Driving Distances and Roadways

Wilmington, one of the few deep-water ports on the southeastern seaboard, is about 50 miles from the South Carolina state line. We've listed a few distances and driving times below to give a feel for how long it takes to get here.

Myrtle Beach, SC: 75 mi. — 1½ hrs.

Raleigh, NC: 127 mi. — 2 hrs.

Charlotte, NC: 197 mi. — 3¾ hrs.

Asheville, NC: 360 mi. — 6 hrs.

Charleston, SC: 170 mi. — 3½ hrs.

Columbia, SC: 210 mi. — 4 hrs.

Washington, DC: 375 mi. — 6 hrs.

Atlanta, GA: 416 mi. — 8 hrs.

Nashville, TN: 644 mi. —  10½ hrs.

New York, NY: 608 mi. — 10 hrs.

Cleveland, OH: 703 mi. — 11½ hrs.

For those wanting to take a really long road trip, Wilmington is linked to Barstow, California, via 2,554 miles of Interstate Highway 40, the longest interstate highway in the nation. The final leg from Raleigh to Wilmington, about two hours, has numerous stops for gas and two state operated rest stops.

From the south, U.S. Highway 17 roughly parallels the Atlantic Ocean shoreline, but is a number of miles inland, so there are no views of the ocean. If you are not stopping in Myrtle Beach, you can avoid the congestion of U.S. 17 by taking the six-lane bypass, S.C. Highway 31. Pick it up west of U.S. 17 at either S.C. Highway 544 or U.S. Highway 501 and breeze through the 25 miles to where it ends at S.C. Highway 9. When you exit, go east, following the signs back to U.S. 17 at Little River, SC. Travel north and you'll cross the state line into North Carolina. Just off U.S. 17 on N.C. 179 is Calabash, famous for its seafood restaurants. Continuing north on U.S. 17 you'll reach Supply, N.C. Here you have the option of taking N.C. 211 into Southport, a historic fishing village at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. From Southport, you can take N.C. 133 or N.C. 87 north to rejoin U.S. 17 or take the state ferry to Fort Fisher on Pleasure Island. On U.S. 421 north of the ferry dock are Fort Fisher State Historic Site, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area and the North Carolina Aquarium, the largest of the state aquariums.

From the west, U.S. 74 from Charlotte and Interstate 20, becoming U.S. 76 from Columbia, S.C., merge near Whiteville and continue toward Wilmington. They junction with U.S. 17 just west of the N.C. 133 north exit to the USS NORTH CAROLINA Battleship Memorial. The majority of these roads are easy-to-drive, four-lane highways through gently rolling countryside and coastal plains.