**Updated 8/8/2023**
As a military spouse, one of the first things that I do at a new duty station is to look for fun things to do. No one wants to spend their time in a brand new place sitting around their living room. But after the cost of moving, there’s not always much money for fun things.
Thankfully, one of the best free or cheap summer activities is swimming!
Blame it on our Florida roots, but we LOVE to swim! You can find me and my bunch at the pool, lake, or river as soon as temperatures start to rise. (See our 5 Favorite Fort Liberty Swimming Holes here!)
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After arriving in North Carolina during the steaming heat of a southern summer, one of the first things I did was find somewhere to swim near Fort Liberty. One of the options: White Lake.
On-line pictures showed a crystal-clear lake, sandy beaches, and a family-friendly atmosphere that was once dubbed the “Nation’s Safest Beach”. White Lake has been attracting visitors since the early 1900s and became a high-end vacation destination in the 1920s.
I was sold! We decided to spend our first Carolina holiday at the lake.
On the 4th of July, we loaded up the truck and headed south out of Fayetteville. The drive there took a little over an hour.
White Lake is a VERY small town (population 802), most of which is concentrated around the lake itself.
There was a limited number of restaurants to choose from and the ones we saw were packed. We finally found one that we could squeeze into and had a decent lunch before diving into this beautiful lake. (Ski Burger is a cute little place that serves breakfast, burgers, and fries. The food is good and so is the price.)
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Unfortunately, there is only one public beach at White Lake: Goldston’s Beach. There is an entry fee, but it was only $10 for our whole family ($5 per person, kids 12 and under get in free).
**Update: 8/8/2023** The cost is now $10 per person, regardless of age. Beach and pier access is open from 8:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m.**
Goldston’s Beach is an attraction all its own, even if you don’t plan to swim. There is a small amusement park, mini golf, arcade, Bingo hall, motel, restaurant, and store.
The whole place has a cool, retro vibe. I wish I had time to go back and do a vintage-vacation-themed photo shoot. Because this place would be PERFECT for that!
Since we were on a budget, we bypassed all of these attractions and made our way straight to the beach.
We took off our shoes, laid out our blanket, and headed for the water. Due to the holiday, the lake was extremely busy, but it wasn’t as bad as we expected. (We went back on a non-holiday weekend and there was a fraction of the crowd.)
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We were expecting the crystal-clear waters we had seen online. However, the lake was a little murky and brown.
It wasn’t a deal-breaker for us, but it definitely wasn’t like the pictures shown on various blogs and Instagram pictures.
If you’re not sure about the water, you can always stick to making sand castles on the beach!
Later that night, it was time for fireworks!
The fireworks display is pretty impressive for a town that boasts a population of less than 1,000 year-round. They set them off from the end of Goldston’s Pier, so from our blanket on the beach the fireworks exploded almost directly over us. The whole show was about 30 minutes long and it was beautiful!
All in all, it was a great day!
We enjoyed our time at White Lake and plan to swim there many more times while we’re stationed at Fort Liberty. There is also a water park down the road from the lake that we can’t wait to try next summer!
