Figure Eight Island: The Carolina Coast’s Most Exclusive Address

No shops. No strangers. One guarded bridge, and a guest list that reads like a Hollywood call sheet. Here’s everything you need to know about the barrier island that keeps its secrets better than anyone.

There’s a stretch of barrier island tucked just north of Wrightsville Beach on the Cape Fear Coast that most people will never set foot on. Not because it’s hard to find, it’s not. You can see the gatehouse from the road, sitting at the foot of a swing bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway. You can see the guard and even see the sign. But unless someone on the other side is expecting you, that’s exactly as far as you’re getting.

Welcome to Figure Eight Island: 1,300 acres of pristine Atlantic coastline, zero commerce, roughly 475 homes, and a quiet confidence that doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone. It has been called “The Hamptons of the South” so often that locals have stopped rolling their eyes. They know the comparison undersells it.

Why Do They Call It Figure 8 Island?

The name comes from water, not whimsy. When developers Dan Cameron, his brother Bruce, and cousin Raeford Trask began acquiring the island in the mid-1950s, they needed something to call it. They looked at Rich Inlet at the island’s northern end. Specifically the way Rich’s Inlet Creek traced its crooked paths through the marsh, and saw the shape of the number eight.

The island itself has a longer, less glamorous history than its current reputation suggests. A royal land grant first recorded the land in 1762, under King George III, deeded to James Moore Jr. It bounced through colonial hands, became part of Poplar Grove Plantation, and sat mostly quiet through World War II, when the U.S. Coast Guard briefly posted up with a small building and water tower to watch the nearby Atlantic approaches.

Then came Hurricane Hazel in 1954. The storm devastated beachfront communities from Myrtle Beach northward, cratering property values across the Carolina coast. The Camerons saw opportunity. They bought the island from the Foy family for $50,000, plus two adjoining marsh tracts at $25,000 apiece. Afterwards they eventually formed the Island Development Company with investor Richard Wetherill. The first lots sold for as little as $5,000. The first house went up in 1963. Today, the same island trades homes in the range of $4 million to $13 million, with a record-breaking sale of $13.9 million in 2024 setting a new high-water mark for all of North Carolina residential real estate.

Local’s Take:
The only private bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway in the entire American Southeast sits right here. That single access point isn’t a quirk; it’s the whole point. The Island Development Company had to negotiate land parcels just to build the road to reach it.

Can Anyone Go to Figure Eight Island?

Technically, no, and that’s by design. The guardhouse at the bridge controls access for homeowners, their registered guests, and vacation renters. If your name isn’t on someone’s list, the bridge stays down for you. Arrive uninvited and the conversation ends fast.

However, there’s a nuance worth knowing. Under North Carolina’s public trust doctrine, the beach itself, specifically the area seaward of the mean high-water mark, is technically public land. Arriving by boat is legal. But getting there requires watercraft and some navigational awareness, since the waters around Rich Inlet can be tricky.

Most visitors experience Figure Eight the only practical way: by renting one of the estimated fewer-than-100 homes on the island’s rental market. Those rental properties are available, though not exactly cheap. Show up as an authorized guest or renter, and the guard waves you through with a nod. Show up without a reservation, and the experience will be brief.

“There are no restaurants to walk to, no beach bars to stumble across. That’s not a limitation. That’s the entire pitch.”

How Many People Actually Live on Figure Eight Island?

Fewer than you’d expect. Census figures suggest the full-time, year-round population sits around 87 residents, though context matters enormously here. The majority of Figure Eight’s roughly 475 homes are second residences. An estimated 90 percent of houses are seasonal properties whose owners show up in summer and disappear come fall.

In peak summer, the island buzzes with families, boats, and the quiet industry of people determined to do absolutely nothing. In January, it’s near-silent. The median age of full-time residents runs around 63, which tracks for a community built around retirement-tier luxury. Those who do live here year-round tend to zip into Wilmington proper, about 20 minutes by car, for groceries, dining, and everything else.

That off-island dependency is, again, part of the appeal. No 7-Elevens, chain restaurants and Airbnb party houses blaring speakers at midnight. Just marsh, ocean, and the kind of quiet money that doesn’t need to make noise.

How Many Houses Are on Figure Eight Island, NC?

Approximately 475 privately owned single-family homes spread across the island’s 1,300 acres and five miles of oceanfront. Styles range from architectural showpieces with 6,000-plus square feet to older, more understated cottages that predate the island’s celebrity era. Oceanfront, marshfront, sound-front, and canal-facing lots each offer different tradeoffs in views, flood risk, and price.

Notably, there are no condos, no hotels, and no commercial buildings of any kind. The island’s homeowners’ association has maintained that restriction firmly since development began. What you see is what you get: residential properties, manicured lots, and as much natural maritime forest and dune habitat as the HOA can preserve. In an era when every other Carolina barrier island is fighting over square footage, that restraint is genuinely remarkable.

Local’s Take:
In recent years, most homes listed on Figure Eight have crossed the million-dollar mark, often clearing $4 million to $5 million at the entry level for oceanfront properties. The 2024 sale at $13.9 million set a North Carolina residential sales record. These aren’t vacation cottages anymore.

What Is There to Do on Figure Eight Island?

This question cuts to the heart of what makes Figure Eight genuinely different. There are no restaurants. No rental shops, mini golf or arcades. The island’s sole social anchor is the Figure Eight Island Yacht Club: a members-only facility with a marina for deep-water vessels, a dining room, a pool, tennis courts, a fitness center, and periodic events ranging from beach yoga to family socials. Membership connects to the community, not the public.

