Visitors to the Outer Banks are recreation lovers. After all, with an area known for its natural beauty, why wouldn’t you want to be outside taking full advantage of every Outer Banks thing to do you could think of? Perhaps the Outer Banks’ biggest draw is Mother Ocean and her surrounding sandy beaches. When it comes to things to do on the Outer Banks, the top of anyone’s to-do list involves getting in or near the water. That translates into sunbathing, swimming, body boarding, skimboarding, surfing, scuba diving, shelling, sea glass hunting, shore walking…and did we mention just sitting and looking at those meditative waves rolling in? Check out the Things To Do in Hatteras section and the Things To Do in Ocracoke section for the scoop on the best ways to enjoy the water.
Of course, the Outer Banks things to do on the sound are just as numerous as those on the ocean. Take a peek at the sound, and you almost always see someone boating, sailing, parasailing, kiteboarding, standup paddleboarding, clamming, windsurfing, kayaking or Jet Skiing. Check out Things To Do in Nags Head or Things To Do in Duck, NC, for your watersports options.
Outer Banks Things To Do on Dry Land!
Feel more like a dry activity? No problem! If fishing is the ticket, there are many opportunities to wet a line with piers, bridges, shorelines, the sound, bays, offshore and inshore charters. Along a similar drift, a dolphin or sightseeing boat tour is a popular Outer Banks thing to do, and you can learn more in the Things To Do on Roanoke Island section. And no equine lover's trip to the Outer Banks is complete without seeing the wild horses, a popular Thing To Do in Corolla, NC. Want to see as much of the Outer Banks as you can by walking, jogging or biking? Then you’ll love it here! Each town has either a designated bike path, boardwalks or back roads that are so lovely you’ll forget all about the fact that you have three more miles to go!
Outer Banks Things To Do by Area
Corolla | Duck & Southern Shores | Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills & Nags Head
Roanoke Island & Manteo | Hatteras Island | Ocracoke Island
Outer Banks Things To Do by Category
Bermuda Triangle OBX is a certified dive center on Hatteras Island, as close as you can get to the wrecks of the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Their scuba shop...read more
Lori Hillyer is a state licensed, nationally certified massage therapist who has a longstanding practice in Manteo. She can offer Swedish, deep tissue,...read more
Kitty Hawk is an excellent town for biking. Along Woods Road and Kitty Hawk Road you’ll find the Pruitt Multi-Use Trail, a paved path that is separate from...read more
Bicyclists and skaters are a common site trekking along the town’s multiuse path, which runs along the Beach Road from Eighth Street (Kill Devil Hills/Nags...read more
Billy Mitchell Airport is a public use airstrip in Frisco. It is in Cape Hatteras National Seashore and owned by the National Park Service. Private planes...read more
The Outer Banks is often referred to as a birder’s paradise. Maritime forest areas, such as Nags Head Woods, Kitty Hawk Woods and Buxton Woods, have great...read more
Blue Heron Realty rents golf carts and bicycles to make it easier to get around the village. Advance reservations are required; give them a call to inquire...read more
Hatteras Village is the offshore fishing capital of the Outer Banks. Big-game marlin fishing began here in the 1930s. To see a blue marlin (one that's been...read more
In a charming restored 1950s Hatteras cottage, Blue Pelican Gallery offers an eclectic mix of artwork, most of it local. Owner/artist Jennifer Johnson is a...read more
For four days in October, the waterfront area of Manteo is alive with the sound of banjos, fiddles, guitars and...read more
Bob's Frisco Tackle and Convenience offers everything you need for fishing – bait and tackle, gear, ice, beer and wine, drinks, convenience items, rod and...read more
Pronounced “body,” this horizontally striped lighthouse is on the soundside at the southern end of Bodie Island in Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It re-...read more
