If you’re dreaming of a beach vacation but have to stay close to home, give Sandling Beach at Falls Lake State Recreation Area a try! It’s not a coastal beach with ocean waves, but you’ll still get the sandy beach and cool water and don’t have to worry about the kids getting swept off to sea!

After an extended closure due to the pandemic, we were eager to finally visit Sandling beach with the kids. Hubby and I had gone before we had kids about ten years ago and weren’t super impressed, but everything is different with kids in tow! I was much happier with our experience this time around.

No waves or river current

When I’m with the kids I really enjoy beaches without waves since they can easily knock the kids down and drag them out into the water. We usually visit the Outer Banks each year and the beach there has a steep drop off into the ocean. The waves can make it dangerous for littles ones and I constantly have to be right by them supervising.

Sandling Beach is a completely different beach experience. I was actually able to sit back and relax and let the kids run wild without needing to be right beside them every step of the way. I didn’t even have to get in the water! The kids wore life vests so they were able to swim all the way out to the swim boundary completely on their own. They could play in the sand without getting knocked over or losing sand toys in the surf! Our previous favorite local beach was Milburnie Beach on the Neuse River, but there you still have to worry about the river current sweeping things away. Since Sandling Beach has no moving water this might take our top spot of favorite local beach!

Amenities

Another great perk is that Sandling Beach has lots of amenities to make your experience more enjoyable. There is a restroom facility next to the beach area with a great outdoor shower so you can rinse off before getting in the car. There’s also a playground nearby if your kids get sick of the water, and picnic shelters and grills. There are life vests available if you forget yours, and staff routinely clean the beach each morning so you know it will be clean for your visit! We ended up talking to the staff member cleaning the beach while we were there, and he was extremely helpful and friendly. He let us know that the beach can get pretty crowded on holidays and weekends, but during the week it’s pretty empty. We visited on a Thursday morning and had the whole place to ourselves!

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Admission

The only con to this beach is that all of those great amenities come at a price. Unlike some of our other favorite local beaches, this one has an admission fee. Luckily it’s pretty cheap at $7 per car, so no matter how many are in your family you can enjoy this spot for a low price! The per-car fee is charged daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and on weekends in April, May, and September. There’s also a $90 annual pass available if you plan on visiting a lot!

In addition to Sandling Beach, you can also visit Beaverdam and Rolling View for other sandy swimming areas at Falls Lake. In total there are five swim beaches in the Falls Lake State Recreation area and a number of boating ramps, trails, and camping sites. You can see the Sandling Beach map here.

Be sure to add this tot spot to your summer bucket list!