Stops to make while vacationing in the Outer Banks

1.) Wright Brothers National Memorial

The Wright Brothers National Memorial is a site that is maintained by the National Parks Service located in Kill Devil Hills. This Memorial was built to celebrate the site of the first flight. Stopping at the Memorial and getting the full experience takes about 2 hours, 1 if you don’t care to read the signs. This is a stamp location in the National Parks Passport book. Stopping here is fun for anyone who is interested in history. As a side note Jockeys Ridge State Park is close to the Wright Brothers Memorial. Jockeys Ridge State Park is home to the East coasts tallest dune. If you plan well you can make a day out of going to both places.

2.) Lighthouses

What’s a beach vacation without lighthouses? Outer Banks has 5 lighthouses that consistently pop up on internet must-see lists when searching. Stopping at a lighthouse while on vacation offers a chance for a great photo opportunity or a great workout if you’re up to climbing to the top of whichever one you choose to visit. In my experience, on other trips, not all lighthouses are climbable so once you choose one it is always a good idea to check if its climbable and if there is an admission fee you need to pay to enter. Of the lists I’ve looked at the most interesting lighthouse to me is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The lighthouse at Cape Hatteras is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States.

3.) Go to the Beach!

The main draw to the Outer Banks is the beach, I am sure anyone going to The Outer Banks is planning to make a day or more of hanging around at the beach. There are plenty of different locations with public beach access and in my experience wherever you’re staying someone will let you know which access point is closest to you. The beach is a lot of fun during the daytime but one of my favorite activities while visiting is to go at night. I don’t think it’s safe to swim at night so I would advise against it. I like to go to the beach at night with a flashlight and look at the hundreds of crabs scurrying all over the beach. If you have time Cape Hatteras is actually a National Seashore so if you’re looking to have an educational day at the beach this may be the place for you.

4.) Historic Corolla Park

This park offers an area to go on a walk along the water or visit some of the attractions within the park. It is free to go to Corolla Park but it does cost money to do some of the activities here. When I visited we walked around by the water and took some time to visit the Center for Wildlife Education which is a free museum. I also wanted to see the Whalehead house, I only viewed the house from the outside but you are able to pay for a tour. The Whalehead is a mansion that was built in the 1920’s that has been restored. A third attraction in historic Corolla is the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. This is a red brick lighthouse that has 220 stairs to the top. Visitors are allowed to climb to the top for a fee of $13.00 for anyone over the age of 4.

5.) Restaurants

This one seems obvious but I do feel like the food I had while in the Outer Banks was one of the highlights of the trip. I went out to eat 4 times while visiting which is much more than I usually do while on a trip. Anytime I’m near the ocean I try and venture out and order fish which is not something I normally order while out to eat. I had a great Experience at the Sunset Grille and Raw Bar in Duck. I went out to eat with 6 people and everyone really loved what they ordered. If you’re wanting to catch beautiful views of the sunset and have amazing seafood I definitely recommend trying this restaurant. Aside from just this one restaurant the other 3 places I had eaten were also very good. For breakfast one morning someone had gotten up early and bought everyone donuts from Duck Donuts. The donuts are smaller more gourmet type donuts so they’re sweet but I did really enjoy trying the different flavors they had to offer. My family just cut each donut in half so everyone could try a few flavors without over doing it with the cost. That being said there are plenty of amazing places to eat in the Outer Banks and you should definitely try and go out to eat while there at least once.