North Carolina’s Outer Banks are like Mayberry RFD with surf. Although summers are a bit frantic, during the off-season life on these barrier islands kicks back to a stately Southern pace that can get even a Yankee talking like Andy Griffith.
In the months between September and May, the Outer Banks are relaxed, but rarely dull. Action junkies can stay amped by hangliding, windsurfing, kayaking, or riding some of the best waves on the East Coast. More sedentary types can cast a line for seasonal runs of bass, wahoo, tuna and king mackerel or take a long walk on a windblown beach with only the pelicans and dolphins for company.
Not far from where Orville and Wilbur Wright took their first flights, fledgling hangliders can take to the air over Jockey Ridge. The ridge, a migrating amalgamation of sand dunes, provides the elevation and soft landings ideal for neophyte birdmen. Kitty Hawk Kites in Nags Head can get you started for about $70, (800) 483-2808. The same outfit also runs kayak tours of Pamlico Sound.
Surfers say the prime season is “Rocktober” when the water’s warm enough to get by with a spring suit and the waves, mostly sand-bottom barrels, can break big. However, owing to its position close to the continental shelf, the Outer Banks and especially Cape Hatteras see consistent swell year round.
Windsurfers aren’t often becalmed on these islands. And when the breeze picks up top riders head to Canadian Hole, a small parking lot and launch area adjacent to Rt. 12 between Buxton and Avon. When it’s on, it’s not unusual to see sailboards stacked like pancakes on rigs from as far away as Colorado and Texas in the parking lot. Ocean Atlantic in Avon and Fox Watersports in Buxton rent sailboards in case you left yours at home.
Staying close to Cape Hatteras, that elbow of sand that dips into the confluence of the Labrador Current and the Gulf Stream, is a good bet to take advantage of rapidly changing wind conditions.
The towns around the cape, Buxton, Frisco and Avon, have ample accommodations in the off-season. Of the five National Seashore campgrounds, Frisco is the most scenic with tent sites tucked in between rolling dunes and stands of scrub oak. Unfortunately, it is only open from late May through the end of September. (The rest of the year local rollerbladers turn the campground’s undulating roadways into an unofficial skatepark.) Click the National Park Service for more info. Located on a back road in Buxton, Cape Woods is among the best private campgrounds. It’s open March though December and has secluded tent sites, RV hookups and hot showers for about $20 a night.
Probably the best deal on the islands in the off-season is cottage rentals. Three-bedroom beach houses rent for an average of $900 a week in the cooler months. See the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau for a comprehensive listing of realtors. Tripadvisor also has an up-to-date listing of vacation rentals; see Hatteras Island Vacation Rentals for more.
Getting there: Take 168 south from Norfolk, VA, and continue on 158 to the Wright Memorial Bridge near Kitty Hawk. Or, from the south, drive through Morehead City and continue north to Cedar Island where a $10- ferry ride can take you and your car to Ocracoke, southernmost and least developed of the big barrier islands. Call ahead to reserve a space on the ferry (800) 856-0343.
