Corolla Attractions
The main Corolla attraction is the oceanfront—miles and miles of beaches that are lined with fabulous Corolla vacation rental homes. You’ll find plenty of other things to do here including lots of shops and restaurants, fishing adventures and other water sports.
The Whalehead Club and the Currituck Beach Lighthouse are the two major Corolla attractions for visitors in the area. Everyone loves climbing the lighthouse, and people return year after year to see the unique architecture at the historic club. The newest Corolla attraction at Currituck Heritage Park is the Center for Wildlife Education.
Just north of the lighthouse is old Corolla village. Here you’ll find old homes, quaint shops and friendly folk in an atmosphere that is very different from the rest of the beach.
Just when you think you’re getting somewhere, the paved road ends abruptly at the beach. You can keep going, however, driving on the beach into what the locals call the “four-wheel drive area,” up to Penny’s Hill, Swan Beach and Carova Beach, where there are more Corolla rental homes and a few full-time residents, including wild horses. About 10 miles up the beach, there’s a gate blocking you from entering the state of Virginia. This is the ending point of Currituck’s Outer Banks. You have to turn around and go back the way you came.
Back Country Wild Horse Safari
- 107 Austin Street, Corolla Light Town Center
- Corolla
- (252) 453-0877
- map
Scott Trabue’s Wild Horse Safari is a unique off-road eco-adventure that will deliver you and your family directly to the wild Spanish Mustangs that have thrived on the northern Outer Banks for nearly 500 years. Your naturalist guide will carry you through 30 miles of beaches, dune and back country sand lanes to discover the Outer Banks wildlife. Shore life including pelicans, dolphins and osprey are almost always present. You will hear stories about the Ghost Fleet and Outer Banks maritime history and learn about the mysterious petrified forest. Back Country Outfitters has exclusive access to the Spanish Mustang Reserve, where sightings of these regal wild horses is guaranteed while your tour guide explains their Spanish Colonial heritage and the local preservation efforts. Travel in custom open-air Safari Cruisers, semi open-air or a private 4x4 Suburban with AC. Reservations are required.
Beach Jeeps of Corolla
- 1159 Austin Street, Corolla Light Town Center
- Corolla
Beach Jeeps of Corolla is a great way to see the northern beaches of Corolla and the area’s famous wild horses. The Jeep Safari is a self-guided tour that follows a pre-planned route. They also now offer guided tours, and whether guided or self-guided, you’ll see wild Spanish horses, Penny’s Hill, Swan Beach and the canals of Carova Beach. In addition to the wild horses, you may see deer, red fox and dolphins. Tours traverse 26-miles of beach and last about two hours. They are a great way to explore the secluded northern beaches and see local wildlife in their natural habitat.
Bob’s Corolla Wild Horse Tours
- 1066 Ocean Trail, Inn at Corolla Light, N.C. Highway 12
- Corolla
- (252) 453-8602
- map
Bob White and his trained staff have been offering tours for a long time in this area and have a great reputation for being entertaining and informative. Bob’s tours last two hours and incorporate quite a bit of local history to complement the sightseeing. At the beginning, your guide will take you past the Whalehead Club and lighthouse and through Corolla Village, showering you with some interesting lore. Then it’s up to the four-wheel-drive area, where you’ll see the horses grazing in their natural habitat. Bob’s tours are mostly given in their new open-top vehicles — one of a kind experience! — and they can accommodate large groups. Call for details and reservations. All tours have a money back guarantee if you don’t see the horses.
Corolla Outback Adventures
- 1150 Ocean Trail
- Corolla
Before there was a paved road from Duck to Corolla, the Bender family was offering guided tours to the beaches north of Corolla Village in 1962. Today’s guided tour with Corolla Outback Adventures is a 2.5-hour, 20-mile round trip on the beach toward False Cape State Park at the NC/VA border. The Wild Horse Conservation Area is on land donated by the Bender family for the protection of the herds and is well off the beaten path. Along the tour, experienced guides provide a wealth of information that includes history and colorful folklore. Different types of vehicles, some self driven, and special customized group tours are available to serve every need. Reservations are necessary.
