Chasing Lighthouses & Sand -> Outer Banks, NC
PRE-POST NOTE/ Slowly getting back into my regular blogging headspace again, so here is finally the blog I meant to write over a week ago after our time in the Outer Banks, NC. Also, for those of you who missed our live Lithium Chat w/ Technomadia earlier this week, you can see the archive on YouTube HERE.
We’ve been yearning to see the Outer Banks (OBX) of NC for many years. This 200-mile (~320km) long curve of skinny barrier islands just across the sound from the mainland is known as a wild and remote spot. The abundant open sea beaches and “island” vibe have made it a popular vacation and fishing spot (fishing is super serious business here!) and it’s constantly recognized for it’s “best of” (best drives, best beaches, best family vacation spot, best boardwalk, best walking village, you-name-it). Several of the Islands are only reachable by ferry or 4WD, but the vast majority (~148 miles) CAN be driven even by “beastly” RVs such as ourselves, although you do have to take a few ferry rides in-between to complete the ride.
For our purposes the biggest draws are the dog-friendly beaches (almost all of them, depending on time of year) and the lighthouses. There’s not just one but 5 sweet beauties here (plus some harbor & river lights), including the “one to rule them all” the tallest brick light in the US at Cape Hatteras. We’ve been wanting to see her in person for years.
Back in 2010 when we first came this way with “the beast” OBX was on our list, but time ran out and we ended up hitting the coast much further south. This time around we were determined to do it right and decided to tackle the entire driveable length of the islands, positioning ourselves in 3 of the National Seashore campgrounds so we had time to explore each of the areas in more depth.
We Made A Few OBX Planning Errors
Our plan was, in theory, a solid one but it turns out we made a couple of errors one of which we knew about beforehand and one which was a surprise to us.
Our first error (the one we were prepared for) was our timing was off for the lighthouses. Turns out 4 of the 5 lighthouses on the islands close after Columbus Day (only Currituck remains open through Nov) so although we could still visit them, we weren’t able to climb into the towers {{insert sad face}}.
Our second error (the one that turned out to be a total surprise) was that we ended up loving the small, laid-back southern islands way more than the northern, more populated areas. Our plan had us staying north most of the week with only a few days down south, but had we known our preferences beforehand we would likely have flipped that around.
On the northern end, Kitty Hawk and Nags Head are popular vacation spots that cater to the thousands of tourists that descend on the islands each year. There are lots of shops, eateries, endless rows of nearly identical vacay houses and tiki bars. The beaches are nice, but they’re also busy and (another thing we didn’t know) many of them are open to cars & ORV’s. That means you share almost every excursion on the beach with lots of fishermen and cars. Plus the sand is criss-crossed by deep tire tracks rather than footprints and windswept ripples.
As a fun escape, I can totally see the appeal, but we were looking for something deeper and more raw. We wanted to experience the truly wild beaches, the untouched dunes, the peaceful nature and the community that surrounds it.
And as we drove further south we found it.
We had a good time the Nags Head area, we had even more fun in the Hatteras area but we totally fell in LOVE with Ocracoke. Each area has its own appeal and if you want to catch all the lighthouses you’ve got to see them all, but if we were to choose a spot to just veg for a while Ocracoke would be it. What an awesome place!
Our Route Started In Virginia
We started our OBX experience by caravaning down with Chris and Cherie through Virginia. From our last spot in Assateague State Park. MD we dropped down to the NASA visitor center at Wallop Island (cool stop) and then our friends introduced us to a fabulous overnight spot at the CBBT Welcome Center on the north side of the Chesapeake Crossing. Free parking next to a peaceful wildlife refuge with direct access to miles of biking and hiking trails? Sweet!
We also got to celebrate a most excellent dinner (and sunset) with them at The Shanty by the local marina in Cape Charles -> a super cool laid-back (and dog-friendly!) restaurant. It was an awesome evening.
The next day we parted ways and took the beast through the 23-mile engineering marvel that is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (another super cool experience) and over to the islands. Our OBX experience had begun.
