Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Outer Banks
These fragile ribbons of sand trace the coastline for 100 miles, cut off from the mainland
by various sounds and waterways. From north to south, the barrier islands of Bodie (pro-
nounced 'Body'), Roanoke, Hatteras and Ocracoke, essentially large sandbars, are linked
by bridges and ferries. The far-northern communities of
Corolla
(pronounced kur-
all
-
ah, not like the car),
Duck
and
Southern Shores
are former duck-hunting grounds for
the northeastern rich, and are quiet and upscale. The nearly contiguous Bodie Island
towns of
Kitty Hawk
,
Kill Devil Hills
and
Nags Head
are heavily developed and more
populist in nature, with fried-fish joints, drive-thru beer shops, motels and dozens of san-
dals 'n' sunblock shops.
Roanoke Island
, west of Bodie Island, offers Colonial history
and the quaint waterfront town of
Manteo
. Further south,
Hatteras Island
is a protected
national seashore with a few teeny villages and a wild, windswept beauty. At the south-
ern end of OBX, wild ponies run free and old salts shuck oysters and weave hammocks
on
Ocracoke Island
, accessible only by ferry.
A meandering drive down Hwy 12, which connects much of the Outer Banks, is one
of the truly great American road trips, whether you come during the stunningly desolate
winter months or the sunny summer.
Sights
Corolla, the northernmost town on US 158, is famed for its wild horses. Descendants of
Colonial Spanish mustangs, the horses roam the northern dunes, and numerous commer-
cial outfitters go in search of them. The non-profit
Corolla Wild Horse Fund
(
www.corollawildhorses.com
;
1129 Corolla Village Rd; 9:30am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat Jun-
Aug, 10am-4pm Mon-Fri Sep-May)
runs a small museum and leads tours.
The following places are listed from north to south.
Currituck Heritage Park
HISTORIC BUILDINGS
(Corolla; dawn-dusk)
The sunflower-yellow, art-nouveau-style
Whalehead Club
(
www.whaleheadclub.org
; tours $10; tours 10am-5pm Mon-Sat mid-Mar-Dec, 11am-4pm
Dec-mid-Mar)
, built in the 1920s as a hunting 'cottage' for a Philadelphia industrialist, is
the centerpiece of this manicured park in the village of Corolla. You can also climb the
Currituck Beach Lighthouse
(
www.currituckbeachlight.com
;
adult/child $7/free; 9am-5pm
Mar 23-Nov 23)
, or check out the modern
Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education
(
www.ncwildlife.org/obx
;
1160 Village Ln; 9am-4:30pm Mon-Sat)
for an interesting
film about area history, info on local hiking trails and a life-size marsh diorama.
