Imagine drifting off to sleep on a bed of soft sand with the murmur of waves gently kissing the sandy shoreline. A whispering breeze ruffles your tent, ushering in the sounds of nocturnal creatures and the salt-laden air. Now imagine waking up to a spectacular sunrise over the ocean as gulls begin to wheel and turn above the waves and dolphins play just off the beach. Welcome to an experience you won’t soon forget—camping on the Outer Banks. From spring through autumn, lovers of the outdoors make their way to the numerous campgrounds that line these barrier islands to experience nature. Whether choosing to bed down with nothing more than a tent and a sleeping bag or deciding to “camp” in a recreational vehicle, opportunities abound.
Overview
More than 100,000 people frequent the National Park Service campgrounds for their home away from home each year, while thousands of other nature lovers set up camp at privately owned campgrounds. Some private campgrounds only open during the summer season, offering few creature comforts besides cold showers, but others are year-round establishments providing electric and water hookups, sewage disposal, laundry facilities, swimming pools, game rooms, bathhouses, and cable television. Some campgrounds rent furnished RVs. All have well-maintained roads and drive-up sites that accommodate any type of vehicle. Note that taxes are not included in any of the prices quoted.
National Park Service campgrounds operate under the same rules and regulations and charge the same fees. NPS campgrounds do not take reservations (except the Ocracoke Campground between Memorial Day and Labor Day) and accept payment in cash or credit cards upon arrival. Sites operate on a first-come, first-served basis. The National Park Service provides lifeguards at Coquina Beach, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, south of the Frisco Pier at Sandy Bay, and on Ocracoke Island. For more information on any of the local NPS campgrounds, call (252) 473-2111, and check the NPS website for the most up-to-date information on the opening and closing dates of each campground: www.nps.gov/caha.
Camping on the beach is prohibited, as is wilderness camping in open areas, including Nags Head Woods, Kitty Hawk Woods, and Buxton Woods. But there is one spot where wilderness camping is allowed—Portsmouth Island. This now-uninhabited island is accessible only by boat.
Remember, these islands are home to a variety of wildlife, locals included. Please respect their homes by not littering or disturbing the environment in any way. We want to keep it just the way it is so you can enjoy camping again next year.
From early on these barrier islands have lured sunbathers, swimmers, surfers, and outdoor enthusiasts in search of excellent sportfishing and waterfowl hunting. The appeal has since widened to include more outdoor activities: windsurfing, hang gliding, parasailing, scuba diving, biking, golf, tennis, and in-line skating, just to name a few. And for a respite from these more strenuous workouts, you can choose among sightseeing cruises, ATV excursions, and beach-combing. We have entire chapters covering water sports, fishing, and golf. In this chapter we list some other recreation options.
Overview
Not all activities involve a fee. You can spend an afternoon walking the wide beaches searching for shells and pieces of sea glass or buy a kite and send it soaring atop the wafting winds. Bird-watching opportunities abound in the wildlife refuges along the Outer Banks; see the Natural Wonders chapter. Nags Head Woods offers both a shady respite during the heat of summer and a great place to take secluded hikes through one of the most marvelous preserved maritime forests on the Atlantic Seaboard. Bike paths line roads along the sounds and the sea, through towns, and along the Wright Brothers National Memorial. If you need to get to sea for a while and enjoy the Outer Banks from a different vantage point, ride the free state ferry to Ocracoke Island.
When you’ve had a little too much fun in the sun, there are indoor activities such as bowling alleys, movie theaters, roller rinks, and noisy, state-of-the-art video arcades. Don’t forget to check out the Kidstuff chapter for additional activities geared toward children.
If you’re looking for parks, the Dare County Parks and Recreation Department has several throughout the county, some with playgrounds, tennis courts, picnicking sites, and ball fields. Call (252) 473-1101, ext. 313, to find the one nearest you.
Water is the Outer Banks’ biggest draw. Everywhere you look on the Outer Banks there’s wet, wonderful H20—the deep, blue Atlantic Ocean; the wide, shallow Currituck, Croatan, Roanoke, and Pamlico Sounds; brackish bays and estuaries teeming with wildlife; thick, sopping marshes; and dark, man-made canals sluicing through the islands. And everywhere you look there are people on or in the water. Whether it’s on a surfboard, a kiteboard, a sailboard, a Jet Ski, a kayak, or just in a bathing suit, everyone eventually finds his or her way to the water. Numerous water-sports establishments happily accommodate anyone’s wish to get wet.