Sightseeing On The Northern OBX Islands
Our first stop on the Outer Banks was a small, somewhat noisy campground (Oregon Inlet -> review coming) located just south of Nags Head. We chose it mostly for location and for that purpose it worked perfectly. There’s very few RV camping choices on the northern end of OBX (most of the RV parks are in the middle section near Rodanthe), and at $28/night Oregon Inlet it’s a relatively inexpensive spot to explore the northern towns. We had three “must see’s” in this area and were able to hit them all in our few days from our site. Plus we threaded in a brewery visit (surprise, surprise) and discovered a tiki-bar on the beach.
Bodie Island Lighthouse
It’s a mere ~4 miles from Oregon Inlet to this 156-foot beauty. Pronounced “Body”, the current 1872 structure is the third iteration of lights that have guarded this area since 1847 (the first structure began to lean after only two years in service and the second was blown up by Confederates). She’s still operational today and if you stand at the top of the dunes at Oregon Inlet you’ll catch her first order Fresnel lighting up the channel every night. The tower is only open for climbing from the third Friday in April through Columbus Day, but the grounds are open year-round and dog-friendly (whoo hooo!). We took Polly for a tour, and although there’s not much to see on-site with the tower closed, it was a pleasant little area to visit.
Bodie Island Lighthouse Visitor Website -> Click HERE. $8 to climb the tower (open third Friday in April to Columbus Day) Grounds are dog-friendly!
Currituck Lighthouse & Environs
You’ll have to drive ~1 hour to the very northern tip of the Islands for this one, but believe me she is worth it! Dating from 1875 and standing 162-feet tall she was the last major brick lighthouse built on the OBX, and unlike the other lighthouses in the area she’s retained her original red brick colors. She’s wonderfully preserved and the $10 fee to hike to the top is totally worth it. Not only are you taken through a wonderful museum inside the tower (they trace the history of lighthouses all the way back to ancient times!), but the beautiful marble tile floor and forged wrought-iron detailing is completely unique. Plus the grounds are dog-friendly!
We loaded Polly up in the car for this one and enjoyed a lovely visit to the light as well as a drive through historic downtown Corolla Village and a stop to walk the pretty Duck Boardwalk on the way home. If we’d had a 4WD we’d have tried to track down the famous Corolla Wild Horses on the very northern tip of the island, but alas our little CRV isn’t quite up to the task.
Currituck Lighthouse Visitor Website -> Click HERE. $10 to climb the tower (open early spring thro’ Thanksgiving weekend) Grounds are dog-friendly!
Wright Brothers Memorial
Almost everyone knows the pioneering aviation history of the Wright Brothers, but perhaps not as many folks know where exactly it happened. These incredible inventors put over 4 years of research and development into their flying machine and the first flight (four flights total that very day, in fact) happened right here on the Outer Banks on Dec 17th, 1903. Even if you’re only moderately interested in aviation history it’s incredibly cool to see some of the engineering madness behind the flight and stand in the spot where it actually happened. Located in the town of Kitty Hawk, it’s an easy and educational little visit. Grounds are dog-friendly too!
Wright Brothers Memorial -> Click HERE. $7 to visit (free with National Parks Pass). Grounds are dog-friendly!
Beer & Cocktails
We only explored two spots on the Northern Islands both of which were close to the campground.
The first, Outer Banks Brewing Station lays claim as the nation’s first wind-powered brewery and offers a nice selection of brews to quench your thirst after a hot day. It’s not on par with some of the top craft brews we’ve had in other spots but their Brassage Dry-Hopped Saison and Hugh Hefeweizen were both tasty, and their Lemongrass Wheat Ale was quite unique and refreshing. The wings were good here too.
The other place we tried mostly scored points on location and atmosphere rather than content. Fish Heads Bar & Grill is on a pier overlooking gorgeous Nags Head Beach. It’s a very local, very casual spot with a decent selection of craft beer, but the other offerings (cocktail and food) were so-so. Good place for a brew with a view, but head elsewhere for food IMHO.
Sadly, neither of these spots allowed dogs, so leave pooch at home for this one.
Catching The Light on Hatteras Island
Our 2nd stop on the Outer Banks was on Hatteras itself. It’s a lovely little ~40 mile drive through Pea Island Wildlife Refuge (worth a little stop) and along skinny strips of land down to the laid-back community of Hatteras Island.
For this stop we chose Frisco Campground (review coming), a wonderfully quiet place much more to our tastes than Oregon Inlet but with more “stickies” (painful grass burrs) than we’ve ever seen anywhere in our lives, which meant dog-walking was quite a challenge. Still we had a nice nearby beach and (more importantly) we were only ~7 miles drive from Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
Ah, Cape Hatteras how I have longed to see thee….