Corolla Wild Horse Fund and Eighth Annual Wild Horse Days of the Outer Banks
- 1126 Schoolhouse Lane, The Wild Horse Museum/Heritage Park/Corolla Light Town Center
- Corolla
Help protect and care for the wild horses by attending Wild Horse Days! This three-day festival on July 5, 6 and 7 takes place at the Wild Horse Museum. On Tuesday the 5th, you can enjoy tasting a variety Wild Horse wines from Wild Horse Winery and Vineyards from Templeton, CA, and Sanctuary Vineyards in Jarvisburg, NC. Get a signature glass as well as a great bargain at the huge silent auction. Enjoy live music, food, lots of kid’s activities; hair braiding and games. Then, on Wednesday the 6th, you can meet and ride gentled wild horses at Currituck Heritage Park where everyone will love the Dusty and Rawhide Show, and where you can watch wild horse training. Finally, on Thursday the 7th, you’ll enjoy tasting microbrews from the Weeping Radish and OBX Brewing Station at the Wild Horse Museum. There will also be music, food and kid’s activities.
The purpose of the event is to educate the community and raise awareness about the need to permanently protect the wild horses as well as to raise funds to support their caregivers, the nonprofit Corolla Wild Horse Fund. The Fund protects, preserves and manages the historic herd of Colonial Spanish Mustangs that roams the 7,550 acres of beaches, maritime forests, marshes and open pasture north of Corolla. Currently there are about 100 horses in the herd, and there are always gentled horses available for adoption.
Corolla Wild Horse Museum
- 1126 Schoolhouse Lane, Corolla Schoolhouse, Corolla Town Center
- Corolla
Housed within the restored schoolhouse of Corolla Village, the museum shares the wonderful history and legacy of the Colonial Spanish Mustangs. Descendents of Spanish Mustangs brought to our island nearly 500 years ago, they are a hardy and majestic breed that is teetering on the brink of extinction.. At the museum the whole family can learn more with interactive, hands-on activities, photography and historical information.
Here are some special events for the summer:
Paint your own wild Colonial Spanish Mustang! The Corolla Wild Horse Fund sponsors horse painting for kids every Tuesday and Thursday, from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Hours are 11 to 2. Paint, brushes and smocks are provided, and kids of all ages can join in the fun. Artists can choose from large wooden horses attached to trees that stay up all week for passersby to admire or wooden horse cut-outs to go and paint later. A $6 donation is accepted for large horses and a $4 donation for the ornament-sized cutouts. Artists who can’t stay to paint or who arrived too late can purchase kits complete with paint to take home. All proceeds benefit the wild horses.
On Wednesdays, weather permitting, a gentled Colonial Spanish Mustang will visit the Schoolhouse from 11 to 2. Corolla Wild Horse Fund staff and trained volunteers will provide interesting information about the history of wild horses and how visitors to the Outer Banks can help to save this dying breed. Petting is encouraged! Kids, come early and participate in their new craft activities.
Take the Trip of a Lifetime riding with the Corolla Wild Herd Manager, the expert in charge of the actual management and care of the wild herd. Trip of a Lifetime is a benefit of membership and all funds raised go right back into the care and protection of the wild horses.
On Fridays, at their second location in Corolla Town Center, ride a gentled Colonial Spanish Mustang around the ring while raising awareness and funds to help this critically endangered breed. Look for the rearing copper mustang as a landmark.
Currituck Outer Banks Visitors Center
- 500 Hunt Club Drive
- Corolla
- (252) 453-9612
The recently renovated Currituck Outer Banks Visitors Center offers restrooms plus all the visitor information and assistance you’ll need for a trip to Corolla and its surrounding areas. You’ll find it on the west side of N.C. Highway 12 on the south end of the Currituck Outer Banks; if heading north, start looking for it on the left after you pass the Hampton Inn.
Currituck County also operates the Currituck County Welcome Center on the NC/VA state line next to the Border Station convenience store. It offers restrooms, free WiFi and coffee and tons of information and assistance for visitors. Passengers, go ahead and pick up the local publications here because you still have an hour’s ride from here to Corolla.
