Corolla, NC beach vacation: What is a must-do?

July 1, 2009 6:07 AM

My whole family (parents, siblings, nieces/nephews, and assorted Serious Significant Others) is going to be staying for a week in a big house in Corolla, NC in a few weeks. What should we Absolutely Do while we're there?

Mr. Concolora and I are in our early thirties and are into wine, good beer, and food (we love locally-owned places and go there preferentially over chains). We love canoeing, are learning to fish, hiking, biking (we'll be bringing our bikes down with us), and cooking. I'm an avid equestrian and an amateur wildlife photographer. We're not really 'nightlife' kind of people and this will be our first trip to the Outer Banks.

Beach-wise, we're mostly 'walk along the' and 'read on the' types, and not so much 'try to body-surf', and I'm definitely a 'ride horses on the' if such a place/opportunity exists.

We're primarily looking for some 'just the two of us' type activities for when we're away from the Mad Horde (17 of us!) of my family, but if there's anything that can finish cementing our place as the 'Cool Aunt and Uncle' with the kids that'd be fun too.

Help us love our vacation, AskMeFi!

posted by Concolora to sports, hobbies, & recreation (14 comments total)

It's about an 90 minute drive from Corolla, but the NC Aquarium is pretty cool, if you and/or the kids like that kind of thing.
posted by EarBucket at 6:22 AM on July 1

If you have time (and $$), definitely go to "The Left Bank" in Duck for dinner. It's amazing. If you can break-away for dinner-for-two, of course. Not for kids and quite pricey.
posted by scblackman at 6:34 AM on July 1

We had a very nice meal, and the drinkers enjoyed the beer, at the Outer Banks Brewing Station.

The further south you get on the islands, the more of a wildlife reserve it becomes. It would be a long day trip, but when we were in a simlar vacation situation, we spent the day driving down the coast as far as taking the ferry over to Ocrakoke (there are "wild" horses there. I use quotes because there are some in pens for you to see.) I suspect you would enjoy stopping and hiking a bit through the National Seashore area in Hatteras. There is a surprising amount of wildlife in the area.

On a different occasion we decided to see all of the lighthouses on the islands. The Bodie Island one has a nice paths you can walk through the wetlands as well.
posted by librarianamy at 6:46 AM on July 1

Coastal Kayak runs GREAT kayaking tours. Really great. And the people who run it and their guides are awesome. If you want to talk to them in person, stop by their store in Duck. There are definitely riding-horses-on-the-beach opportunities, but I can't vouch for any particular company. (Ask the Coastal Kayak people?)

More hiking in two very unusual places: Nags Head Woods, Jockey's Ridge.

There are bike trails throughout Corolla and Duck, and you can easily bike up the beach road all the way to Nags Head, if you like. You do know about the wild horses in Corolla, right?

If you can avoid getting stuck in traffic getting through Duck, you can get to the wonderful aforementioned NC Aquarium in less than an hour.

Kill Devils frozen custard. There'll be coupons in Sunny Day (free coupon-mag available everywhere.)

There's undoubtedly closer places to get perfectly good beer and wine, but Chip's in Kitty Hawk is particularly great.

It's Kor-AH-lah. It's not pronounced like the car.

I've visited the Outer Banks every year since I was a wee girl -- over 30 years now. It's one of my favorite places on earth. I'm sure I'll chime in to the thread again with more suggestions.
posted by desuetude at 6:48 AM on July 1

Oh, and the kayaking tours are terrific for seeing amazing, amazing wildlife. As you know from canoeing, you can get places this way that would be otherwise impossible to access. There are many overgrown man-made old logging canals plus natural canals on the soundside. I've seen a tree full of ibis at sunset, red-shouldered hawks flying overhead in the morning, piliated woodpeckers drumming away, splashy river otters (and their less-welcome imported cousins nutria), a host of turtles and snakes, alligators (a bit of a drive to get to Alligator River, but zomg!), and lots of very, very cool-looking trees and plants.

