Outer Banks; Corolla, NC??

[bethnjim]

My family is vacationing in Corolla, NC again this year. We went last year and had a WONDERFUL time. We rented a home with 7 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. I was wondering~~does anyone know of any cool things to do down there? I would like to surprise my husband with a day trip to see dolphins or something...maybe horses...taking ATVs out??? Any suggestions?

[EmilyBronte]

Our family owns a couple of houses in Corolla, and you can do both ATV trips to see the ponies, and kayaking to see dolphins. I don't have any information handy, but you can contact the company you rented the house through and they should be able to give you contact information for both type trips.

Corolla is awesome! I hope you have a great time.

[littlebear]

I know that the Inn at Corolla Light has a tour company on site that runs tours out to see the ponies. Have fun! I love Corolla.

[ManteoChik]

Hey there, I'm an OBX local and I answered this same question in my WC journal for another person so I figured I'd just copy over her to answer some of your questions. Keep in mind that since you're staying up in Corolla you will have to travel down to the Nags Head area for most of the activities.

Fun

The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama It's the longest running outdoor play anywhere. It is the story of the colonist. It's really fun but I sugguest buying your tickets in advance. It runs at night and starts when it gets dark outside. It's really a great show and I love going to see it every summer.

Kitty Hawk Kites I worked for this company for three years when I was in High School. It is a great place. They do Hang Gliding off of Jockey's Ridge (it's a beginner class and anyone from 85 - 225 pounds can do it) I think it costs $89.00 per person and it is WELL worth it, so much fun. They also do kayaking trips in like 7 different places on the outer banks and they are all really reasonable in price, I think about $35 per person. (they do a trip from the Sanderling Inn up in Corolla so it's a little closer to you). They also have a rock climbing wall as well as jet ski rentals and parasailing (both of those they have in Corolla) and kiteboarding. They really are like "the" company for outdoor activities on the OBX. Their website is.... www.kittyhawk.com (1-877-FLY-THIS is their number) and you can go to any of their stores to book trips or get more info. You can also call the main reservation number (where I worked most of the time) and book it online. Just keep in mind they have a 24 hour cancellation policy so if you book your trip the day before you want to take it you will not get a refund if you cancell, they will give you a voucher to come back and do it again someday.

Jockey's Ridge Even if you don't go hang gliding you can still go to Jockey's Ridge and climb the dunes and it's free. Kitty Hawk Kites is like a huge outdoor and kite and toy store with Columbia clothing. They have a whole upstairs devoted to kites of all prices, a lot of people go buy and kite and take it accross the street to Jockey's Ridge and fly them.
http://www.outer-banks.nc.us/tourism/jock1.jpg
http://www.kittyhawk.com/Images/HG/JRdunes.jpg

The Wright Brother's Monument This is where the Wright Brother's Flew the very first airplane. Park admission is like $4.00 a car - very cheap. You can climb up to the monument or go into the museum.
http://data2.itc.nps.gov/parkphotos/WRBR%20375x100%2Ejpg
Far away pic of the monument up on the hill

The Beach Last but not least the beach, it's free and beautiful. If you stay at a hotel on the ocean you can walk right onto the beach. If you stay on the island it's just a 4 min. ride over the bride and there are plenty of public beach accesses. If you have a 4-wheel drive truck then you can drive down on the beach at Oregon Inlet (just a south of Nags Head) and spend the day relaxing on the beach...it's free to drive on. When I was in high school we would all take everyone's trucks and a grill with coolers of food and spend the day at the beach grilling out and eating. It was a lot of fun and people still do that.

Food One of the most important things, here are just a few of my MUST GO TO places....

Basnight's Lone Cedar Cafe I was a Hostess there in high school until I was old enough to wait tables there. They have an awsome lunch menu that is reasonably priced, you MUST also go there for dinner (people can't help to go back). This restaurant is owned by Senator Marc Basnight and his daughters and wife. They all run the place and he walks around every night to say hello to everyone. They start serving dinner at 4:30pm....it may sound early but people line up. As long as you are there by 7:30 the wait shouldn't be too long but after that it can get up to 3 hours some nights (Well worth the wait....keep in mind they don't take reservations) You can eat eitehr inside or outside on the back patio...they open the enclosures if its nice but if the rain starts all they have to do is close them and you can still eat out there. They usually have a live band playing every night during the summer outside. http://www.lonecedarcafe.com 252-441-5405 You can see a sample of their menu on the website.


Owen's Restaurant Just down the street from Lone Cedar but they are pretty pricy. If you want to have one night out for a fabulous dinner, this is the place, they also don't take reservations but their Filet and Lobster is to die for and so is the Lobster Bisque....just makes me hungry thinking about it...lol.
Owen's Restaurant
Milepost 16 1/2, Beach Road
Nags Head, NC
252-441-7309

Sunset Bar and Grill
SUNSET GRILLE & RAW BAR
1270 DUCK RD, SOUTHERN SHORES, NC 27949
Phone: (252) 261-3901
~They are pretty good, my family pulls a banner for them and they are really nice people, they also have a live band most nights.


There are a ton of other places to eat but those are my favorites and when I still worked at Lone Cedar I would have people come back everyday to sit at my table and try something new. If you have anymore questions just ask.