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Kure Beach, North Carolina: Memorial to a Bunker-Dwelling, Mysteriously-Dying Hermit

RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report

Fort Fisher

Address:
1000 Loggerhead Rd, Kure Beach, NC
Directions:
Fort Fisher. I-40 until it ends, then south on Hwy 132/US 421 for 23 miles, through Kure Beach, to Fort Fisher State Recreation Area. Left onto Loggerhead Rd, and park at the Recreation Area. From the south end of the parking lot walk south to the beach on the Ramsgate Trail, then west to the Bunker on the Basin Trail. The Basin Trail is clearly marked by park signs to the "WWII Bunker." It's about a mile from the parking lot along the trail and over some boardwalks.
Hours:
Trail closes at dusk. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:
910-458-5798
Save to My Sights
Memorial to a Bunker-Dwelling, Mysteriously-Dying Hermit

At one time he was the second most popular tourist attraction in North Carolina.

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Visitor Tips and News About Memorial to a Bunker-Dwelling, Mysteriously-Dying Hermit

Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.

Hermit bunker.

Memorial to a Bunker-Dwelling, Mysteriously-Dying Hermit

The hermit bunker is 0.8 miles from the parking lot. A fun walk. Lots to see along the way. Quite interesting once you learn more about the Hermit.

[Zaidoon, 07/11/2020]

Walk to hermit bunker.

Memorial to a Bunker-Dwelling, Mysteriously-Dying Hermit

It's nearly a mile walk to the hermit bunker; wear good shoes for hiking, and carry bug spray. Worth the hike.

[Tracy Johnson, 09/30/2015]

Hermit bunker.

Fort Fisher Hermit Bunker

You should read up a bit on Robert Harrill before you go; it will give you more perspective on who he was and what it would have been like to live here. The Hermit Society was created from his life and there are books available in Caroline Beach. Otherwise, it's just a concrete bunker in a remote area with a plaque marking that he lived there.

It's very swampy and hot in the summer, so be prepared with bug spray and some water.

[James Hite, 08/29/2015]

The concrete bunker of the Fort Fisher Hermit is like an old Hollywood celebrity house: you go because somebody famous lived there. The bonus with the bunker is that you can actually go inside it.

Memorial to a Bunker-Dwelling, Mysteriously-Dying Hermit

The hermit's grave site not that far away. Nice to see that he is at rest and can still be visited by those who he affected.

[James Peuster, 07/26/2015]

Nearby Offbeat Places

North Carolina Military History MuseumNorth Carolina Military History Museum, Kure Beach, NC - 1 mi.
Venus Flytrap Nature TrailVenus Flytrap Nature Trail, Carolina Beach, NC - 6 mi.
Graves of the Gentleman Giant, Singing Ghost TonyGraves of the Gentleman Giant, Singing Ghost Tony, Southport, NC - 6 mi.
In the region:
Emmett Sniff's Concrete Sculptures, Hampstead, NC - 37 mi.

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