City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: US 158, MP 11
2. Nags Head Bowling Center
City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (252) 441-7077
Address: US 158, MP 10
Description: Open for year-round league and recreational play, this is the Outer Banks’ only bowling center. Twenty-four lanes are available for unlimited members of a party as well as a billiards room, pro shop, video arcade, and a cafe serving light meals, sandwiches, wine, beer, and hamburgers. Laser light and glow-in-the-dark bowling is offered at 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Nags Head Bowling is open from 10 a.m. to midnight Mon through Thurs and 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fri through Sun. Call for league information.
3. Grog’S Watersports
City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (252) 441-8875
Address: Nags Head-Manteo Causeway
Description: For an up-close glimpse of bottlenose dolphins playing in Roanoke Sound, this company has daily trips throughout the summer. Dolphin trips are led on a 40-foot pontoon boat that can accommodate up to 44 passengers. Along the way you’ll see the Bodie Island marshes, the Bodie Island Lighthouse, Pelican Island, osprey nests, and a variety of other wildlife, including dolphins. This company also offers thrill-a-minute WaveRunners, parasailing, and boat and kayak rentals along the same area south of Nags Head. Look for Grogs under the 30-foot wooden observation tower.
4. Nags Head Dolphin Watch
City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (252) 449-8999
Address: Nags Head–Manteo Causeway
Description: If you’re interested in bottlenose dolphins, this is the best way to get to know more about them. Nags Head Dolphin Watch is run by a team of independent dolphin researchers who conduct the trips to pay for their ongoing research. The team of expert naturalists leads dolphin watches through Roanoke Sound three times a day, six days a week, beginning the week before Memorial Day through the end of September. Two-hour tours are given on a speedy pontoon boat holding 36 people. Along the way you’ll see bottlenose dolphins and learn about their fascinating feeding and social behavior and also about local ecology, history, and wildlife. The researchers take photos of the dolphins’ dorsal fins on every trip, and they call dolphins they see by name.
City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: US 158, MP 13
6. Kitty Hawk Kites/Carolina Outdoors
City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (252) 441-4124
Address: US 158, MP 13
Description: This is the only dedicated kite store in the area, and it offers an enormous range of kites, from the backyard variety to competition style, which come with an instructional video. The staff is knowledgeable about what they sell, and they can help you pick out just the right kite for your skill level. In addition to lessons and repairs, they offer kite-making workshops in summer. There are several locations of Kitty Hawk Kites on the Outer Banks, but the Nags Head location across from Jockey’s Ridge has the largest selection. This company hosts several kite-flying events throughout the year, including the annual Outer Banks Stunt Kite Competition and Festival at Jockey’s Ridge in October.
7. Galaxy Golf
City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (252) 441-5875
Address: NC 12, MP 11
Description: Aliens, flying saucers, and outer space objects surround 36 lighted holes of minigolf at this popular Outer Banks course on the Beach Road. Galaxy Golf is open on weekends in Apr, early May, Sept, and Oct and daily throughout the summer. In-season hours are 9 a.m. to midnight. Children younger than four with a paying adult play free. The price doesn’t change after dark as it does on many minigolf courses.
8. Blackbeard’S Golf And Arcade
City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (252) 441-4541
Address: US 158, MP 16
Description: The Outer Banks’ most infamous pirate wields his 6-foot sword above these greens. Open daily, summers only, until at least 10 p.m., Blackbeard’s includes a video arcade for alternate entertainment after putting around.
9. Jurassic Putt
City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (252) 441-6841
Address: US 158, MP 16
Description: Life-size models of dinosaurs from the Jurassic period hover over and among Jurassic Putt’s greens, delighting kids and adults alike. Two 18-hole courses wind through caves and streams and around the dinosaur models. Jurassic Putt is open daily from mid-March until Nov. Hours are 9 a.m. until midnight. Call or stop by for rates.
10. Wild Bill’S Waterworks
City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (252) 441-9453
Address: US 158, MP 17
Description: Parasailing captains from the Waterworks can take you high. Uplifting experiences are offered daily from Apr through Nov. These 8- to 15-minute flights allow you to float at 400 to 1,400 feet; cost depends on how high you want to fly.
11. Whalebone Surf Shop
City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (252) 441-6747
Address: US 158, MP 10
Description: Surfer-owned and -operated, Whalebone boasts that it has been in business since the 1960s. Major brands of surfboards, and the best of the smaller brands, are available at this well-stocked store. Surfboard rentals are available for trials. The store is open year-round, but hours vary so call ahead.
City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: US 158, MP 11
13. Kitty Hawk Watersports
City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (252) 441-2756
Address: US 158, MP 16
Description: Dealing in windsurfing on the Outer Banks for more than 20 years, Kitty Hawk Watersports was one of the first windsurfing operations on the barrier islands. At its site on Roanoke Sound, the center is open almost all year-round and offers windsurfing instruction in spring, summer, and fall. With a $65, 2-hour lesson, instructors guarantee you’ll be skimming the Roanoke Sound on your own. Call the number listed for rates. Kitesurfing lessons are available, but rentals are not. Wind- and kitesurfing equipment is also for sale.
City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: US 158
15. Kitty Hawk Watersports
City: Nags Head, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (252) 441-6800
Address: US 158, MP 13
Description: A division of Kitty Hawk Sports, the kayak service offers tours ranging from 2 hours to extended expeditions and covers the soundside areas from Corolla to Portsmouth Island, including Pea Island and Alligator River. Launch sites are in Corolla, Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, and Avon. Sales and rentals are available. Lessons for any experience level, from beginner to advanced, are available. Two-hour tours start at $39 for adults, $25 for children. Alligator River tours cost $49 for adults and $25 per child. Kayak rentals start at $30 per day, depending on the craft.