Rick’s Jeep Adventures
- 610 Clubhouse Drive, Shoppes at the Currituck Club
- Corolla
Lots of folks love to rent a Jeep and take off on their own tour. But if you’re more into having a guide, this business lets you combine the best of both worlds. Here, you rent either a two-door or four-door beach optimized Jeep then follow along behind one of the guided tours led by Wild Horse Adventure Tours. You’ll see wild horses (money back guarantee!), frolicking dolphins, deer and occasionally a wild fox or pig. In addition, you’ll be exploring some of the most beautiful, wild beach environments on the East Coast. An added benefit of following an experienced guide is that their knowledge of where to drive—and, more importantly, where not to—helps preserve this fragile coastal area.
Wild Adventure Horse Tours
- 610 Currituck Clubhouse Road
- Corolla
There was a time when you could look out your rental cottage window and see wild horses traveling in herds and maybe eating your grass, but, for the good of the horses, that is no longer so. The wild horses were relocated to the four-wheel-drive area north of Corolla, so you must have an off-road vehicle if you want to see them. Wild Horse Adventure Tours can be your guide! They have three ways to get you into horse country. First is in a Suburban (a closed vehicle) driven by one of their seasoned guides, the second is in an open-top vehicle also driven by one of their guides, the third is to rent one of their Jeeps and drive yourself following one of their guides. The guides at Wild Horse Adventure Tours know exactly where to look for the horses, they know how to drive in the sand and they know a lot about the history of the area, making for a much more enlightening trip on your part. They’ll also point out snakes, shore birds, plants and interesting natural aspects of this oceanside environment. They run many scheduled trips per day — if you want to see real beauty, check out their sunrise excursion — so call to get all the details and make a reservation. Horse sightings are guaranteed.
CAMA Sound Boardwalk
- 1101 Corolla Village Road, Currituck Heritage Park
- Corolla
This boardwalk cuts through a small portion of swamp forest and brackish marsh. The variety of flora and fauna you’ll see here is astounding. Sweet gum, red maples, black willows, live oaks and loblolly pines are intertwined with wild muscadine grapes, Virginia creeper and winged sumac. Shrubs like American holly, wax myrtles, yaupon and bayberry fill in the lowlands, while plants like swamp mallows, morning glory, ferns, honeysuckle and pennywort add texture and color to the landscape.
Toward the sound, tall reeds and cattails swish in the breeze. The boardwalk ends at a nice resting spot on Currituck Sound, an absolutely perfect place to watch the sunset. Animals you might see along the way include nutria, deer, raccoons, muskrats, red or gray fox, river otters, possums, turtles, snakes and a great variety of birds, including songbirds, wading birds, osprey, terns, killdeer, gulls and others, depending on the time of year.
Corolla
- Overview Information
- Corolla
Corolla is a hugely popular vacation destination. First and foremost a summer resort area, Corolla accommodates seaside vacations with upscale rental homes and condominiums, watersports outfitters, a variety of restaurants and shops and several of the most popular attractions on the Outer Banks. Nevertheless, the beach is the main focus of Corolla. The clean, wide beaches are spacious and uncrowded, especially in the off-season.
Since it’s a relatively new developed area (most of the houses and shopping centers were built in the 1990s), Corolla is known for its upscale offerings and polished appearance. At the other end of the spectrum, north of Corolla’s paved roads is the Swan Beach and Carova area, a wild and rugged place accessible only by four-wheel-drive vehicle. Rental homes in the four-wheel-drive area range from small and rustic to astonishingly palatial, but it’s the remoteness of the area that is the biggest draw.
Corolla is home to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse (climb to the top for an awesome view), the Whalehead Club historic house museum and the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education, which offers free outdoors-oriented programs year round. The most famous Corolla attraction is the Corolla wild horses, which roam free in the four-wheel-drive area; several outfitters offer tours to the area to see the wild horses.
Corolla Jeep Rentals and Tours — Guided Tours
- 1070 Ocean Trail, Whalehead Bay Shoppes
- Corolla
- (252) 453-6899
Corolla Jeep Rentals and Tours offers guided tours of the off-road area, including their own private 400-acre Hunt Club. Guided tours are two hours long and conducted in comfy 15-passenger vans or Suburbans. You can also rent a soft-top Jeep and take off on a self-guided tour with the aid of the navigation systems provided in the Jeeps. These tours last two-and-a-half hours, and the navigation system sends you on a course where wild horses are usually spotted. You’ll see beautiful, remote beaches and wildlife. Corolla Jeeps is one of the few that is open year round, and they say they can pretty much find horses for you every day.
