10+ Things To Do When It Rains In Wilmington, NC

10+ Things To Do When It Rains In Wilmington, NC

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Blue Post Billiards

One of our favorite bars when we moved to Wilmington was Blue Post Billiards. It has been a staple in downtown Wilmington for over 20 years. Located down a small blink-and-you’ll-miss-it alley in Wilmington, Blue Post is the bar that you really only know about if someone tells you.

So I’m telling you.

There’s a bar, pool tables, and then a back half filled with arcade games and a second bar. That back part is so much fun, and a great excuse to go even if you don’t drink. It’s all indoors, so it’s a great place to spend a rainy afternoon.

Blue Post is also haunted, so they say, and it’s part of the Haunted Pub Crawl, so definitely check out the barcade if you’re into the paranormal.

Even though there’s an arcade with pinball, skee ball, and other video games, Blue Post is a 21-and-over establishment, so this isn’t not something you can bring the kids to.

Blue Post Billiards Information:

Address: 15 Water Street
Hours: Monday through Friday: 3 pm to 2 am; Saturday and Sunday: 2 pm to 2 am
Phone: (910) 343-1141
Admission: Free

Go Bowling

Bowling is always a good, family-friendly indoor activity. So of course, going bowling when it’s raining is a good idea.

What’s cool, though, is Wilmington has a famous bowling alley. Ten Pin Alley (127 College Rd #1) was featured in the HBO show Eastbound and Down. So, not only are you going bowling, but you’re going sightseeing as well.

That’s not the only bowling alley in town. There’s also Cardinal Lanes Beach Bowl (7026 Market St). Cardinal Lanes participates in the Kids Bowl Free program held nationally each summer. That link will tell you how to register for the program and will give you more details.

Check out some live music

Wilmington has so much live music every night, it’s incredible. You can go to a different place to see a different band every night the entire time you’re in town.

During the summer, there’s a lot of free outdoor concerts. But once Labor Day hits, the majority of live music moves indoors. Which is what you’re looking for when it’s raining.

I don’t have a full list of music since, of course, that changes often. But you can do a quick Google search to see what’s going on tonight in Wilmington.

Some of the larger venues require advanced tickets, and big bands sell out quickly, but a lot of other venues (like where we go on a random night out) allow you to pay at the door.

Plus, so many of the bars have live music nightly, so there’s no cover charge for them at all.

Music venues in Wilmington, NC:

There are a bunch of music venues and bars in Wilmington that you can check out. To get you started, here are three of the most popular in the area:

• Greenfield Lake Amphitheater
• Live Oak Bank Pavilion
• Bowstring Burgers and Brewyard (you can get food here too, and the burgers are so good)

Go out to eat

There’s an ordinance in downtown Wilmington that says chain restaurants aren’t allowed, so your options are good, local restaurants that you can’t find anywhere else. So you’ll want to check them out.

A rainy day is a good excuse to do just that.

Just, obviously, make sure to sit indoors if it’s raining. We ate outside on a deck with umbrella’d tables when we were on vacation once and that was just as wet as if we didn’t have an umbrella.

Restaurants in Wilmington, NC:

There are a bunch of restaurants in Wilmington, NC that you can check out. To get you started, here are four that we like:

• Front Street Brewery (get the chicken nachos)
• Origins Food & Drink (get the halibut)
• Tarantelli’s (last time we were here, I had Pete split the Spaghetti al Formaggio Parmigiana — made in a parmigiano reggiano wheel and it was amazing)
• True Blue Butcher (get the steak, of course)

We actually have a full list of Must Try Restaurants in Wilmington, NC. Click that link to check them all out.

Visit the Museum of the Bizarre

If you’re looking for something that you can’t find anywhere else, head to the Museum of the Bizarre. It’s filled with oddities (and then a whole wall of conspiracy theories).

It’s pretty interesting, if only for its bizarreness. Plus, it’s only $3 to enter. So that’s a good price to kill a little rainy time. The entire museum is indoors, so it’s perfect for a rainy day.

It’s actually an offshoot of the Cape Fear Serpentarium, which closed due to the owner’s sudden death (that’s a story you might want to Google because it could, honestly, fit right in the Museum of the Bizarre).

Museum of the Bizarre Information:

Address: 201 S Water St.
Phone: (910) 399-2641
Hours: 11 am to 8 pm from Memorial Day until Labor Day; 11 am to 6 pm from Labor Day until Memorial Day
Admission: $3 (children under 3 are free)

Stop by the Cape Fear Museum

If you’re visiting, you might want to learn about the Cape Fear region. The Cape Fear Museum teaches you about that. You’ll learn a ton at the museum, from the way early settlers got to Wilmington to what trees are indigenous to the area.

There’s an entire section dedicated to Michael Jordan because the basketball great grew up in Wilmington. And you know that famous story about how he was cut from the basketball team? Yup. That happened at Laney High School, here in Wilmington. Although, to be fair, that story isn’t entirely true. He wasn’t cut. He was just left on the JV roster instead of making Varsity as a sophomore.