(And mosquitoes more vicious and sneaky than any vampire. Bring your repellent.)
posted by desuetude at 7:01 AM on July 1

One time I tried to hit as many of the lighthouses as I could in one day. I ended up missing the Ocracoke Island one because I didn't get my timing right for the ferry, but it was a fun 2-person thing to do. We also explored one of the nature reserves while on this mad dash all over the area.
posted by needled at 7:16 AM on July 1

My wife and I had a fantastic meal at The Red Sky Cafe a month ago. Can't recommend eating there enough.
posted by schustafa at 7:27 AM on July 1

Jockey's Ridge is my favorite place on the East Coast. Perfect for hiking and wildlife photography.

I know you said you're not really adventurous people, but you can also get hang-gliding lessons at Jockey's Ridge.
posted by infinitewindow at 7:42 AM on July 1

The sand dunes at Jockey's Ridge are an excellent place to fly kites, especially those fancy 2-handled ones that you can steer and do tricks with. I was with a similar-sized group that rented a house out there for a wedding a few years ago, and kids and adults alike had fun flying and watching the kites together. Plus, it's super fun to run down the sides of sand dunes!
posted by vytae at 7:53 AM on July 1

++Red Skye Cafe, and the Blue Point for food. Both are in Duck.

Corolla Light and Whalehead Club at Heritage Park. Climb the light, wander the grounds. Bring a Picnic lunh. (You can bike or walk there probably.)

Rent a jeep and drive up the beach past the end of the road and look for the wild ponies.

Beware of drving much further south than Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills/ Nags Head. You have a fair drive just to get south of Duck (tends to back up). Ocrakoke is possible, but it's a loooong day -- might better if you could arrange to stay overnight. Personally, I wouldn't consider driving further than Manteo for a day trip.
posted by dzot at 10:32 AM on July 1

Beware of drving much further south than Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills/ Nags Head. You have a fair drive just to get south of Duck (tends to back up). Ocrakoke is possible, but it's a loooong day -- might better if you could arrange to stay overnight. Personally, I wouldn't consider driving further than Manteo for a day trip.

Seconded. We drove from Kill Devil Hills to Ocrakoke last year and it was a loooooooooong drive. A beautiful drive through quirky beach towns that reminded me of Kitty Hawk in the 70s that I wish I'd allowed time to photograph extensively...but it's a two-lane road for much of the trip.

The trip to Manteo is pretty painless, though. And sunset over the sound as you drive across the spit!! *sigh*
posted by desuetude at 12:39 PM on July 1

Wow, what a great haul of suggestions! Thank you all so much, and we'll probably give all the restaurants a try and *definitely* the kayaking and Jockey Ridge. I did know about the wild horses, but it seemed like the only way to get to see them was via these SUV tours? Is that not true? The ideal happiness would be riding domestic horses to go see wild horses (then you become part of the herd, and can get closer more safely) but I don't expect that's possible. :D
posted by Concolora at 3:16 PM on July 1

Well, the Banks are long and narrow. In some places, really narrow. There's only really one road, Route 12, which is two-land asphalt. I've done the drive from Nag's Head down to the Ocracoke ferry and back a number of times. Whether it's a daytrip or not depends on how often you stop and go walkabout.

Temps will be in the 80's, with wind. The southern banks tend to be the least developed. There's a high condo presence, sadly, on the northern side.
posted by justcorbly at 3:43 PM on July 1

Well, the Banks are long and narrow. In some places, really narrow. There's only really one road, Route 12, which is two-land asphalt. I've done the drive from Nag's Head down to the Ocracoke ferry and back a number of times. Whether it's a daytrip or not depends on how often you stop and go walkabout.

You mean once you get past Nags Head enroute to Ocracoke, right? 'Cause the bypass goes all the way down Bodie Island and is a four-lane highway.
posted by desuetude at 7:24 PM on July 1