Corolla Wild Horses
- North of Corolla
- Corolla
The Corolla wild horses are recognized as a significant cultural and historical resource by the state of North Carolina and in 2010 were designated as the North Carolina State Horse. The herd is protected and monitored by the not-for-profit Corolla Wild Horse Fund Inc. of Corolla. The Fund has been working with Congressman Walter Jones and other legislators on the passage of federal legislation entitled The Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act.
To learn more about the horses or to schedule a Trip of a Lifetime to see the horses with the Herd Manager, visit the Wild Horse Museum or their website, www.corollawildhorses.org, or call 252-453-8002. Remember, the horses are wild. It is also against the law to get within 50 feet of them (five car lengths), feed or bother them in any way. Please obey the Wild Horse Ordinance, help to protect the wild horses and admire them from a respectful distance.
Currituck Banks National Estuarine Research Reserve Access Trail
- Soundside, End of N.C. Highway 12, north of Corolla
- Corolla
This beautiful boardwalk leads two-thirds of a mile from the road to the sound, traversing through maritime evergreen forest, swamp forest and brackish marsh. Along the way, you’ll see live oaks and loblolly pines, yaupon, holly, bayberry and wax myrtle, plus, closer to the water, sedges, cattails, black needle rush and giant cord grass. You may see signs of animals, like scat or tracks, or possibly the animals themselves. Birders love this boardwalk because it gives them the ability to go deep into several habitats without getting so mucky.
Along the boardwalk are a couple of places to rest and an information kiosk. In addition, there are six interpretive signs along the route that explain barrier island ecology. At the end, the boardwalk has bench seats that look out over a creek and the sound with the final informational panel. It’s serene, quiet and absolutely beautiful on the soundside.
Part of the North Carolina Estuarine Research Reserve, this 960-acre area is protected in its natural state for use as a natural laboratory. Much of the land in this area is protected. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages the 4,000-acre Currituck Banks National Wildlife Refuge north of here for waterfowl, wading birds and shorebirds.
Currituck Beach Lighthouse
- 1101 Corolla Village Road, Currituck Heritage Park
- Corolla
- (252) 453-4939
The red-brick Currituck Beach Lighthouse towers above the northern Outer Banks landscape in the historic Corolla Village. Visitors can climb the winding staircase, 214 steps in all, to the top of the lighthouse for a panoramic view of Currituck Sound, the Atlantic Ocean and the Currituck Outer Banks. Inside the lighthouse, at the base and on the first two landings, there are museum-quality lighthouse exhibits. On the way up or down, stop to learn about the history of coastal lighthouses, the Fresnel lens, shipwrecks and the lighthouse keepers.
The 162-foot lighthouse was first lit on December 1, 1875. Onsite keepers, who lived in homes in the surrounding buildings, operated the lighthouse until it was automated in 1939. With automation, the lighthouse no longer required a regular keeper. The lighthouse and its outbuildings fell into disrepair for 40 years until a nonprofit group called Outer Banks Conservationists (OBC) stepped in to save the lighthouse in the 1980s. OBC renovated the keepers’ buildings to re-create their past glories and restored the lighthouse to make it safe to climb. In July 2003, The U.S. Department of the Interior awarded OBC ownership of the lighthouse.
It costs only $7 to climb the lighthouse (cash or check, please), and children ages 7 and younger climb for free. The lighthouse is open daily from before Easter through Thanksgiving. Climbing hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 8 p.m. on Thursdays in the summer. During extreme weather, the lighthouse is closed to climbing.
The nearby Double Keepers’ House is not open to the public, but it makes for great photographs. You can go inside the small Keeper’s House, which was transformed into the Museum Shop and stocks everything lighthouse-related you could ever imagine. T-shirts, hats, books, postcards, blankets, taffy, ornaments, jewelry, magnets, figurines and more fill this former keeper’s residence.
