• OBX Home

• Corolla Home

• Accommodations

  • Map & Guide

• Vac Rentals

  • Map & Guide

• Fishing

  • Charter Fishing Guide

  • Fishing Map

• Real Estate

• Recreation

  • Attractions

  • Attractions Map & Guide

  • Recreation Map & Guide

• Restaurants

  • Map & Guide

• Shopping

  • Map & Guide

• Weddings

  • Map & Guide

• Info

  • Info Request

  • Maps

    • Accommodations

    • Attractions

    • Getting Here

    • Recreation

    • Restaurants

    • Shopping

    • Vacation Rentals

    • Weddings

  • Getting Here

    • Map & Guide

  • Quick Planner

  • Overview

  • History

  • Contact Us

  • Other OB sites

Bicycle Rentals

	Ocean Atlantic Rentals Corolla Light Town Center , N.C. Highway 12 (252) 453-2440 When visiting Corolla, you'll need your car from time to time to get to the grocery store or between shopping centers. Otherwise, ditch the car and pedal everywhere you go. Ocean Atlantic Rentals rents single-speed beach cruisers that are perfect for lazy cruising. They will deliver the bikes to you.
	Just for the Beach Rentals Ocean Club Centre (252) 453-9388 Monteray Plaza (252) 453-6106 Make like a local and pedal around Corolla on a beach cruiser. Just for the Beach Rentals will deliver the bikes to you.

Back to top

Boating
If you have your own boat and need to get it in the water when you are in Corolla, there’s a public boat ramp at the Whalehead Club that allows access to Currituck Sound. In general, the sound is extremely shallow, so flat-bottomed skiffs and other vessels that don’t draw much water are best for navigating in this area.

Outer Banks Charter Fishing Adventures/Corolla Bait and Tackle Corolla Light Town Center , N.C. Highway 12 and Austin Street (252) 453-9500 The Shoppes at the Currituck Club (252) 453-9690 Corolla Bait and Tackle offers a pontoon-boat trip to the winery at Knott’s Island. You take a short boat trip across the sound, participate in a wine tasting at the beautiful vineyards, then motor back to Corolla. They also offer two-hour sunset cruises where you take a relaxing cruise around the sound, see Monkey Island, birds and other wildlife. Be sure to bring binoculars, snacks and drinks. Want a little more action? Ask about the full range of fishing trips offered here; for more information see our Fishing section.

Captain Johnny's Dolphin Watch Tours

Back to top

Climbing

Back to top

Go-Carts

Corolla Raceway Timbuck II Shopping Village, N.C. Highway 12 (252) 453-9100 The Corolla Raceway features one large track with 16 super-fast Indy cars. For the tamer ones in your crowd, there are freestanding, gas-powered bumper cars. The onsite arcade is a hit with the kids. The Raceway is open Easter through November, and from Memorial to Labor Day they have a snack bar stocked with treats.

Back to top

Golf

Back to top

Hiking Trail

Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary
Pine Island
An unmarked trail leads through this 5,000-acre wildlife sanctuary, a protected habitat for birds, deer, rabbits and a variety of plants. Park at The Sanderling Inn to access this 2.5-mile soundside path through a portion of the sanctuary.

Back to top

Miniature Golf

The Golf Links
TimBuck II Shopping Village NC Highway 12
(252) 453-6900
Enjoy famous views of the Currituck Sound as you tee it up on this 18-hole, carpeted miniature golf course. Ten of the holes are played on a separate island! Look for the course at the back of the shopping complex next to Kitty Hawk Kayaks and Watersports.

The Grass Course
N.C. Highway 12
(252) 453-4198
The Grass Course offers 18 holes of miniature golf on all-natural grass. Holes are par 3s, 4s or 5s, and all ages can play here. There's a deli and snack shop on site. The course is open all day, until 10 or 11 p.m. on summer nights. It's next to the Corolla Light Sports Center.

Back to top

Movies

RC Theaters Corolla Movies 4
Monteray Plaza, N.C. Highway 12
(252) 453-2999
For first-run major movies, this is the only place to be on the northern beaches. The Corolla movies are open seasonally, from May through Labor Day and then again from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. Movies are shown seven days a week. Call the hotline for movie information or check a local newspaper, such as The Coastland Times or The Outer Banks Sentinel. On rainy summer days they run extra showings in the mid-morning or early afternoon.

