Plan your summer trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks

01.06.2024 - 09:13 / lonelyplanet.com

There must be magic in the air down on the Outer Banks. How else can you explain a place where wild horses frolic on a beach and humans can learn to fly?

That’s what I thought on my first visit there as a lifelong resident of landlocked states who, truth be told, rarely craved a beach getaway. They were never as idyllic as the postcards promised – I guess I’d just never gotten one from the Outer Banks. Like so many others, my wife’s family would make annual pilgrimages, and after they offered me an introduction, I finally “got it.”

The natural barrier islands protect roughly 200 miles of mainland North Carolina coasts from Atlantic storms despite themselves being delicate land formations mere hundreds of feet wide in some stretches. Home to a dozen national wildlife refuges, protected seashores and state parks, the combination of beauty and power, immense breadth and serene fragility, make for quite the draw.

And travelers have definitely noticed. Between four and five million people will make the trek to the Outer Banks – or OBX – this year, nearly double the numbers from 15 years ago, according to the local tourism bureaus and park authorities, meaning it pays to plan ahead. Despite the crush of attention, the coastal towns and soul-restoring views still retain that breezy charm – yet another example of the magic of the Outer Banks. Here’s my top tips for making the most of your trip.

Location is key in OBX as each town has a distinct feel, yet traveling between them has its challenges. Traffic on Hwy 12, the main artery throughout the Outer Banks, can harsh the vibes up north, while Ocracoke Island to the south is only accessible via ferry. Beachside parking lots are also smaller and fewer in number than you typically see at mainland beaches, so you’ll need to gauge how important it is to be easily walkable to a beach access point. Here are some of the highlights, listed from north to south.

Vibes: Upscale yet unpretentious mix of posh rental properties, shopping, and natural beauty. While geographically the Outer Banks start in far southern Virginia, typically people are referring to the communities of North Carolina when talking about OBX, and Corolla is as far north as you can drive in OBX without needing a beach-safe 4WD vehicle (Remember: pronounce the town name as kur-ALL-ah, and don’t get your kah-ROLL-ah stuck in the sand).

Do: Getting a glimpse of the wild mustangs, ancestors of Colonial Spanish steeds, on the dunes of Currituck National Wildlife Refuge is a trip-defining highlight. The nonprofit Corolla Wild Horse Fund has a resource page on how you can do this safely yourself if equipped with a 4WD, but if not, a plethora of local tour operators exist. In town, climb the steps at the Currituck