9 Coolest Small Towns in the Outer Banks for a Summer Vacation

Many families plan their summer vacations months in advance. Some even start planning a day or two after they return home from last year’s vacation. While some families are looking for adventure, excitement, or maybe an exhilarating voyage on a cruise ship to another country, others might strategize a visit to an amusement park or even go camping, fishing, and hiking in a secluded park. Whether it is an exhilarating adventure or quiet solitude you yearn for, these coolest small towns in the Outer Banks are perfect for a summer getaway.

Nags Head

Nags Head, just south of Kill Devil Hills and east of Manteo, is a perfect summer getaway, especially if you love visiting the Outer Banks. Resting right on the Atlantic Ocean, Nags Head offers several opportunities for visitors. There are the beaches and sand dunes of Jockey’s Ridge State Park, famous for sighting raccoons, foxes, and deer in their natural habitats; Jennette’s Pier, known best for the Pier Piling Aquarium; and the First Flight Adventure Park, great for kids of all ages, and some adults. The Bodie Island Lighthouse also presents a magnificent view of the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound. You could even sign up for Farmdog Surf School and learn the techniques needed to tackle the waves.

Frisco

Frisco is a quaint village located in Dare County, between Hatteras and Buxton. It boasts a population of around 1,000 people and is a perfect place to take a vacation with the family for a variety of reasons. For one, it is a popular destination for fishing, boating, surfing, windsurfing, and even combing the beach with a metal detector for that rare find treasure in the sand. There are also several outside attractions available to the visitor, including Frisco Beach, Cape Hatteras, Buxton Woods Nature Trail, and Buxton Woods Coastal Reserve, which has a Summer Science School open for children of all ages.

Kitty Hawk

There are several attributes that make Kitty Hawk one of the coolest towns in the Outer Banks, even if you don’t include the rich history behind the Wright Brothers, the first people to invent, build, and fly the first successful motor-operated airplane at the nearby Kill Devil Hills. Kitty Hawk is also known for Adventure Bound, a tent-only campground with great amenities, and Sandy Run Park, one of the largest maritime forests remaining in North Carolina. Plus, if you want to create some memorable moments with friends or family, there is the Kitty Hawk Pier, which offers ample opportunities for fishing off the pier itself, and the Kitty Hawk Pier House, which is available for weddings, events, and special parties.

Manteo

Manteo, perhaps known best for its two lighthouses, the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse and Marsh Light, sits in the center of Roanoke Island, between Croatan Sound and Nags Head. This quaint town of just under 2,000 people offers something most other towns in the Outer Banks do not, a chance to visit the Roanoke Island Festival Park. Along with normal activities, like concerts, boardwalks, and delicious food, the festival park also offers visitors a historical dip into Algonquin culture, a stop at the Fossil Pit, and a view of the Elizabeth II, a representation of one of the English ships from the Roanoke Voyage of 1585. Also, just outside of Manteo, visitors to the area can fish, bird-watch, golf, bike, boat, and kayak.

Hatteras

Hatteras may be the most well-known town associated with North Carolina and the Outer Banks. The area offers the opportunity for visitors to climb the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and see the ocean, walk through the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum and check out different pieces from history, or book a ride with the family on the ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke Island and back. Also, for those who enjoy the peacefulness of nature, either from the back of a horse or on foot, one can sign up for a Hatteras Island horseback riding tour or even explore the beach on your own.

Ocracoke

Between Portsmouth and Hatteras lies Ocracoke Island. On Ocracoke Island, visitors can find the town of Ocracoke. Within the town of Ocracoke, visitors can find several opportunities not available anywhere else in the Outer Banks. There is Springer’s Point Reserve, which offers guests the chance to photograph a maritime forest, salt marshes, and wet grasslands. Also, if you feel more adventurous than that, you can make the climb up the Ocracoke Lighthouse, the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in North Carolina and the second oldest in the nation, or visit Ocracoke Beach, with photographic opportunities along the Mountain to Sea Trail, which runs nearly the entire length of Ocracoke Island.

Salvo

Another cool but quaint town located on Hatteras Island, one most people overlook, is Salvo. Yet, Salvo is a town worth taking the time to visit. There are several activities the traveler can experience only in the town of Salvo. Located at the southern tip of Hatteras Island and boasting a population of less than 500 people, Salvo offers an abundance of prospects for the summer vacationer. One could visit the Avon Pier, which provides great opportunities for several types of fishing, or take advantage of the wide beaches with access to Pamlico Sound. There are even opportunities to kiteboard, windsurf, take out a SUP (stand-up paddle boat), and surf the uncrowded waves.

Rodanthe

Rodanthe, just north of Salvo and the small town of waves on Pea Island, has more amenities than the average traveler would think of a town its size. There is the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, with over 200 species of birds, and Rodanthe Watersports and Campground, which offers visitors a chance to rent sailboats or stand-up paddle boats while staying at a campground located right on Pamlico Sound. Also, there are several opportunities for great food downtown, like Frank’s OBX Dog House, offering all beef hot dogs with a variety of fixings, like mac-n-cheese and bacon, and Good Winds restaurant, if you happen to want to taste the Atlantic Ocean on a plate. Plus, if you find yourself adventurous, there are always opportunities for kayaking, kiteboarding, lessons in surfing, and hang gliding nearby.

Duck

Duck, one of the northernmost towns in the Outer Banks, offers several cool amenities to visitors and residents alike. While all the opportunities that are available through many Outer Banks towns are available in Duck as well, like kayaking, boating, surfing, and sailing, Duck is the only one to provide the activity to visitors which gave it its name, duck hunting along the Currituck and Albemarle Sounds. If you consider relaxing in extravagance as the way to go, though, the Sanderling Resort, with plenty of ocean-view and sound-view rooms, can help you lounge away the days of your summer vacation.

So, whether you want to visit the Outer Banks this summer because of the adventures you and the family can enjoy together or because you wish to while away your vacation with a loved one or by yourself, these are the coolest towns in the Outer Banks. Some offer a quaint charm. Others offer exciting opportunities you may never have dared to try before. The one thing all nine of them share with each other is that they are worth the visit.