Top 5 Things to Do in Outer Banks, NC
We recently spent a week on a family beach vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and it might just be our favorite trip yet! While we’ve visited before — usually staying in the Kitty Hawk and Nags Head area — this time we headed to Corolla, located on the northern end of the island chain. Corolla is known for its wild horses, quieter beaches, and a slower pace, and we found it to be the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure.
If you’re planning a trip to the OBX, this guide shares our top 5 things to do in the Outer Banks, plus some bonus ideas for shopping and exploring. From off-road wild horse tours to sunset views that look straight out of a movie, there’s something here for every kind of traveler!
Take a Wild Horse Tour in Corolla, NC
If you didn’t know, the Outer Banks have wild horses (specifically in Corolla)! They were first brought to the states by the Spanish in the 1500s. Since then, they have continued to call Corolla home! While they once boasted numbers in the thousands, they are now protected due to population loss (from development and the general population growth of the Outer Banks). If you want to learn more, we recommend visiting the Corolla Wild Horse Fund. Their website has a bit more detail on their journey, but they have a museum in Corolla that has a comprehensive history and lots of additional information on the horses!
While the Corolla Wild Horse Fund is a great place for information, they don’t offer tours. Instead, we booked with Wild Horse Adventure Tours because it was walking distance from the house we rented and had great google reviews. We were not disappointed! If you want to do a tour, we 100% would recommend them! Our guide was fun, knowledgeable, and engaging with all of us on the tour. She worked hard to make sure we saw horses (and even the foal!). Even when we weren’t seeing horses, she kept us engaged by telling us the history, facts about the area, or answering questions any of us had.
You aren’t guaranteed to see horses on these tours (as the horses can come and go as they please so aren’t always out and about), but, honestly, the tour is worth it even if you don’t see a single horse. The tours are done on open air, safari style hummers that give you great views of the ocean and the dunes! As well as the adventure of driving off road on the beach (which honestly is half the fun of the tour!).
If you want to do a tour, we recommend booking in advance (especially in busy season!). These are popular for families and couples and book up fast! For the tour, make sure to bring sunscreen and water (and we suggest leaving the hats at home as it can get pretty windy as you drive down the beach!). Now, get ready for adventurous game of seek and find to see who can spot the horses first!
2. Catch the Sunset at Jockey’s Ridge State Park
Jockey’s Ridge State Park is home to the tallest, active sand dune system in the eastern United States. And is the most visited state park in the North Carolina park system (with good reason!). Walking among the dunes is a surreal experience. As you walk along, you’re surrounded by sand dunes on all sides, giving the experience an other worldly feel (and was even compared to Star Wars by people when we were there visiting!) While it’s a popular location, the dunes are so vast that it still feels peaceful as there’s plenty of room for groups/families to spread out and enjoy their own little space.
To be honest, if you told us you would only do one thing off this list, then we would tell you to do this one. There’s nothing quite like watching the sun set over the dunes. As the sun starts to dip below the horizon, the dunes light up in shades of gold, orange, and pink. Standing on the dunes, warm sand over your feet and a salty breeze in the air, as you watch the sky dip lower and the sky stretch endlessly over head is an awe-inspiring moment that we think everyone should experience once in their life.
When you visit, here are a few suggestions to make sure you can fully experience the sunset in comfort: First, make sure you take shoes you can easily remove! While you can wear your shoes out on the dunes, we found it easier to take them off and walk through the sand barefoot! You can carry them with you, but also don’t feel weird about leaving them at the front with everyone else’s! Second, bring water. While it’s not a long hike along the dunes, walking in the sand can feel strenuous, especially in the summer heat. If you have extra time in your schedule, you can also try sand boarding or kite flying! We haven’t tried either, but have heard sand boarding is a great adventure. We’re looking forward to giving it a try next time we’re in town!