So there’s that. And a section about dinosaurs. And a very cool area about space where you can actually put on space suits. So definitely something for everyone.

The majority of the museum is indoors, making it perfect when it’s raining. There is a section that’s outdoors, but that part is free, so you can come back when it’s sunny and not have to pay again if you really feel like you need to see it.

Cape Fear Museum Information:

Address: 814 Market St.
Phone: (910) 798-4362
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday: 9 am to 5 pm; Sunday: 1 pm to 5 pm; open Mondays from Memorial Day to Labor Day only
Admission: $8 for adults; $7 for seniors, college students, and military members; $5 for kids ages 6 to 17; free to children 5 and under. New Hanover County residents are free on the first Sunday of each month, only.

Visit the Wilmington Railroad Museum

The Wilmington Railroad Museum was one of two local museums that gave free admission during Smithsonian Museum Day. It was limited and sold out so quickly. So that should tell you just how popular the museum is.

The museum has a children’s area, model room, workshop, and more. And it has been around for 40 years!

In the winter, the museum hosts Polar Express Family Days with visits from Santa, hot chocolate, and more.

Besides one train outside, everything else is inside, so it’s perfect for a rainy day in Wilmington.

For more, read our full Wilmington Railroad Museum review.

Wilmington Railroad Museum Information:

Address: 505 Nutt St.
Phone: (910) 763-2634
Hours: Monday through Saturday: 10 am to 4 pm (Labor Day to Memorial Day); Monday through Saturday: 10 am to 5 pm; Sunday: 1 pm to 5 pm (Memorial Day to Labor Day)
Admission: $12 for adults; $10 for seniors and military members; $8 for children 3 to 12; children under 2 are free.

Check out an art gallery

There are so many art galleries in Wilmington. You can stop in on your own, but if you happen to be in town on the fourth Friday of the month, you’re in luck. That’s when the Arts Council of Wilmington hosts the Fourth Friday Gallery Walk (although, you don’t really want to walk between galleries when it’s raining).

You can head over to the Arts Council’s website and see the list of participating galleries.

One of the largest in the area is the Cameron Arts Museum (3201 S 17th St.), which is over 42,000-square-feet, and filled with exhibits. They’re indoors, so a good time to see them is when it’s raining.

Art Galleries in Wilmington, NC:

There are a bunch of art galleries in Wilmington, NC that you can check out. To get you started, here are three that we like:

• Cameron Arts Museum
• Gallery Citrine
• Wilma W. Daniels Gallery 

Go shopping

Wilmington is home to the Independence Mall (3500 Oleander Dr.). Originally, it was a traditional mall with stores and hallways covered by a roof. But one of the wings of the mall was knocked down to make more of an open air market. So now, it’s a hybrid.

There is still a traditional food court and rides and play areas inside. Plus a train that drives kids around the mall. So, if you’re looking for some fun things to do with kids in Wilmington, the mall has a bunch.

If it’s a sunny day, you could go shopping at Mayfaire Town Center (6835 Conservation Way), but that’s an open air market, so don’t head there when it’s raining.

Tour the Bellamy Mansion Museum

We usually visit the Nights of Lights at the Bellamy Mansion Museum every year. It’s beautiful to see the historic home decorated for Christmas in a traditional Victorian way.

Nights of Lights is a self-guided tour although volunteers do sit in each room and will answer any questions you have.

If you’re not in Wilmington at Christmastime, the Bellamy Mansion Museum does give daily, paid guided tours. Those are a great way to learn the history of the home and the slave quarters in the back. The home actually has an interesting story, since it was occupied by the Union soldiers during the Civil War before going back to the Bellamy family.

If you want to learn about the region, and it’s raining, touring the mansion is a great way to do just that.

Bellamy Mansion Museum Information:

Address: 503 Market St
Phone: (910) 251-3700
Hours: Daily from 10 am to 4 pm
Admission: $15 for adults; $13 for seniors and military members; $7 for students 6 to 17; children 5 and under are free

Grab a drink

They don’t call this state North Craftolina for nothing.

Wilmington has over a dozen breweries and a handful of distilleries in the area. So, if you’re into the craft beer movement, the Port City is a great place for you.

When it’s sunny out, you don’t want to spend the afternoon in a dark bar. But, when it’s raining, you don’t feel as bad about sitting inside.

We have a huge list of breweries in Wilmington and another about the distilleries in Wilmington so you can check those out and decide what location you want to go to.

Front Street Brewery is the oldest brewery in Wilmington and it has delicious food, so it’s a great place for a beer and a bite. Pete loves the beer at Wilmington Brewing Company and Flying Machine, so he would recommend those to you if you were asking his opinion.

Or, if you don’t drink, you can just grab coffee in Wilmington at one of the cute spots in town. My current favorite is Concorde Espresso Bar (because you can get s’mores there too, which is nice when it’s nice out but not when it’s raining).