Back to top

Off-Roading

N.C. Highway 12 ends abruptly just past Corolla Village, but that doesn't mean you have to stop there. Beyond the highway there are 10 more miles of beach.

The easiest way to explore this area is to take a guided four-wheel-drive tour (see the Wild Horses and 4WD Nature Tours section below). If you'd rather explore the area on your own, vehicles are allowed to drive on the beach year round. It is lawful to drive north/south on the beach. The property on the west side behind the dunes is private, and non-property owners should stay out of that area.

Tips for off-roading:

• Do not attempt to drive on the beach unless you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle.
  
  
• Let all four tires’ air pressure down to at least 20 psi or less. If you get stuck, don’t spin your tires until you’re buried and just let more air out. Add weight to the back of the vehicle.
  
  
• Try to stay in the ruts that were made by cars traveling before you. Avoid any washed up wood, what natives call “nail boards.” Be sure to bring a jack, a block of wood for the jack to rest on, spare tire, shovel and tow rope or strap.
  
  
• Stay off the dunes and away from wildlife.
  
  
• All laws that apply to the roads apply to beach. Drivers must be licensed, safe and sober, and vehicles must be legal. The maximum speed limit is 35 m.p.h., or 15 m.p.h. when within 300 feet of beachgoers, swimmers or anglers.
  
  
• If you do get totally stuck in the sand, call A-1 Towing at (252) 453-4002.
  
  
• ATVs can be used only by Currituck County property owners, and the operators must get a permit from the Currituck County Satellite Office, (252) 453-8555. Non-property owners are not allowed to operate ATVs in this area.

Running

OBX® Marathon Gateway Bank Half-marathon & Kelly Hospitality Group Fun Run If you’re a runner or walker, you don’t want to miss this event on a flat course with awesome scenery and the spirited residents of the Outer Banks cheering for you all along the way. On Sunday, November 11, 2007, you can participate in the second annual OBX Marathon, the Gateway Bank Half-Marathon or the Kelly's Hospitality Group Fun Run. The course for the marathon begins in Kitty Hawk, travels on through Kill Devil Hills and around the Wright Memorial, goes through Nags Head and ends on Roanoke Island. The Gateway Bank Half-Marathon begins by Jockey’s Ridge in Nags Head and ends on Roanoke Island. Walkers are welcome, so there’s no excuse not to be involved. There is a $25,000 prize purse for the OBX Marathon. For information and to register, go to www.obxmarathon.org, but register early because this event will sell out.

Back to top

Segway Tours

Back Country Outfitters and Guides Corolla Light Town Center, N.C. Highway 12 (252) 453-0877 The Segway looks like so much fun that when you see people gliding around Corolla on them, you'll want to try one too! The Segway is a self-balancing, two-wheeled electric vehicle built for one. You stand on a small platform to ride, and the Segway responds to your movements. Simply shifting your weight forward makes it go, standing straight up puts the brakes on, and leaning back makes you go backward. Turning the handle controls your turns.

At Back Country Outfitters and Guides, they'll take you through a short certification course, which usually lasts 30 to 40 minutes, though they say it only takes a few minutes to get comfortable on the Seg. After you're acclimated, Back Country offers a gliding tour of Historic Corolla Village. The tour lasts about one to one and a half hours, and you'll view historic landmarks and learn about the village. If you're looking for an adventure, you'll want to try the Spanish Mustang Reserve tour. The off-road tour begins with a four-wheel drive on the beach up to a Maritime forest, where you'll ride the off-road version of the Segway through Back Country's private Spanish Mustang Reserve. The off-road tours last about three hours and reservations are necessary.

Back to top

Skateboarding

Island Revolution Surf Co. and Skatepark Corolla Light Town Center, NC Highway 12 (252) 453-9484 The Island Revolution Skatepark was brand-new in 2005. It offers more than 5,000 feet of extreme fun for the skateboarder in the family, and everyone else will enjoy observing. The skatepark is concrete and is built with diverse features like two bowls, a quarter pipe, street course, grind bars and vertical drop-ins. Safety equipment must be worn at all times. A CPR-certified attendant oversees the park. Bikes and scooters are not allowed. Boards and pads can be rented at Ocean Atlantic Rentals. Passes can be purchased at Island Revolution Surf Co. and Skatepark.