Dolphin Watch Gallery
- 793 Sunset Boulevard, TimBuck II Shopping Village
- Corolla
- (252) 453-2592
This is an interesting gallery with a soothing atmosphere, perfect for calming overloaded senses after a day of shopping. This gallery features original fine art from pottery, jewelry, carvings and etchings to stained glass, mosaics and metal works. Inquire about the custom stained-glass and mosaics work done by local artists. Look for the popular Danish-designed jewelry by Pandora. They have beautiful, original watercolor and oil paintings, and custom framing is available. Dolphin Watch Gallery is open year round.
Ocean Treasures Gift Shop & Art Gallery Featuring Wyland, Thomas Kinkade, Guy Harvey & Dan Mackin
- 785 Sunset Boulevard, TimBuck II Shopping Village
- Corolla
- (252) 453-2383, (252) 453-8967
Have you ever seen a 7-foot-tall triple dolphin sculpture? That’s why this shop is called Ocean Treasures—they offer work from some of the most exacting sea life sculptors. This shop features Thomas Kinkade and Wyland artworks and gift items. You’ll find paintings, sculptures, clothing, children’s items, jewelry, music boxes and magnets and works from Dan Mackin, Guy Harvey and Walfrido.
Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education
- 1100 Club Road, Currituck Heritage Park, N.C. Highway 12
- Corolla
- (252) 453-0221
The Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education in Corolla offers great educational programs all year long that focus on the theme of exploring coastal North Carolina’s natural history and heritage. The daily free programs teach participants about such topics as birding, sound ecology, ocean ecology, animal tracking, orienteering, sea turtles, fishing and much more. Advanced registration is required for all programs. They are happy to work with schools and groups; just contact the program coordinator to schedule your visit. Permanent exhibits focus on conservation, waterfowl and hunting heritage, natural history, local heritage, ecology and fishing. Highlights of the exhibits are an aquarium and real-life marsh exhibit. The 22,000-square-foot building houses an auditorium with a video program, an exhibit hall, classrooms and a gift shop. The location of the center is on the sound between the Whalehead Club and Currituck Beach Lighthouse. All are open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. but are closed on Sundays year round.
Tar Heel Trading Co.
- 790 Ocean Trail, TimBuck II Shopping Village
- Corolla
- (252) 453-3132
For more than 30 years, Tar Heel Trading Company has been bringing American handcrafts to the Outer Banks. With two distinctive locations in Corolla and Duck, the focus is on American quality, style and function. There is something for everyone from designer jewelry to kaleidoscopes; blown glass to pottery, all carefully selected and reasonably priced.
The Mystic Jewel
- TimBuck II Shopping Village
- Corolla
- (252) 453-3797
The Mystic Jewel sells top-quality, irresistibly unique jewelry made of semi-precious gemstones set in sterling silver and 14 karat gold. Every piece of jewelry is either made on site or personally hand chosen. The staff has great knowledge of their products. Custom jewelry design, jewelry repair, watch battery replacement and pearl knotting are also offered. They honor the mystical powers of gemstones and the way they help our bodies, minds and spirits. Check out their companion shop,The Mystic Gift, just across from this store. They also have shop in the Scarborough Lane Shopping Center in Duck.
Village Garden
- 1129 Corolla Village Road, Corolla Village behind the Lighthouse Garden Shop
- Corolla
In the early days, the villagers raised their own food or caught it in the sea or shot it out of the sky. Everyone had a vegetable garden and fruit trees to provide fresh produce, and most everything was canned and preserved to save for the stark winter months. Because Corolla village was on the more-protected sound side of the island, the gardens and plants were shielded from the lethal salt-laden winds of the ocean side. And the area’s mild climate made for a long growing season. The Village Garden is a reminder of these old sustenance gardens and the types of plants they bore. Most all the seeds grown here, mainly those in the vegetable garden, were available to Corollans during the period from 1900 to 1920. Gardener Amy Crowe tries to grow mostly older and heirloom varieties, some of which are nearly extinct. Some of the plants you’ll find here include cardoon, feverfew, fennel, bachelor buttons, a purple chase tree, comfrey and older varieties of roses, like the 1840s China roses growing along the fence. The garden is a nice opportunity to rest in some calming green space. You can sit on the edges of the raised beds for a spell and enjoy nature at its finest.