At 193-foot tall, this candy striped beauty is the tallest brick lighthouse in the US. Not only that but she’s also famous as being the largest lighthouse ever to have been MOVED in her entirety in order to save her. The incredible story of the engineering effort that moved her 2,900 feet away from the eroding shoreline in 1999 is unparalleled. And seeing her enormous form in person is a breathtaking experience (it’s truly impossible to convey in photos). Sadly, the tower was closed for climbing (so sad, so sad), but the grounds are dog-friendly so we were able to bring Polly. Plus the on-site museum in the old Lightkeepers Residence is superb.
Cape Hatteras Light Visitors Website -> Click HERE. $8 to climb the tower (open third Friday in April to Columbus Day) Grounds are dog-friendly!
Finding Our Groove In Ocracoke
Our third and final stop on the OBX was on Ocracoke Island, and although we’d only planned a single night here, this is the place we TRULY found our groove.
It’s a short 20-min (FREE) ferry ride from Hatteras to Ocracoke and once you’re on the little ~14-mile island you’ve gone pretty much as far as you can go south on Hwy 12 without taking a ferry back to the mainland. You’re REMOTE here and everything about the Island reflects that.
The on-site campground (Ocracoke Campground -> review coming) is incredibly laid-back and quiet with the nicest stretch of sand (no cars!) of any we’d seen on the Islands. A pleasant 4-mile bike-path takes you into the wonderfully cute and quiet downtown community, which not only has another lighthouse (a brilliant white structure built in 1823) but is also incredibly dog-friendly. The eateries are inviting & casual and the place just feels….chillaxed.
We had a fine afternoon walking around the downtown marina with Polly, relaxed with a drink on the waterfront porch at SmacNally’s (dog-friendly) and enjoyed some of the best Mexican Food we’ve had since the West Coast at the local taco stand Eduardo’s (also dog-friendly. Thanks to blog readers Mark & Leah for suggesting this place!). Our short time on this island was THE most relaxing, THE most laid-back experience we had on the OBX and ended our time there on a “high”. Had it not been for our accident the very next day, we’d still be riding that high today.
Ocracoke Lighthouse -> Click HERE. Tower is not open for climbing, but site is FREE to visit and dog-friendly. Ocracoke Visitors Site -> Click HERE
It was a quick week on OBX, but totally worthwhile. If and when we come back we’ll spend more time hanging south and will definitely time it so we can climb some of the lighthouse towers. It’s always good to have an excuse to return 🙂
Coming Up Next -> Our THREE campground reviews for the Outer Banks. Stay tuned…
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Lovely narrative as usual Nina. I bought a house in Homosassa FL, parked the Winnebago except for summer use and unsubscribe your blog. Resubscribed on a whim and was totally surprised to hear you are on the East Coast. I’m putting Outer Banks on my to do list. Thank you for the time & effort you invest in your blog.
You came back right in time. We literally haven’t been to the East Coast since our first year on the road in 2010 so this is definitely a new path for us. Enjoy!
Nina
We are from NC and we just knew that you would love the OBX with all the light houses and such. Sorry you didn’t get a chance to soak in Cedar Point much. We enjoy that forest service campground too. Nice trail for walks with Polly.
We spend our winters at Cedar Key RV and are on our way there now. If you liked Ocracoke, you will like the laid back artsy vibe of CK. The Tiki Bar has the most wonderful sunsets, even better at high tide.
BTW, I’ve followed your blog from day one. Best one out there by far; philosophy, photos, reviews and total writing style. You rock!
Syl
Yeah, I REALLY wish we could have spent more time enjoying Cedar Point. The campground was lovely and we would SO have loved to explore the area, but alas we spent all our time on insurance stuff. We are also booked at Cedar Key (next week), but will probably have to cancel that too for repairs. Ah well…
And thanks for the kind words too 🙂
Nina
This sounds like a lovely trip that we need to add to our upcoming travels. I’m especially interested in Ocracoke, though I’d never heard of it before. Looking forward to your campground reviews!
Ocracoke was such a cool little spot and a gem of a find IMHO. I’m glad we made it all the way down there.
