, I took it as a weekend away with the family! We had a great time even though it was not beach season. There was still so much to do! Highly recommend a fall weekend getaway to Wilmington!

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Wrightsville Beach

Wrightsville Beach is about a 20 minute drive from Downtown Wilmington. Obviously if it is hot out you can spend an entire day out on the beach. We went in October so it was too chilly to get in the water. Nevertheless, JL had a great time running around on the beach and picking up seashells.

Wilmington Riverfest

The weekend of the conference happened to coincide with Wilmington Riverfest. This festival typically falls on a weekend near the beginning of October. We had so much fun walking through the streets checking out the different vendor tents. There were so many neat, locally made items.

JL was still too young to visit the Kids’ Zone but they had plenty of inflatables and fun things to do for older children.

Saturday night there are fireworks over the river which we were lucky enough to be able to see from our hotel since JL was already asleep. This is important to note if your child does not sleep with a sound machine. It may be worth it to stay further in town away from the river if your child is woken up by fireworks and your visit coincides with the Wilmington Riverfest.

There is a classic car display down one of the side streets for classic car lovers.

What to do in Wilmington: Restaurants

The Fortunate Glass

We were lucky enough to grab and outdoor table at The Fortunate Glass to grab a drink before dinner. It has a convenient location in downtown Wilmington. The inside is quaint so if you are bringing a stroller I definitely try to recommend sitting outside. There was only one or two servers while we were there so I opted to walk inside to order for us.

We just opted for wine but they do serve food. There is a nice selection of cured meat and cheeses as well as small plates and desserts. I could have easily eaten dinner there if we had not already put our name in somewhere else.

Front Street Brewery

We checked out Front Street Brewery on a recommendation from a friend. It was a busy time with the Riverfest going on so we had to put our name in and wait for a text that our table was ready. With all the entertainment of Riverfest and shops nearby, you can easily put your name in then walk around until your table is ready and not run out of things to do.

I am not a big beer drinker so I cannot speak to how good it is, but my husband did enjoy it. Their nachos are delicious though! Highly recommend. I always love nachos and usually have to convince my husband to order them but even he enjoyed them.

Even though it is a brewery, it is a kid friendly restaurant. They had high chairs available and all the servers engaged and interacted with JL during our meal.

Board & Barrel

We were lucky our hotel had a delicious restaurant for breakfast, Board & Barrel. It is open to the public though if you are not a guest of the hotel. I enjoyed the avocado toast and JL enjoyed the fresh fruit.

Blueberry’s Grill

While I was at my conference, my husband took JL to breakfast at Blueberry’s Grill. This is outside of the downtown area of Wilmington so it will require access to a car. Justin brought me a blueberry muffin to eat on our drive home and I can confirm that they are delicious.

They have other locations in Myrtle Beach, SC as well. They are only a breakfast place and lunch place so be sure to check the hours before heading there!

Wilmington Riverwalk

The Wilmington Riverwalk is a beautiful walk along the Cape Fear River in downtown Wilmington. If you are a runner, it is a great place to go for your morning run. Or if you are like us, just to take a stroll. There are also some restaurants and an ice cream shop along the way in case you get hungry.

Shopping in The Cotton Exchange

The Cotton Exchange is a fun shopping and dining area in downtown Wilmington. We had fun checking out the shops here. It has a really cute children’s boutique where we bought JL’s green snapback hat he has on in some of the pictures in this post.

We actually got JL’s first haircut done at Fun Cuts in the Cotton Exchange. We walked by and noticed that the barber was cutting a kid’s hair and asked if he happened to do toddlers. He said “Of course!”

We had a great fall weekend in Wilmington!

Leave your own tips, comments, and questions!

Bon Voyage,

Meg