In this chapter we give you a rundown of water sports and a list of places to rent or buy equipment and take lessons. We list prices to give you a general idea of how much things cost, but be aware that prices are subject to change.
If fishing is your passion, these barrier islands should be enough to send you reeling. Situated as we are in the Atlantic, not only do we have fabulous close-range ocean and inlet fishing but we’re so close to the Gulf Stream and its bounty that offshore trips are just as popular. Half-day and full-day charters are available year-round, or if you’re a seasoned boater with an ocean-worthy vessel, you can make the trip yourself. If you’re looking to spend only a couple of hours’ worth of angling, you can surf fish along nearly 100 miles of wide sandy beaches, or you can wet a line at any one of a number of fishing piers. And that’s just covering the ocean. Our sound waters are home to numerous finned species, and interior freshwater ponds are stocked with fish. Outer Banks angling is the stuff of which dreams are made. The following fish stories are for real.
Overview
The International Game Fish Association lists 92 world records for fish caught in Outer Banks waters, though some of those are now retired. These record holders include a 405-pound lemon shark caught off of Buxton, a 67-pound amberjack caught in Oregon Inlet, a 41-pound bluefish, and a 72-pound red drum landed off Hatteras. A 348-pound bluefin tuna was caught in Hatteras waters as well, along with record-size black sea bass, Spanish mackerel, oyster toadfish, bigeye tuna, kingfish, and sheepshead landed in waters from Kill Devil Hills to Ocracoke. Even if you don’t tip the scales with a record-breaking catch, you’re bound to fill your coolers with anything from albacore to wahoo. Depending upon the season, where you fish, and your choice of bait, you’ll also find speckled trout, gray trout, flounder, striped bass (or rockfish), black drum, largemouth bass, tautog, cobia, a variety of pan fish, and the big attraction, billfish.
You might think that the variety here draws expert anglers, hence the great catches. Chances of a good catch are enhanced by physical conditions existing here that don’t exist anywhere else. And that’s no fish story! We outline these characteristics in the offshore section that follows.
Another factor that hugely influences the catch is our charter fleets. Many consider the local sportfishing boats, called Carolina boats, the most beautiful in the world, and these vessels house the complete package of brains, talent, and beauty. Our experienced captains are without peer, and their charter mates will awe you with their knowledge, their skill, and the manner in which they work. Some mates move as if their actions are choreographed: simultaneously working lines, assisting members of the fishing party, keeping the captain apprised of catches in progress, arranging poles, gaffing fish, and encouraging you to keep reeling when it feels as if your arm just won’t manage another revolution. A good mate is worth his or her weight in gold.
While anyone who’s ever gone fishing knows you can’t predict catches, the local charter boat captains know what species may be in the area, and they will guide you. Charters leave the docks for inshore and offshore fishing every day that the weather permits. When you call to book a boat, you may find it hard to decide what kind of trip to choose unless you’ve fished before. Booking agents at each marina will help you.
In the following sections we describe offshore and inshore angling, backwater, surf, fly, and pier fishing. Offshore trips generally leave the docks at 5:30 a.m. and return no later than 6 p.m. Inshore trips are half-day excursions that leave twice daily, generally at 7 a.m. and again around noon. Intermediate trips can last all day but generally don’t travel as far as the Gulf Stream.
If you decide to fish without a guide or charter captain, the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (800-682-2632) is a wealth of information. It’s your resource for all available licenses, including recreational, commercial gear, and standard commercial licenses. A license to land flounder is available only through this Morehead City office. The division publishes an annual recreational-fishing handbook, the North Carolina Coastal Waters Guide for Sports Fishermen, a comprehensive guide to licenses, limits, and sizes. The helpful staff will also direct you to the appropriate contacts for obtaining federal permits for tuna and other controlled species.
For information on freshwater fishing permits and regulations, you’ll need to contact the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission in Raleigh. The number for hunting and fishing licenses is (919) 662-4370. A regulations digest is available at sporting goods stores and tackle shops. Call either Wildlife Resources or the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries for information on motorboat registration.