SALTER PATH - A steady exodus of campers and trailers emptied the campgrounds at Indian Beach and Salter Path over the past few months. They won't be back. High-rise developments are planned amid the sand dunes and oak trees where some families staked out getaways for more than three decades. Condo units reaching seven stories will loom over the tiny business strip where Elba McLawhorn has run a beauty shop for 27 years.

"It's going to be so tall I won't see the sky," she said.

Property owners and developers are discovering inland coastal areas, and recently there has been a general downturn in beachfront real estate. But along Bogue Banks, a 26-mile barrier island in Carteret County, buildings are going up and up -- in elevation and in price. They are crowding out humbler pleasure domes that served North Carolinians of lesser means.

A tour of the island affords a microcosmic glance at the effects of development all along the coast.

There are no high rises at Fort Macon State Park on the eastern tip or to the west in Emerald Isle, a resort that limits building height to 50 feet, but both feel the pressure from new condos and houses.

The park, which includes a Civil War fortification, ocean beach and shoreline along Beaufort Inlet, is already the most heavily visited state park, with about 1.2 million visitors last year. On peak days, cars and trucks cram into 602 parking spaces, 335 at a bathhouse and 267 near the fort. Lots often reach capacity and are closed.

"I'm afraid it's going to get worse," said park superintendent Jody Merritt.

Down the road at the Sand Dollar Motel, a one-story row of 11 units, owner Patricia Coyne tells callers that they can reach the beach from her motel. Many want to know whether the Triple S Fishing Pier that stood nearby for 54 years has been dismantled.

"Yeah, it's gone," she tells one caller.

"The Sportsman's [pier] is still here, but it's going to be gone too. We don't know when."

Ten years ago, there were eight piers along Bogue Banks. When Sportsman's pier is dismantled, there will be two major ones left: the Oceanana in Atlantic Beach and the Bogue Inlet pier in Emerald Isle. The Bogue Inlet pier is under contract to be sold.

The Triple S catered to people in small motels clustered on narrow streets nearby, to fishermen who lined the rails and to beachgoers who just wanted to stroll above the surf. The pier survived countless storms but was doomed when oceanfront property soared in value.

Rows of pastel condos with wide porches overlook the space where pilings once jutted into the ocean. Units are listed for more than $900,000.

Coyne said her motel appeals to those who can pay maybe $400 a week. So far Coyne has resisted offers to sell, but she admits they are appealing, especially with operating expenses going up.

Nearby Atlantic Beach has long been popular for day-tripping families, Marines based nearby and high school and college students.

Atlantic Beach is no Atlantic City. Cottages and a small business area surround the dominant high rise: the water tank. But the town will get three 15- to 18-story condominium buildings as part of a commercial and residential complex planned for the Circle, which used to have a pavilion, restaurants, clubs, arcades and amusement rides.

Town officials welcome the project, called The Grove, as a centerpiece to revitalization. Others say it will eliminate public parking that allows access to the beach. Plans call for 700 spaces, though many would accommodate businesses and property owners in the complex.

Tom Doe, a member of the Atlantic Beach town board, said as many as 700 parking spaces were near the Circle several years ago, but about 400 were lost through beautification and rebuilding programs.

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