Back to top

Spas

Eden Day Spa
Monteray Plaza
(252) 453-0712
Eden Day Spa and Salon offers a variety of luxurious treatments to relax and pamper you. Spa services include body polishes and wraps, European facials, nail care and body treatments in their Vichy shower and a hydrotherapy tub. Choose from Swedish, deep tissue or aromatherapy massage. They have six treatment rooms and the salon, which offers all hair services plus makeup application and facial waxing. Eden is an Aveda concept salon. They feature a full line of Aveda's quality products, which use natural ingredients. Call to schedule an appointment.

Spa at Corolla
510 Old Stoney Road in Ocean Club Centre midway between Duck and Corolla
(252) 453-9799
Slip on a robe and nestle down into a comfy chair in the relaxation room to reflect, to think, to leave the world at the door. Experience peace even before starting your treatments! This upscale spa offers much more than a massage and a pedicure. The spa services here are ritualistic experiences that allow you the time and space to focus on your own wellbeing. From custom facials to signature body polishes, hydrotherapy or shirodhara, you'll relax your body, soothe your mind and refresh your spirit. During the busy summer season, appointments can book well in advance, so plan ahead by visiting their website or calling the spa before you leave home.

Back to top

Surfing

Corolla Surf Shop Monteray Plaza TimBuck II Shopping Village (two locations) The Shoppes at the Currituck Club (252) 453-WAVE and 453-9273 If you don't know how to surf or want to get better at it, take a lesson through the surf school at Corolla Surf Shop. The two-hour introductory group lessons cover all the basics and include board and wetsuit rental, all for just $60. As long as the waves are good and you're in pretty good shape, the instructors can almost guarantee they'll have you standing up by the end of the lesson.

Ocean Atlantic Rentals Corolla Light Town Center (252) 453-2440 Ocean Atlantic Rentals has all the equipment you need for surfing, body boarding or skim boarding. They even have swim fins, which are great for body boarding. If the water is chilly when you’re here, they rent wetsuits to keep you warm while you tackle the waves. Ocean Atlantic Rentals delivers.

Back to top

Tennis and Fitness

Pine Island Racquet and Fitness Center
N.C. Highway 12 between Corolla and Duck
(252) 453-8525
Who says you have to miss a workout while on vacation? This center sports a fitness and health center complete with cardio and circuit training equipment. They offer elliptical trainers, Cybex machines, free weights, treadmills and rowing machines. The center is open to the public, so you can pay to work out for a day or get a membership for a week or longer. For tennis players, the Pine Island Racquet Center is a still a tennis lover's dream. Choose from play on three indoor Plexi-cushion hard courts, heated or air-conditioned depending on the weather, or two outdoor clay courts. Lessons and clinics for children and adults are available from P.T.R. pro Rick Ostlund and staff. Reservations are suggested for court times, and play costs $28 per court. The club is open every day but Christmas Day. In-season week day hours are from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; on weekends its open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Off-season hours are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday - Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. The pro shop sells racquets, clothes and tennis accessories and provides stringing services. Want to set up a match? The club has a player referral list to organize matches.

Just for the Beach Rentals Ocean Club Centre Monteray Plaza (252) 453-9388, (252) 453-6106 Didn't realize there would be so many great tennis courts in Corolla? If you didn't pack your racket, you can rent one at Just for the Beach Rentals.

Back to top

Water Sports

Carolina Outdoors
Monteray Plaza
(252) 453-3685
Carolina Outdoors has ocean kayaks (the sit-on-top style) available for rent. They offer single and tandem kayaks. No reservations are necessary.

Corolla Watersports Rentals and Tours Inn at Corolla Light, N.C. Highway 12 (252) 453-6141 The Inn at Corolla Light has a 400-foot pier on the Currituck Sound that's a great launching place for several water sports. You can rent a Jet Ski to zoom around on the water or even take a Jet Ski tour. If you're not into speed, rent a kayak for some quiet paddling. If you'd like to do some crabbing but don't have the right equipment, you can rent a net and bucket here and drop your bait from the pier.