For residents and guests, the activity list looks like this: swim in an uncrowded Atlantic, kayak or paddleboard in the Intracoastal, fish from private docks, take a boat out through Rich Inlet, walk five miles of beach without fighting for sand, and watch loggerhead sea turtles nest in season. The federally threatened seabeach amaranth, a small coastal plant, grows on Figure Eight’s beaches, which tells you something about how undisturbed this stretch of coast remains.

Local’s Take:
What most visitors don’t realize: the island’s proximity to Wilmington’s Screen Gems Studios, once nicknamed “Hollywood East” is a big reason so many film industry figures ended up here in the first place. Dino De Laurentiis opened his studio there in 1983, and the celebrity migration to Figure Eight started almost immediately after.

Additionally, just across the water sits Wilmington, a full coastal city with a vibrant restaurant scene, downtown arts district, and all the amenities you’d need for a proper night out. Lumina Station, a shopping and dining complex roughly 20 minutes away near Wrightsville Beach, is a local favorite for when residents do venture off-island. Cast Iron Kitchen near Porters Neck is another reliable stop for Southern comfort food done properly.

Beyond that, the eagle-eyed film buff will want to know: Figure Eight has served as a filming location multiple times. The 1989 comedy Weekend at Bernie’s, the 1991 thriller Sleeping with the Enemy, and Amazon Prime’s adaptation of The Summer I Turned Pretty all shot scenes here. Dawson’s Creek was filmed on the island in the late 1990s. And the Netflix series Outer Banks, though not filmed on Figure Eight, explicitly named after an affluent fictional neighborhood after it.

The Guest List: Celebrities on Figure Eight Island

The name-dropping here is not idle gossip, it’s historical record. Since the early 1980s, Figure Eight has quietly accumulated one of the most extraordinary celebrity rosters of any private community on the Eastern Seaboard.

The list of noted homeowners and guests reads like a Grammy-and-Oscar highlight reel: Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Ben Stiller, Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Kathy Bates, Robert Downey Jr. and his wife Susan, Richard Gere, Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, George C. Scott, Sissy Spacek, Debra Winger, Andy Griffith, and even George Steinbrenner III. Barbra Streisand and Paul Newman have been guests. Vanna White is said to have kept a home here after relocating from Myrtle Beach in the early 2000s.

Politics showed up too. Former Vice President Al Gore vacationed on the island with Tipper Gore and their children in 1997. Senator John Edwards, a North Carolina native, kept a home here as well. Former Morgan Stanley CEO John J. Mack and UNC head football coach Mack Brown are also cited among notable residents.

Notable Homeowners & Guests:

What draws them? Privacy, first and always. No paparazzi can drive onto the island uninvited. No tour buses roll past. The guarded bridge makes the kind of security that money can’t easily replicate elsewhere on the coast, and the island’s no-commercial-development rule means there’s no foot traffic at all.

Consequently, Figure Eight operates on a kind of mutual discretion. Residents don’t name-drop their neighbors. The guard at the bridge isn’t giving anyone a tour. The mystique persists precisely because the island itself refuses to perform.

Frequently Asked Questions: Figure Eight Island, NC

Can the public visit Figure Eight Island?

Not by car. Figure Eight Island is accessible only via a private, guarded swing bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway. Homeowners, their registered guests, and renters of island vacation homes are granted access. Under North Carolina’s public trust doctrine, the beach itself below the mean high-water line is technically public, so arriving by boat is legal, but the island has no public parking, no public facilities, and no commercial areas to visit.

Why is it called Figure Eight Island?

The name comes from Rich Inlet at the island’s northern end. When the Cameron family and their partners began developing the island in the 1950s, they named it after the figure-eight shape formed by Rich’s Inlet Creek as it winds through the surrounding marshland.

How many people live on Figure Eight Island?

The full-time, year-round population is quite small; census data puts it around 87 permanent residents. However, the island’s roughly 475 homes are predominantly seasonal second residences, so summer population swells considerably as owners and renters arrive for the warmer months.

How many houses are on Figure Eight Island, NC?

There are approximately 475 privately owned single-family homes on the island. There are no condominiums, no hotels, and no commercial buildings of any kind. The island’s homeowners’ association has maintained strict residential-only development since the community was first established.

What celebrities have lived on Figure Eight Island?

The island has attracted an impressive roster over the decades, including Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Ben Stiller, Alec Baldwin, Kathy Bates, Robert Downey Jr., Richard Gere, Dustin Hoffman, Andy Griffith, Sissy Spacek, Debra Winger, and George Steinbrenner, among others. Politicians, including former Vice President Al Gore and Senator John Edwards, have also been noted as residents or guests. The draw to Hollywood began in earnest after Dino De Laurentiis opened his Wilmington film studio in 1983.

What is there to do on Figure Eight Island?

The island offers classic coastal activities: swimming, boating, fishing, kayaking, paddleboarding, and beach walking on five miles of uncrowded Atlantic shoreline. The Figure Eight Island Yacht Club provides residents and members with dining, a pool, tennis courts, and marina access. Off-island, Wilmington’s restaurants, shops, and cultural scene are roughly 20 minutes away. Figure Eight has also served as a filming location for movies including Weekend at Bernie’s, Sleeping with the Enemy, and Amazon’s The Summer I Turned Pretty.

How much do houses cost on Figure Eight Island?

Entry-level properties on the island now regularly exceed $1 million, with oceanfront estates ranging from roughly $4 million to $13 million and above. A 2024 sale at $13.9 million set a new North Carolina residential real estate record. Home values have more than doubled in recent years, reflecting both the island’s exclusivity and the broader coastal luxury market.

From the Outer Banks to the Lowcountry, the Carolina coast has always known how to keep a secret. Figure Eight Island just happens to be its best one.

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