It's beautiful -- but chilly -- on the beach in the off season.
It’s too cold to swim. The bars and restaurants are eerily empty. The souvenir shops are shuttered. The Outer Banks may not be the most lively out-of-season destination. But there’s plenty to do at this resort town, if post-apocolyptic desolation is your thing.
Drive on the beach
The beach on at the northern end of Carolla is always open to vehicle traffic, but in the off-season, after October 1st, several other stretches of beach open up to automobiles as well. This includes parts of Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills. Since We’re Out of Here only had a two-wheel drive Toyota Carolla, we decided to opt for the well-traveled (and well packed) beach on the north side of Carolla.
Now, driving on the beach can be a little dicey, especially in a two-wheel drive car. The packed sand close to the ocean is great for driving, but to reach it, you have to drive through the fluffy sand at the top of the beach. The sight of a PT Cruiser and another Carolla stuck in the sand made us think twice, but we went for it anyway.
There is really only one secret to driving through loosely packed sand, speed, and lots of it. It’s not like driving on snow, you have to gun the engine and plow right through the sand to safety.
Glide Down a Giant Dune
In the summer, walking on the baking sand of Jockey’s Ridge State Park’s giant dune is akin to being trapped in the Sarhara. On average, the sand is 20 degrees hotter than the tempeture of the surrounding area.
In the off season, the weather is cool enough to enjoy this breath-takingly large pile of sand — the biggest, in fact, in the entire Eastern US. Also, with the off season come sand boarding. Only permitted on the dune from Oct. 31 to March 31.
Buy Lot’s of Beer
We’ve all seen that ubiquitous Brew Thru t-shirts that people don in the summertime with their flip-flops. Conventional wisdom would tell you that this is the place to go to buy beer on the Outerbanks. Not so. Chip’s Wine and Beer Market is the place to go. Located in a strip mall at about mile post 6 on the Croatan Highway, this small store is filled with beer. It has one of the best selection of single bottles I have ever seen, including some local beers that I haven’t seen anywhere else. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly and they even wear matching bowling shirts.
All You Can Eat Seafood Buffet’s
These places are pretty much everywhere in Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills. During the summer, they are usually packed with an interminable wait to be seated. In the off-season, however, they are practically begging you to come on. They even try to tempt you with the promise of six different kinds of crab legs or a free lobster tail.
For your seafood pig-out the best bet is probably Carolina Seafood or Jimmy’s Seafood Buffett. I have been to both establishments and I must admit that there isn’t much of a difference between the two. Both have mounds of fried goodies, both have a variety of crab legs and both usually have a small selection of locally caught food. My advice is to go to whichever one you see first.
Outer Banks, Out of Season
It's beautiful -- but chilly -- on the beach in the off season.
It’s too cold to swim. The bars and restaurants are eerily empty. The souvenir shops are shuttered. The Outer Banks may not be the most lively out-of-season destination. But there’s plenty to do at this resort town, if post-apocolyptic desolation is your thing.
Drive on the beach
The beach on at the northern end of Carolla is always open to vehicle traffic, but in the off-season, after October 1st, several other stretches of beach open up to automobiles as well. This includes parts of Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills. Since We’re Out of Here only had a two-wheel drive Toyota Carolla, we decided to opt for the well-traveled (and well packed) beach on the north side of Carolla.
Now, driving on the beach can be a little dicey, especially in a two-wheel drive car. The packed sand close to the ocean is great for driving, but to reach it, you have to drive through the fluffy sand at the top of the beach. The sight of a PT Cruiser and another Carolla stuck in the sand made us think twice, but we went for it anyway.
There is really only one secret to driving through loosely packed sand, speed, and lots of it. It’s not like driving on snow, you have to gun the engine and plow right through the sand to safety.
Glide Down a Giant Dune
In the summer, walking on the baking sand of Jockey’s Ridge State Park’s giant dune is akin to being trapped in the Sarhara. On average, the sand is 20 degrees hotter than the tempeture of the surrounding area.
In the off season, the weather is cool enough to enjoy this breath-takingly large pile of sand — the biggest, in fact, in the entire Eastern US. Also, with the off season come sand boarding. Only permitted on the dune from Oct. 31 to March 31.
Buy Lot’s of Beer
We’ve all seen that ubiquitous Brew Thru t-shirts that people don in the summertime with their flip-flops. Conventional wisdom would tell you that this is the place to go to buy beer on the Outerbanks. Not so. Chip’s Wine and Beer Market is the place to go. Located in a strip mall at about mile post 6 on the Croatan Highway, this small store is filled with beer. It has one of the best selection of single bottles I have ever seen, including some local beers that I haven’t seen anywhere else. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly and they even wear matching bowling shirts.
All You Can Eat Seafood Buffet’s
These places are pretty much everywhere in Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills. During the summer, they are usually packed with an interminable wait to be seated. In the off-season, however, they are practically begging you to come on. They even try to tempt you with the promise of six different kinds of crab legs or a free lobster tail.
For your seafood pig-out the best bet is probably Carolina Seafood or Jimmy’s Seafood Buffett. I have been to both establishments and I must admit that there isn’t much of a difference between the two. Both have mounds of fried goodies, both have a variety of crab legs and both usually have a small selection of locally caught food. My advice is to go to whichever one you see first.
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