Nina
I can’t wait to read your review of the Ocracoke Campground. I am an NC native but don’t think I’ve ever actually been to this island. It has a bit of a cult following, particularly among the sailing set. I had no idea we might be able to take our Class A RV (smaller than yours) there. I’ll stay tuned, and thank you for an excellent post! So glad you enjoyed NC’s Outer Banks. 🙂
I can totally see the draw for the boaters! The marina is lovely there and puts you right “downtown”. Plus you can rent bicycles and walk everywhere with ease.
The campground at Ocracoke is pretty simple (just a bunch of open sites in a circle really), but very quiet and relaxed. Plus it’s got a bike trail to town (something we always enjoy) and a really lovely beach. We liked it. Review should be up within the next 3-4 days.
Nina
I love reading your “east coast” blogs! Makes me just a tiny bit homesick….not enough to go back, just a bit….wink wink. Thanks for showing us around. Those beaches still call me.
I am totally in love with the OBX. Our daughter was married at one of the wineries that is just off of them (north) and we stayed there as well. It was my 3rd visit there. I am very interested in your Ocracoke Campground review as that is the one place we haven’t been and it sounds like our kind of place. Am glad you are getting back into the swing and hope you have only fun events from here on in. Been a rough year for you!!
What a lovely place to get married!
Ocracoke was such a gem of a find for us. Can’t believe the ferry from Hatteras is free. It was a lovely 1/2 hour ride too.
Nina
Dang! Every time I read another of your East Coast posts, our 2018 travel plans timeline extends:)!
Let me see:
-Taco’s = Check
-Good beaches = Check
-Good beer = Check
-Good weather this time of year = Check
Good to see you Paul and The Two C’s having a good time together. The 2C’s bus is looking more vintage each time I see it, and that is for sure meant in classical good way!
Looking forward to Florida updates. As we have family in Florida, my wife was born in Miami area. And I’m a real Conch – having been born at the Key West Navy Hospital… So, we know we have lots of time to spend in many areas of Florida:)!
Ongoing safe travels to you both,
Smitty
Weather was really lovely while we were there. Some skeeters of course (to be expected) and a few hotter days, but otherwise mostly sunny and mid 70’s. It was perfect for dry camping at the National Seashore campgrounds.
We’re looking forward to FL. It’s been since 2010 since we were both there together. And my family is flying over too. So excited!
Nina
So wish we could have joined you on this section of the route.. it looks & sounds so lovely! But, at least we get to follow along vicariously.
What is the fifth OBX lighthouse?
We’ve been to Hatteras Light three times and it was in a different location each time. Saw it first out by the surf, next halfway through the move (which was incredible to witness) and last settled into its new spot. We share your love of lighthouses and have seen some beautiful spots seeking them out. Don’t miss Morris Island in Charleston.
That’s right -> I totally forgot to talk about the 5th light in my post! The last light is Cape Lookout, waaay on the southern end. It’s got a unique diamond pattern and you have to take a ferry from Harkers Island to see it. We had actually planned to do the trip from the mainland that next day, but then our accident happened and side-tracked us for the rest of that week. Would have loved to see her!
So exciting that you got to see Cape Hatteras being moved! It was an engineering marvel, and seeing it in person must have been incredible. We would have loved to climb her, but will just have to come back for that. One day, one day….
Nina
We’ve never made this journey with the MH, but we have done it on the motorcycle. Riding along the beaches and across the island and completing the bay bridge/tunnel was a fantastic trip. We love staying on Ocracoke Island and visiting Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers’ Museum along the way. Glad you at least got to visit the Lighthouses outside:)
It’s a beautiful, easy drive along the islands, and we really enjoyed doing it in “the beast”. I could see it being fun on a motorcycle too!
Nina
I am so in awe of your experience and the ability to capture it through the eye of the camera. You are blesses with a great ability to communicate through the written word and phonograph. Thank You!
Thank you for the lovely compliment 🙂
Nina
Nice trip and something we would want to do next year. The posted CB tunnel height clearance of 13’6″ has me concerned as my class A Journey is the same height. Your coach height surely must be close to mine?
Goodness that’s tall! Have you measured to be certain? We’re 12’9″ to the top of our ACs, so we had no problem with the tunnels. If you truly are that tall you won’t be able to make it and will have to take the inland route instead.