3. Visit the North Carolina Aquarium in Manteo
Ready to beat the heat or looking for the perfect rainy day activity in the Outer Banks? We highly recommend the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke, a family friendly experience great for both kids and adults alike! Located on the southern part of the island in Manteo, the aquarium focuses on conservation and works to inspire appreciation of aquatic animals and environments. And, to be honest, we think they do a great job. We’ve visited twice and each time left with a new found wonder for the ocean. The best part of visiting is the STAR (Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation) center. Here, they help injured turtles until they can be released back in to the wild. As a self proclaimed sea turtle lover, this was the best experience. The staff is knowledgeable and great at answering any and all questions you may have!
Included in the ticket price are select programs. They are based on season and availability, so always check when there will be a program on the day you visit, as they are worth making sure you see! They also have additional cost programs, such as behind the scenes shark feeding, so make sure you check out those as well!
We recommend planning about 1-2 hours to explore the aquarium depending on how much exploring you want to do and if you plan to watch any programs. During bad weather, tickets can sell out quickly, so if you know it’s going to be a rainy day, make sure to book your tickets as soon as possible.
Manteo itself is a charming spot, so if you are looking for more to do, we recommend exploring! We went to the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (they do a Roanoke story telling walk which we highly recommend!) and The Christmas Shop. If you’re looking for lunch, Poor Richard’s Sandwich Shop is a great place to stop!
4.Relax on the Best Beaches in the Outer Banks
No trip to the Outer Banks is complete without a full beach day — and trust us, Corolla Beach quickly became our favorite spot for relaxing and swimming. With soft sand and the sound of the waves crashing in the background, the Outer Banks has the perfect beach for relaxing. If you’re looking for a beach recommendation, we were in Corolla this visit and LOVED Corolla Beach. We found that not only was the area a bit more laid back, but so was the beach. Each day, the beach was busy, but we still found we had plenty of space to have our own patch of sand away from other beach goers!
We did 3 days on the beach during our week-long visit and found that was the perfect mix of sight-seeing and beach going! If you’re going to spend the day on the beach there are 3 necessities you’ll need and one we suggest to make the best of your time:
Sunscreen - There is nothing worse than getting sunburnt and having to limit your time in the sun for the rest of vacation (trust us, we’ve been there!). And also, skin cancer is a big concern if you spend a lot of time in the sun, so make sure you’re reapplying throughout the day! We love Sun Bum brand sunscreen. They have a lot of different SPFs and sunscreen products, but we typically use this one. (If you have a Costco membership, they have a 2 pack for about $20 the last time we were there, so definitely make a trip to load up!).
adding a subnote here to also say they Sun Bum has a scalp sunscreen mist which we had never seen before but we loved it! We typically just forget and end up with a sun burn on out scalp, but this really helped!
Cooler - When you’re out on the beach in the scorching sun, there’s almost nothing better than an ice cold drink. So make sure you pack your cooler with lots of water, sandwiches, and snacks! We spent a lot of our time out in the water and having cold drinks and snacks were a life saver! We also made what we called a beach drink and had those as well (they were called a sour shark - a mix of sprite, lemonade, and blue gatorade). We’re still drinking those weeks later trying to bring a beach vibe to our apartment pool!
Shade - You’re going to need somewhere to hide out from the blazing sun while you’re on the beach. It might not seem too bad at first but by the end of the day, you’ll wish you had something! We took a beach tent, but were also lucky that the house we rented had umbrellas for us to use. And we used both! The tent we used as a place to keep our beach bags and coolers out of the sun and also as a place to lay down out of the sun. The umbrellas we sat under with our beach chairs while we sipped our beach drink and read! Whether you want a tent or an umbrella, you’ll need some shade!
Boogie Board - Not a necessity, but we definitely think you’ll want to give boogie boarding a try while you’re at the beach. We spent almost all of our beach time stuck to the boards racing to see who could get the furthest and taking lots of tumbles as the waves knocked us off the boards! Adults and kids alike use these up and down the beach. You can get them at the link above, but if you don’t want to travel with them, you can find them at pretty much every grocery store and at any Super Wings store once you arrive!
