I spent a couple days in the Wilmington area last weekend. The weather and water was beautiful. One day at Wrightsville Beach and one day at Kure Beach. Wore a thong each day, all day for tanning and swimming. I chose discreet, less populated areas of the beaches that were still at the waters edge and within view of others walking by. Both days, I saw no other thongers but felt quite comfortable and often had others of either sex sit or lay near me. At Kure Beach, I was more comfortable to stand, walk around and swim than at WB but overall it was two great days of beaching it in a thong.

Just to clarify, Masonboro Island is south of Wrightsville Beach - only accessible by boat, jetski, surfboard etc. Lots of surfers go for the waves on the oceanside. In the summertime, its a popular spot for camping and partying. I would guess thonging or nudity would also be easy to get away with. The beach and island north of WB is Figure 8 Island which is a private residential island that is accessible by a secure bridge or by boat but its not open to the public. I would recommend sticking to Wrightsville Beach where the girls and thongs are or heading south to Carolina or Kure Beach. Thats what we do.

I'll be in the area this weekend.  Any recommendations? 

Masonboro Island if you can swing it.   It's only accessible by boat or kayak, but there are shuttles that leave from Blockade Runner in WB that will drop you off and pick you up at the end of the day.  If you are looking for privacy and solitude, it can't be beat.  Once you arrive walk over to the ocean side and head south.   A 5-10 minute walk and you will be a ways away from the few people that are there.  There are no facilities on the island so bring everything you need.  I have been there many times and it is awesome.  
I would stay away from CB and thongs are illegal in Kure Beach.  Fort Fisher may be another alternative, but have never been.  You might see women in thongs at WB, but highly doubt any men.
Hope this helps.  PM me if you need more info.

About 1hr south of Wilmington is Bird Island Coastal Reserve.   It is at the Little River Inlet.  To get there from Wilm. take 17 south through Brunswick County.  Turn left at 904 and go about 2 miles into Sunset Beach.  Go over the bridge to Sunset Beach Island.  On Main st. hang a right to go west as far as you can and still find a parking space.  That's the hard part.  Cross over onto the beach and head to your right.   From the 40th street crossover it is @ 3/4 of a mile till you get to the large coastal reserve sign.  From that point west to the Stone jetty (Which is technically South Carolina) thongs are legal, but not common. You may also see some in the nude.  Most of that occurs past the Kindred Spirit mailbox which is @ 2 miles from the 40th crossover untill the jetty.Lester

 1 hr south of Wilmington is Sunset Beach,  Go to the beach and turn right. Walk or ride a bike 2 miles west and you are on Bird Island Coastal Reserve.  Spent a lovely day there yesterday.   I even met a nice couple, him in a thong, her in a G.   We had the beach to ourselves for many hours if you don't count the flies.  I had some Repel natural which I was happy to share.  PM me for more info 

Fort Fisher is fairly remote once you get away from the main lifeguarded areas so no issues with thongs. Actually no real issues even around the lifeguarded area. Same for Wrightsville Beach. Just depends on how you carry yourself around others. But late October is highly unlikely going to be warm enough for thonging/tanning. 

 Hey I'm new to the area, I was thinking of paddle boarding from wrightsville to masonboro but I'm a little worried about currents and sharks, should I be?

I would be more concerned with the boat traffic and then the sizeable walk you would have to get to a less crowded area.  You may want to consider paddle boarding from trails end boat ramp.  I see many doing that.

Was out at Wrightsville Beach the other day for most of the day just about 5 blocks south of Mercer pier. Beautiful sunny weather with a gentle breeze. I showed up with plans to wear a skimpier AC black bikini suit that covered my buns all day. Once I setup and went for a swim, I noticed girls were predominantly wearing a lot more cheeky bikinis then I have ever seen in NC and several were wearing true thongs, one which was white and sheer when wet!
No one batted an eye at me - a guy in a bikini and people were arriving and setting up near me which gave me all the confidence I needed. So instead of rolling over to end up with a bikini tanline, I walked back to my car and changed into a black MS thong. I returned to my towel and thonged all day in full view of everyone including lifeguards! 
The sexy girl in a white thong went for a walk with her guy down the beach and she returned separately by walking away from the water right by me within inches. I guess she wanted a closer look and to give me one of her :) 
Another young college girl wearing a cheeky side string bottom near me seemed to leave her suit just loose enough that when she laid back, it allowed for me to see right down it from behind when I walked by. 
I get the feeling a lot of ladies enjoy being exhibitionists at the beach and a fit, confident guy in a thong makes a nice target.