Whalehead Club
- 1100 Club Road, Currituck Heritage Park
- Corolla
- (252) 453-9040
The Whalehead Club is a historic house museum on the northern Outer Banks. The grand residence, dressed in bold yellow and striking copper, stands on a vast green lawn bordering the Currituck Sound. At first sight of the more than 21,000-square-foot Art Nouveau home, so out of place in the Outer Banks landscape, it’s immediately apparent that it has an intriguing past and a fascinating story to tell.
Once you’ve had time to gaze over the lush green live oaks and take in the beauty of the home’s exterior, step inside and take a jaunt back in time to an era reminiscent of prohibition and fights for women’s rights. Shortly after being wed, the original owners, Edward Collings Knight Jr. and Marie-Louise LeBel Knight, purchased a four-mile tract of land running from ocean to sound. While taking residence in the Lighthouse Hunt Club, they embarked on a building project that would take three years to complete. Just as visitors to our area today take pleasure in the opportunity to get away from it all, so did the Knights. While they kept a grand permanent residence near Newport, Rhode Island, the “cottage” at Corolla Island was their winter retreat. After a chilly day spent in the blinds hunting waterfowl, they could relax in the library by a roaring fire while partaking in a game, reading, listening to music or simply enjoying the gorgeous views from the room’s window-lined walls. Peeking into the library and spying the custom-made 1903 Steinway piano, you can just imagine Mrs. Knight sitting down to play a few melodies for her guests. Later, they would be treated to a marvelous duck dinner prepared for them by their beloved cook, Miss Rose, who was one of about a dozen servants who traveled to and from Corolla Island each year with the Knights.
Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Whalehead Club sat empty and abandoned for nearly 25 years until Currituck County bought the building with the intent of restoring it. Since 1999, the county has painstakingly restored the house to the way it looked when it was completed in 1925. The multimillion-dollar restoration began with the replacement of the copper roof. The exterior of the house and boathouse are again the original paint colors as are the interior walls. The interior has been completely restored, from the coffered ceilings down to the cork floors. Many of the original fixtures and details remain: The water lily motif carvings again stand out near the dining room ceiling, the duck head door handles are back in place, the Tiffany glass light fixtures shine again, the mahogany trim and woodwork has been refinished.
A team of researchers made the restoration accurate, and recent efforts have focused on finding as much of the original furnishings as possible. Mrs. Knight’s Steinway piano, Mr. Knight’s iron safe and portrait and some of the dining room furniture were some of the only original furnishings left in the house when the restoration began. Since then, many more of the original pieces have been returned. The dining room is furnished as it was originally, including Tiffany sconces and water lily shades.
In 2008, the kitchen was furnished back to the 1920s, including the original Frigidaire refrigerator. Visitors can stand in the room and see the old tools used to prepare meals for the large household and guests entertained by the Knights. It offers a real appreciation for the stark differences between performing routine kitchen tasks then and now. There is a Hoosier cabinet in the corner, and the original kitchen table is once again in the center of the room under a pot rack.
The Whalehead Club is open and offers tours year round Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Standard Audio Tours are self-guided and available any time during regular hours. If you’ve already taken an audio tour, then try one of the many specialty tours offered weekdays with advanced reservations. Maritime Heritage – The Boathouse Tour, Nuts & Bolts, and Behind the Scenes: Then & Now are just a few of the specialty tours they offer. Don’t forget the popular Moonlight Legend, Lore & Ghost Tour on Thursday evenings, May through September at dusk.
Got kids? The Whalehead Club offers children’s activities too — Discovery Quest, a guided search and find, and Legend of the Kissing Swans: A Children’s Art Time. Or grab everyone and participate in the Family Scavenger Hunt.
Make sure to visit the Museum Shop at the Whalehead Club. It’s stocked with 1920s-inspired gifts and Whalehead Club souvenirs such as picture frames, jewelry and ornaments made from the original copper roof plus books, postcards, memorabilia and educational toys and games for kids.
The Whalehead Club sits on 39 acres of pristine soundfront property providing bike paths, a public boat ramp and areas for picnicking, fishing and crabbing, and is located at Currituck Heritage Park along with the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education and the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. The grounds of Currituck Heritage Park are perfect for a relaxing afternoon outdoors away from the beach and are available to rent for weddings and receptions as well as corporate events and family reunions.