Nina
Not only are lighthouses different in their architecture, but you do such a wonderful job of photographing them in their personal best settings. I especially like your Bodie shots. Such a beautiful area and your weather looks ideal. I’ve not heard of this stretch of islands, but certainly hope to return to them in the future. Polly is looking wonderful!
We live only 5 minutes north of the NC border and totally agree that Okracoke is the ultimate vacation spot in the Outer Banks. Lots of good food places (check out Howard’s Pub if you ever make it back there) and unique shopping adventures around every corner. We really appreciate that you can ride bikes around the village too. We head down in late spring to enjoy a weekend of wonderful music at the island’s annual Okrafolk Festival under the huge live oak trees. We have never been disappointed.
The music festival on Ocracoke sounds like an awesome outing!
Nina
http://www.ocracokealive.org/general-info.html
I had that same love affair with Okracoke. Figures, huh? 😉
When you go back, you have to time the Cape Hatteras visit for the full moon, as they offer a climb up the lighthouse in the light of the moon! Can’t miss that!
Full moon climb….oh yeah! We definitely want to come back for that!
Nina
Ocracoke sounds like our kind of place! (Like Lopez Island, only even more laid back, perhaps?) The Outer Banks have been on our list for a while…first we need to get ourselves to the East Coast. 🙂
Totally. Ocracoke would fit you to a tee 🙂
Nina
Hi Nina,
Not sure where to place this question so excuse me if it’s inappropriate; slightly off-topic but refers to the (very enjoyable) Lithium Chat you mentioned. My question concerns your solar-panel-tilting experiences: Given the low sun at this time of year, have you been tilting yours regularly and seeing improvements that make doing so worth while? (I could imagine with all the other problems you’ve been having to deal with recently, you might have not bothered sometimes, but with as many panels as you have, perhaps sometimes you don’t need to tilt? Best wishes from Dave and Kim
Your last comment is right on. This year we have so many panels (15 panels = 1500 watts) that we haven’t bothered tilting at all. Our output is definitely down (compared to summer), but not so much so that we’ve made the effort to go up and tilt. With our old system (6 panels = 600 watts) we tilted every winter and it *definitely* made a big difference. You can read more about our tilting efforts here:
RV Solar Part IV – Panel Tilting & Winter Solar Optimization
Nina
Nina,
Nice video on the lithium batteries. I was planning on having a solar equipment cabinet in my dream travel trailer to put all solar related merchandise in the cabinet. I can’t find the spot again without listening to the whole video again, but it sounded to me that you said that the inverter shouldn’t be inside the RV, but in the RV basement or another outside storage area. Am I correct on this or what is it that goes outside?
Thanks,
Ralph
Nina will surely respond and explain her inverter gets pretty hot so would stay cooler in the basement. For us in our fifth wheel I installed the solar controller and inverter together within a bedroom cabinet as (a) it doesn’t get so hot as we don’t really work it hard – we only have 4 solar panels and 4 6v golf cart batteries so not enough power to run heavy stuff like aircon; it runs the fridge in the day and can run the microwave for short periods; (b) it was conveniently near the batteries just below (so keeping cables short) while easily accessible to operate its controls. I DID later fit a couple of simple air vent panels in the side of the cabinet though, as it did get hot inside! So where you place yours will depend how hard you’ll be working it.
The other commenter got it right on point. We do wish (in retrospect) that we’d kept our inverter in our external bin rather than moving it into the bedroom above our lithium batteries, and the main reason is heat generation when it is under HEAVY load. When it’s just running regular stuff (light, laptops, TV etc.) we don’t notice it at all. But when we run really heavy loads (e.g. air conditioning) it generates quite a bit of heat (and noise, although that’s less of a problem), which is really counter-productive when you’re trying to cool down the rig.
So it just depends on how you’re planning to use the inverter. If you’re planning to use it just for smaller electrical loads then it doesn’t matter where you place it. But if you’re designing your system for lithium and heavy loads (such as air conditioning) then I’d make sure to keep the inverter in an outside bin, if you can.
Nina
Hi Nina!
A quick note of deep appreciation for your talent and artistry in photographs. So many deserve printing and framing.
And, your stories and reviews are such a pleasure to absorb (can’t merely read them).
Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you much!
Nina