Made it back to Wrightsville Beach near Wilmington for a day of sun earlier this month. This time I was joined by my girlfriend (who supports my thong bikini wearing). She was wearing a new very cheeky bottom I helped her pick out and I wore a Skinz g-string under a N2N bikini. We spent the entire day surrounded by other couples and groups of young adults. 

 I was at Hilton Head last week on vacation with my family. Sadly I wasn't able to wear my thongs or bikinis on the beach or by the pool. I did see several cheeky bikinis on some younger girls but didn't see any true thongs. While the size of bikinis is shrinking on women's suits, I think it has a way to go before they get to actual thongs. Sadly I didn't see any guys in anything but board shorts the entire week. Most all were knee length. I wore the shortest shorts that I own and they had a 2" inseam. My shorts were the shortest of any I saw all week.

Spent the late afternoon at Wrightsville beach in my purple Dore thong. It was cloudy & windy, but still warm, so not a ton of beachgoers. ALL men had board shorts on, only a few cheeky bikinis on the women, but one girl did walk by with a thong or G wearing a longish t-shirt and her "assets" showing. I got a few double-takes and some whispers between walkers, but most simply didn't care.

 Not surprised to hear about females wearing thongs at WB, I see at least a handful at Masonboro when I am there.  It is surprising to hear that WB is accepting or indifferent to men wearing thongs.  It’s a very conservative beach town.

Just came back from a week trip to Topsail Beach (not far from Wilmington). As it is primarily a family beach, conservative swimsuits were the rule on both guys & girls. However, I did see 3 thongs on women during that time. Not many cheeky bikinis though. All the guys were in dork shorts - not even a Speedo on any of the guys (including me, since I was on a family trip). Pretty much what you'd expect at most beaches these days.

Spent the afternoon at Wrightsville Beach yesterday. The beach was quite crowded, but oddly enough there was a gap of ~200yds with no one setup, so I set up there in my Jovana 4D thong. Nearest to me was a group of 6-7 girls in their late teens or early twenties, all wearing cheeky to very cheeky suits. It was a bit funny that a couple of the girls must have switched to cheekier suits than what they started the summer with, as they had white tan-lines on their bums from a more conservative suit than what they were currently wearing. Over the 5 hours I was there, I saw only one woman wearing a true thong, walking with a guy who had on these absolutely huge shorts. All the men were wearing board shorts, except for one guy I saw in a very conservative square cut. No one made any remarks that I could hear, but some women were very aggressive in their staring at me (in a good way) and at least two took selfies with me in the background. One woman came later in the day with her child and set up fairly close to me (no issues from her). There was also this pair of girls that had walked past me during the day, and on the return trip, when one of the girls saw me again, grabbed her high-waisted bikini bottoms and pulled them up as far as she could to let her buns hang out. Hopefully my presence in a thong will have given other beachgoers the confidence to do the same. When I left, I was covered in sand and salt and really wanted to shower for my drive home. The shower is at the end of the walkway to the beach where it meets the parking lot and isn't very private. The crowds had thinned out and there was only a woman left rinsing off with her two young daughters. She had an interesting tattoo peeking our from the top edge of her small bikini bottoms so I hoped she wouldn't be offended by what I was wearing. So, I stripped off the long shirt I was wearing and began rinsing off under the shower. The Mom had her back to me, but her daughter loudly exclaims "Look Mommy at what that man is wearing!" to which Mom spins around and gives herself a long eyeful with a wry smile before leaving with her kids in tow and staring back over her shoulder as she's leaving.

Another fine day at Wrightsville beach. Got there earlier than usual, so not a lot of people around when I setup. However, within a few hours almost all the ladies around me we wearing thongs or very cheeky suits. Every other male I saw was in long board shorts, so I was definitely the only male there in a thong. Quite a few stares and double-takes, but nothing negative was heard. Lots of young ladies elbowing their guy and whispering something to them with a sly grin. Funny how many of the women had to wander close by to "search for shells".

@hunnger I bet the girls were whispering “you should buy a thong like that!” partly joking, partly serious:)

Spent last Friday at Wrightsville beach in my ultrathin baby blue Muscleskins micro-thong. No one really cared. I had all kinds of people sitting all around me. Didn't see as many women in thongs as I usually see on this beach.