Corolla Kayak Company
Whalehead Bay Shoppes
(252) 453-0077
Corolla Kayak offers guided tours through a section of marsh near the old Currituck Inlet Hunt Club. Paddlers are shuttled up to the four-wheel-drive area where the tour begins. The area covered by this three-hour tour is completely surrounded by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuge and goes through marsh creeks and along the sound shores. You'll often glimpse wild horses. Corolla Kayak also offers a two-hour tour through Whalehead Bay. You'll leave from the shop and paddle around where birds and other wildlife are plentiful. This tour can be led by a guide or self-guided. All tours are by reservations; call for times and prices. Corolla Kayak also offers ocean kayak rentals, and they can deliver them to you.

Just for the Beach Rentals Ocean Club Centre Monteray Plaza (252) 453-9388, (252) 453-6106 Want to plan your own kayak tour? Just for the Beach Rentals has kayaks available for rent, the sit-on-top style, for single, double or triple paddlers. They deliver; call for details.

Back Country Kayak Tours Back Country Outfitters and Guides, Corolla Light Town Center, N.C. Highway 12 and Austin Street (252) 453-0877 One of Back Country’s most popular tours is the 4WD and Kayak Expedition. The start of this three-hour-plus adventure is the Wild Horse Safari (see Wild Horse Tours) in which you board a comfortable Suburban and take off for the northernmost beaches. The driving tour culminates with wild horse sightings near Carova. There, your kayaks await you. After a brief refresher on paddling, you're off into the Currituck Sound for an hour-long-plus guided paddle in a private wildlife reserve where there are no other people. Heaven! Reservations are a must; call for times and prices.

	Kitty Hawk Kayaks and Watersports TimBuck II Shopping Village, N.C. Highway 12 (252) 453-6900 On the sound at the backside of TimBuck II, Kitty Hawk Watersports rents Waverunners, party boats, sit-on-top and sit-in kayaks, sailboats, windsurfers, two- and four-seat pedal boats. Guided kayak ecotours are offered in the morning and afternoon and at sunset. Parasailing is also offered here. Kitty Hawk Watersports has a retail store in TimBuck II, but that is not where you book the tours or rent gear. Go to the sound and look for the water sports building and pier on the sound.
	Kitty Hawk Kites TimBuck II N.C. Highway 12 (252) 453-8845, (877) FLY THIS Monteray Plaza (252) 453-3685 Kitty Hawk Kites offers guided kayak ecotours beginning at the pier at the Inn at Corolla Light. You can book tours by calling the toll-free number. Be sure to make reservations for the tours, as they are usually booked solid in season. You can also rent kayaks from Kitty Hawk Kites at the Monteray Plaza store. Check out their parasailing in Duck. In Nags Head, they offer kite-boarding and hang-gliding lessons as well as dolphin tours.
	Ocean Atlantic Rentals Corolla Light Town Center, N.C. Highway 12 (252) 453-2440 If you want to rent kayaks to do some exploring on your own, Ocean Atlantic Rentals will bring them to you. You can rent kayaks for exploring the sound or riding the ocean waves.

Corolla Surf Shop

Back to top

Wild Horse & 4WD Nature Tours

There was a time when you could look out your rental cottage window and see a 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.

The easiest way to see the horses is to take a guided tour with an outfitter. The guides 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.

If you do see the horses, keep at a respectful distance of at least 500 feet away. Look but do not touch or feed these wild animals. Bring binoculars or a camera with a zoom lens to get an up-close look without disturbing the horses. (See the Corolla wild horses section below.)

