Outer Banks Family Vacations

The beach: Who can resist it with its warm sand, hot sun, buoyant salt water and, of course, a great book? But for some, those thoughts also come with visions of crowded, noisy and littered beaches where you have to fight your way into the water and then spend an hour trying to identify your block of beach towel on the parking lot-like sand.

If this is you, then perhaps you've never been to North Carolina's Outer Banks. The thin strip of protective barrier island on the north end of the U.S. coast stretches almost 100 miles from the town of Corolla all the way to Ocracoke island, forming a buffer between the Atlantic Ocean and the mainland of North Carolina. But, for vacationers, it provides a buffer from the crowds, noise and chaos of some other beach resorts. Thanks to North Carolina's strict coding and the protection of coastal land through the North Carolina Department of Parks and Recreation, the Outer Banks remains a pristine coastal area, free from the development gone wild that has taken over many other state coastlines.

In fact, while we can recommend a few good hotels to you, you may be hard pressed to find one with availability on the Outer Banks. The town of Corolla has only two, offering just 160 hotel rooms to vacationers, and that's not atypical. Most families opt to rent one of the many large and still affordable rental houses that are just steps from the ocean and, yet, not on top of the neighbors.

Once there, you'll delight in the wide beaches, lukewarm southern waters and the gorgeous scenery. But that's not all. You can visit the sight where the Wright brothers made their first test flight, or visit the first English Colony in the New World, which dates back to 1587. Between those historic stops, there are plenty of things to do for nature-lovers, as well. You can visit wildlife refuges or rent four-wheeler, and hit the beach, where a limited number of cars is allowed for pristine fishing and swimming opportunities.

The Outer Banks has several different towns to choose from, each of which has plentiful plentiful public beach access:

The town of Southern Shores, is surprisingly, still in the northern part of the Outer Banks, is just one mile wide and four miles long nestled between Kitty Hawk and Ducks. Southern Shores is home to one of the most luxurious communities on the Outer Banks, Martin's Point on the Currituck Sound, but also has a wide range of housing rental options. Its proximity to shopping and dining make it a great destination.

The Town of Duck is one of the Outer Banks northernmost communities, and also one of the most popular destinations on the Outer Banks. A very popular walking/cycling trail runs parallel to Highway 12 in Duck, and the beaches are fantastic.

Also located in the northern part of the outer banks, The Town of Kitty Hawk is most widely known for being the site of Orville and Wilbur Wright's first flight attempt. Kitty Hawk has a traditional village center, a small community of year round residents and a 461-acre maritime forest reserve called Kitty Hawk Woods that feature a wide variety of plant and animal life.

Kill Devil Hills is set in the middle of the Outer Banks Northern Beaches, and is more commercial than the more northern towns. In Kill Devil Hills you have easy access to shopping and a huge variety of dining. Also home to the first successful Wright Brothers flight that is commemorated in the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

People flock to Nags Head, the largest in the Outer Banks, to visit Jockey's Ridge State Park, the tallest natural sand dune system in the eastern United States, offering amazing views and endless fun for kids. Plentiful public beach accesses and accompanied parking can be found along the Nags Head oceanfront as well as two public fishing piers. Nags Head has the longest municipal stretch of oceanfront at 11 miles.

Hatteras Island, in the Southern part of the Outer Banks, is at the center of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, a 72 mile stretch of the most undeveloped natural beaches in the country that runs from Bodie Island to Ocracoke Island. Averaging less than a mile wide, and in most places much less, Hatteras Island is the most remote and undeveloped link in the chain of sandy barrier islands that make up The Outer Banks of North Carolina. There are no incorporated towns on Hatteras, but a series of seven villages.

Wherever you stay on the Outer Banks, we think you'll find the endless seashore and the Southern hospitality reason enough to come back again and again.

In August we traveled to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and rented a beach house near the town of Duck. Our group included my husband and myself ...