Outer Banks, NC - Things to Do!

We recently took a family vacation to Kill Devil Hills in the Outer Banks, NC. Beach areas like this make for great vacations with extended family. The Outer Banks are filled with beaches, restaurants and historical sites. Here is a list of things to do in the Outer Banks and our review of them.

Jockey's Ridge State Park - Dare County

Anytime somewhere is free to enter while you are on vacation you can consider that a win. Price aside this place was incredible. It is comprised of large sand dunes that give you the feeling of being in the desert. Note: if you are traveling here keep in mind it can be a brutal, tiring walk up the sandy dunes. Some members of your party may need help.

When you first enter the dunes, it looks like they are going to go on for miles. It is only once you get to the top of the dunes and you have a wonderful panoramic view which includes the ocean and the bay, that you remember you are still on a beach island. The wind is really strong here. This is my kids first experience with a kite, and it is the perfect set up for success. The wind picks the kites up easily and the fly for a long time. It is a great introduction to flying a kite. For those looking for more activities, there is Hang Gliding offered for a fee.

Depending on your level of adventure, you could spend a couple of hours or more here.

👍Kellie, Isabelle, Preston - loved it, lots of fun to fly kites

👎Jordan - to windy, the sand blowing around made it so I couldn't see

Currituck Light House - Corolla

It was $13 per person to enter the lighthouse, which seemed steep. I just looked on their website and 77% of admission is tax deductible as a charitable donation. So, I'll save that receipt for my accountant and see what she says :)

I don't climb many lighthouses, and this is the first my kids have been in. There are 220 steps in total so there is a workout involved here. There are railings so that helps a little if you aren't a good climber. I tried counting the steps on the way up and only got to 216 so I must have lost count or didn't include the few steps leading up to the lighthouse.

If you are scared of heights or think you might be I wouldn't necessarily recommend this one. However, the panoramic view you get once you are on top is absolutely incredible. I will tell you I ventured to the edge of the walkway at the top but for the most part I clenched against the lighthouse. It was really windy. Sometimes you don't know you have a fear of heights until you experience heights. Preston did not want to be on the outside at the top of the lighthouse, and I completely get that. One large gust and he could have become a kite. The walk down was a lot easier than the walk up.

There is a visitor center on site. This was free! This included a historical video about Corolla. The video was interesting. It took you through the early days of the Currituck Sound being a destination for duck hunting. It built on how this activity influenced the economics of the area. The hunters made hunting clubs, which in turn needed employees. They needed decoys for their hunting expeditions so it created jobs for those who could make duck decoys. I'm not sure the kids loved the video, but I found it very fascinating.

👍Jordan - beautiful view

👎Kellie, Isabelle, Preston - to many steps, to expensive, thought I might die

Whalehead Club

This tour takes about 45 minutes. It is a walk through ipad guided tour. If you don't want to listen to the stories and you just want to see what the house looks like you could probably get through it in 5-10 minutes. But it costs around $5-7 per person, so you might as well enjoy the historical story being told.

The house is a 21,000 sq feet and 5 stories in Currituck Heritage Park. According to our tour guide, the home took 4 years to build and 4 years to restore. The view from the front porch is incredible. You could definitely hang out on the porch all day if they would let you. The home was built for Edward Knight and his wife Marie-Louis LeBel. The intricacies of the house and the woodwork in it were really impressive. It was also interesting to see and hear how the rich back in the day lived.

One of the stories that intrigued me was that the real-life James Bond was at one of the parties and this is where the character came from. I totally could have misunderstood that though.

Overall, this was interesting, but I don't suspect it was the kid's favorite adventure. If you are a fan of history or architecture I would suspect this is a neat place to visit.

You weren't allowed to take pictures here, for safety purposes. 🤷🏻‍♂️

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👎Kellie, Jordan, Isabelle, Preston - creepy, resource guarding by the employees, couldn't touch anything, couldn't take pictures

North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island

Aquariums are always fun. We had a day that was listed in the weather app as overcast with possible rain. It turns out everyone with kids had the same idea. We all went to the aquarium. It was bonkers. The cost is around $13 but if you are a AZA (Associate of Zoos and Aquariums) member you can get a 50% discount on 4 tickets. Make sure you collect your discount if you are a reciprocal member.

The aquarium was on the smaller side of aquariums I have been to. But the kids loved it. Some of their favorite animals were the otter and the jellyfish. The otter was very active while we were there swimming back and forth for everyone to see. The jellyfish looked like they were in the fluorescent area at Spencer's (store in the mall, if anyone goes to malls anymore).

The petting area was cool. The kids spent a lot of time here picking up sea creatures and petting stingrays. I really enjoyed the large tank that held the sharks. We just missed feeding time, but it was still fun to watch these large creatures swimming past the glass. It made for a good picture area as well.

This facility has a Turtle rescue and rehabilitation center. You can walk through and see various turtles that are being nursed too healthy again. There is an interactive area at the end where you can analyze and rehabilitate a turtle. It was fun for the kids. The downside was there are only about 6 turtles to rehabilitate, with 2 stations that have 4 computers each and there are about 15 kids in line. The process is slow and takes about 5 minutes.