	Beach Jeeps of Corolla Corolla Light Town Center (252) 453-6141 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 preplanned GPS route. You'll see wild Spanish ponies, Penny's Hill, Swan Beach, and the canals of Carova Beach. On North Swan Beach you'll see the Wash Woods Lifesaving Station. In addition to the wild ponies, you may see deer, red fox and dolphins. Tours last two-and-a-half hours and are a great way to explore the secluded northern beaches and see local wildlife in their natural habitat.
	Bob’s Off Road Wild Horse Adventure Tours Inn at Corolla Light, N.C. Highway 12 (252) 453-8602 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 given in air-conditioned Suburbans and can accommodate up to seven people. Call for details and reservations. All tours have a money back guarantee if you don’t see the horses.
	Corolla Jeep Rentals and Tours Whalehead Bay Shoppes (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 Outback Adventures N.C. Highway 12 (252) 453-4484 Corolla Outback Adventures, run by Corolla native Jay Bender, is a two-hour, 20-mile guided tour of the northern Outer Banks. On this trip you tour via four-wheel all-terrain vehicles. Corolla Outback Adventures owns more than 200 acres on the northern beaches, about a third of which is a reserve partnership with the Corolla Wild Horse Fund. This private reserve area allows people on the tour to see the horses grazing in their natural habitat. On the way to the reserve, the guide stops to talk about the history and ecology of the area. Tours are offered every two hours in the summer, and Corolla Outback is open from April to December.

Wild Horse Safari Back Country Outfitters and Guides Corolla Light Town Center, N.C. Highway 12 (252) 453-0877 Scott Trabue's Wild Horse Safari is a 30-mile round-trip tour to Carova Beach, where horses are always sighted. The guided tour takes place in a comfortable Suburban that can seat up to eight people. During the two-and-a-half-hour tour, the naturalist guide will tell you about the history, nature and ecology of the northern Outer Banks, and you'll see wildlife, a petrified forest, a giant sand dune, a life-saving station and hear the tale of a buried village. You'll travel beaches, dunes and a maritime forest. This tour company has exclusive access to the Spanish Mustang Reserve where the tour stops for photos and to hear about the mustang's heritage. Reservations are required.

Back to top

Wildlife Programs

Wildlife Education Programs
Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education, Currituck Heritage Park
(252) 453-0221
Corolla's Wildlife Resources staff offers great Wildlife Education programs all summer long. Most programs are free and teach participants about such topics as birding, sound ecology, ocean ecology, animal tracking, orienteering, sea turtles, fishing, decoy carving and much more. Programs are offered everyday and are about an hour long and are open to all ages. Check local newspapers and attractions listings for a schedule, or call the program coordinator at the number above to inquire. They can arrange for group programs and also offer teacher workshops. It's best to sign up for the programs ahead of time to ensure you get a space.

Corolla Wild Horses

If you go to the northern reaches of the Currituck Outer Banks, beyond the paved road and into the wilder realms, you’ll likely encounter some of the free-roaming Corolla wild horses. These exotic equines have roamed the rugged northernmost Outer Banks for more than four centuries, and geneticists have claimed that they are descendants of sixteenth-century Barb horses, Spanish and Portuguese stock that was bred on the Barbary Coast of North Africa.

It is not known exactly when and how the horses got to the Outer Banks, but the widely held belief is that they came ashore with early European explorers. Both Spanish and English explorers traveled with Barb horses and other livestock, and both groups explored this area in the sixteenth century. Either the explorers brought the horses here and left them behind or else it’s believed horses swam ashore after a ship wrecked. Though the Corolla wild horses have clear Spanish origins, their isolation on the Outer Banks for more than 400 years has made them a breed all their own.

There are about 60 horses freely roaming the 15,000 acres between the end of the paved road and the Virginia state line. Another 10 horses live on a 400-acre private island in the Currituck Sound. The horses are quite healthy, as they have an adequate supply of naturally occurring fresh water to drink and plenty of grasses to munch on, like saltmeadow hay, witch grasses, cattails, American threesquare, spikerush, black needlerush, common reed grass, young cordgrass, sea oats and beach grass.

The Corolla wild horses are recognized as a significant cultural and historical resource by the state of North Carolina. The herd is protected and monitored by the Corolla Wild Horse Fund Inc. of Corolla. To learn more about the horses, take a guided horse-watching tour. Remember, the horses are wild. Do not try to approach them, feed them or bother them in any way. In fact it is unlawful to disturb them. Please watch them from a respectful distance.

Back to top

OTHER OUTER BANKS GUIDES: OBX Guides | Corolla l Duck I Hatteras l Nags Head I Ocracoke l Roanoke Island