We were lucky that our rental was walking distance to the beach, but if you aren’t staying that close, parking lots for the beach can fill up quickly, so we suggest getting there early and making a day of it! And if you’re feeling up to it, 100% watch the sunrise one morning! We did and it was beautiful. Its quiet and there were osprey and pelicans flying and dolphins lazily making their way down the coast line. If you aren’t a morning person, don’t worry, there’s plenty of action on the beach after dark. At night, the crabs come out, so head down around sunset and see how many you can find! Whether you are a beach lounger, crab hunter, or someone that loves jumping in the waves, a day spent at the beach is perfect for everyone!
5. Climb the Iconic OBX Lighthouses
You could probably spend a whole day visiting the lighthouses of the Outer Banks! Whether you enjoy the history of these lighthouses or just want a great photo op, these are the best lighthouses to visit!
First up: the tallest brick lighthouse in North America: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Known for its unique black-and-white stripes, this lighthouse stands 210 feet tall and was built to warn sailers of the dangerous Diamond Shoals in the area. It was eventually relocated in 1999 to protect it from erosion- which you can read about in the visitor center while you’re exploring! The lighthouse is typically open seasonally (April-October) for climbing and offers stunning views of the ocean. However, it’s currently undergoing restoration and most likely won’t reopen for climbing until 2026. That being said, it’s still worth a visit as the grounds and nearby beaches are great for exploring!
Bodie Island Lighthouse, like Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, has black and white stripes (though these are horizontal stripes!). It is not only open to visitors, but also a functioning lighthouse! This lighthouse is open seasonally (April-October) for climbing. In order to climb, you must purchase a ticket in advance (tickets are $10) and are subject to the rules listed on their webpage. If you aren’t up for climbing the 214 steps, no worries! On the grounds is a short boardwalk trail perfect for viewing the surrounding marshes from the ground!
Unlike Cape Hatteras lighthouse and Bodie Island Lighthouse, Currituck Beach Lighthouse is not striped - it’s made of brick! At 162 feet tall and 220 steps, this lighthouse offers great views of both the sound and the Atlantic ocean, so make sure to take your camera/phone to get great photos! Tickets to walk to the top are $13 and cannot be purchased in advanced. There is a table set up that you can pay before you walk up. Don’t worry if you don’t want to climb! This lighthouse also has a mini museum and a museum shop you can meander through!
These aren’t the only lighthouses on the island so if you’re a big history/lighthouse buff, you can also visit Ocracoke Island Lighthouse or Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse as well!
Bonus: 6. Where to Shop in the Outer Banks
Shopping is a great alternative for any time the rain makes outdoor adventures impossible! And also, is just fun in general. Whether you are looking for unique finds, fun souvenirs, or just want to do some window shopping, there is plenty of shopping to do in the Outer Banks! For souvenirs, we loved shopping at Super Wings. It’s your classic over the top souvenir shop and we stopped at more than one just to look around for fun!
One thing we like to do is stop at local bookshops when we travel and there are 2 on the island that we found and loved! One is Island Bookstores. There are multiple spread throughout the island but our favorite is the shop in corolla by the Corolla Wild Horse Fund museum! The second is Beach Books, which is located in the Timbuck II shopping village.
The Timbuck II shopping village has tons of shops of all different varieties and we had so much fun walking around exploring them all (though our favorite was Beach Books with the Fudgery in close second). If you’re up this way, we also suggest you make a stop in at Seaside Farm Market. They have fresh seafood and vegetables as well as wine slushies (!!).
Whether it’s your first trip to the Outer Banks or you’re coming back for more beachside fun, we can’t recommend these activities enough. From the thrill of spotting wild horses to watching the sun sink below the dunes at Jockey’s Ridge State Park, our week in the OBX was packed with unforgettable moments. We loved exploring Corolla's beaches, climbing historic lighthouses, and even sneaking in some shopping (and a few too many fudge samples!).
The Outer Banks truly has something for everyone — whether you’re an adventure seeker, beach lounger, or history buff. We’re already counting down the days until our next visit!
Have you been to the Outer Banks? Let us know your favorite OBX spots in the comments — we’re always looking for new things to add to our list for next time!