You're looking at about 2 hours at the aquarium, unless you really love marine animals. It was a fun 2 hours though and I would do this again next time we are in Outer Banks.

👍Jordan, Isabelle, Preston - it was cute, loved the otters, the turtle exhibit was fun

👎Kellie - dinky

Festival Park - Roanoke

If you enjoy history and educational experiences this may be a good option for you. Admission was $11 for adults and $8 for kids. Festival Park provides the history of the voyage of the 1585 colonists. Among the sites is a replica of the Elizabeth II, that was used for the voyage. The living quarters on the ship were not large at all and to my best recollection the person working the ship told me there were 100 people on the ship. I couldn't have done it. I would have been way to claustrophobic.

The highlight for us was the interactive village area. This area included many contracted positions who were used to build the settlement. Of them there was a Blacksmith, who hung out making nails. It looked like a lot of work to get one or two nails. Each family left with a nail as a souvenir. We plan to use the nail in a spot in the house as a reminder of the trip. I couldn't imagine that painful of a process today to get a nail. There was a Woodsman (there's probably a better term) who had an interesting contraption using a long bow he found in the woods and a foot pedal to make wood pieces. Finally, there was a person manning the pillory, the wooden contraption you put your head and arms in if you are being punished.

There was a museum there as well to expand your knowledge even further about the history of the island. The Lost Colony from 1587 is a very interesting story and a big mystery. Outside the back of the museum is a large unoccupied field with a stage. There must be shows in the busy season. But this gave us a fun place to play outside.

Again, if you like history or you enjoy learning this is a good place for you. If you aren't familiar with the history of the island, the colonies or if you don't enjoy reading a lot, I would highly suggest bringing a friend or family member who knows the history. It's fantastic! It's like having your own private tour guide to explain everything to you.

👍Kellie, Isabelle, Preston - good but don't need to go back, fun but could have more to do

👎Jordan - didn't really like it

Duck - Boardwalk and shopping

About 20 minutes away from Kill Devil Hills is a little city called Duck. This is where the first Duck Donuts was. If you haven't had Duck Donuts you should make this a priority if you see one. If I need a donut on a regular basis, I prefer Dunkin' over Duck but for a once in a while treat Duck is the way to go. All you really need is the basic Cinnamon Sugar donut to be fulfilled but there are so many options available.

Duck is an area for Shopping. It is a bit of a walking tour. There is a boardwalk that spans about a mile on the Currituck Sound. One thing I discovered is there aren't a lot of bathrooms along the path so plan accordingly. The boardwalk itself is more of a nature walk. We saw a bunch of fish, turtles, ducks, etc. The shopping is mostly quaint shops at the ends and there is access to a SuperWings and Life is Good store about halfway through.

Tip: if your party has two cars park one at the beginning and one at the end. You will thank me later. Credit this tip to my brother-in-law. He saved me so much energy from walking back.

This is a potentially free experience so you can't beat the price as long as you have the ability to say no when you are asked to buy stuff.

👍Kellie, Jordan, Isabelle, Preston - loved it!

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Sugar Planet

It's exactly what it sounds like. A store filled with candy. A place where kids could spend all your money quick. They will love it. But just be careful if you let them but candy by the pound. There are no scales so that stuff adds up quickly. Its $15 per pound. A pound isn't that much. Then they have candies that are just filled with liquid. Liquid is heavy.

This place has candy, clothing, stuffed animals, baked goods, ice cream. You really can't go wrong at Sugar Planet and the Kids will love it!

👍Kellie, Jordan, Isabelle, Preston - loved it!

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Super Wings

Driving through the Outer Banks, it felt like there was one of these at every corner. And when there wasn't one at the corner, there was a Super Wings across from a Super Wings. You really couldn't miss it. I assume each store carries the same goods, but we only went in two of them not all 20.

This is your typical shore destination tchotchke shop. They have some good deals. Lots of clothing! Lots of toys! Lots of swimwear and beach items! Lots of coffee mugs! Lots of inflatables! For us that looks like lots of props for our videos! Yep, we bought a giant chicken for $60 that squawks for 45 seconds. It's the most impressive yet most annoying chicken you have ever encountered. We bought a couple of mugs that are supposed to be 2 for $20 but the cashier was struggling so hard with the 4 things she had to ring up I just didn't have the heart to let her know about the price differential. You could see from the panic in her eyes and looking around for another employee she knew the price was wrong, but I let her know I was good to pay. You win some you lose some. But the mugs were great addition because at our AirBnB the mugs provided were only 6-8 ounce mugs.

👍Kellie, Jordan, Preston - good souvenirs

👎Isabelle - there was good stuff but it was overpriced

Wright Brothers National Memorial

There is supposed to be a fee to enter, however, it was slow, so we were able to get in for free! Here you will learn the history of the Wright Brothers and their first flight. There are great props to view. A bit of reading is required in the museum area. There is a runway so you can watch small planes take off. The memorial is built out on a huge hill. It is a lot of work to walk up the hill, but the way down isn't too bad. This doesn't take long. Maybe an hour because of the walking between the museum and the memorial. Pro tip: after the museum pull the car up to the foot of the memorial where there is parking. Save yourself a walk back.

👍Kellie, Isabelle, Preston - fun, cool history, fun to run down the hill

👎Jordan