Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge

• N.C. Highway 12
• Hatteras Island
• (252) 987-2394

The refuge’s Visitor Center, located on the northern end of Hatteras Island about 4 miles south of Oregon Inlet, is a good place to start a Pea Island visit. It gives an introduction to the ecosystem and wildlife of the refuge and the activities that are permissible there. You can also pick up informational brochures, the National Park Service’s newspaper and trail maps. A restroom and plenty of parking are available. You can start a hike around North Pond here (see the Hiking section below). Ask at the Visitor Center about the canoe tours and guided bird walks that are offered almost year round or other programs that might be held during the summer. The Visitor Center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day. Beyond the Visitor Center, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge is a 13-mile stretch of pristine barrier island. The beaches are wonderfully devoid of people most of the time, and there are several access points for getting to the beach. Pea Island is also great for surfing, surf fishing, shell hunting, kayaking, photography and other eco-friendly outdoor activities. Driving on the beach is not allowed here.

A good, flat, easy hike starts at the Pea Island Visitor Center, about 4 miles south of Oregon Inlet. Park in the parking lot and look for the North Pond trailhead behind the restrooms. A sturdy, handicapped-accessible boardwalk leads back into the marshy areas around North Pond where you’ll see a variety of birds and wildlife. After the boardwalk ends, you can keep going on an unpaved service road that takes you all the way around the pond. The North Pond Trail connects with the Salt Flats Trail, and at the end (N.C. Highway 12) you can either turn back and go the way you came or walk down N.C. 12 or along the beach to get back to the Visitor Center. The entire loop, if you take the beach route, is about 4 miles. The northern leg of the North Pond circuit is prone to excessive mosquito habitation at all times of the year. Don’t let that keep you away; just bring insect repellent. You can also park at the Salt Flats trailhead, a little over a mile north of the Visitor Center. You’ll see a lot of birds on these trails no matter what time of year you’re here, but this hike is most phenomenal in the fall and winter, when thousands of migratory birds are resting over on the pond. You’ll see snow geese, Canada geese, tundra swan and numerous species of ducks. You can pick up trail maps at the Visitor Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day. Ask about the guided bird walks held here.

RC Hatteras Movies 4

• 41934 N.C. Highway 12, Hatteras Island Plaza
• Avon
• (252) 995-9060

RC Theatres offers four first-run movies daily in the summer months, and they close in the off-season. Beware the rainy day, when the theater is most crowded — you can buy advance tickets on those days. For movie info, call the hotline at the number above or visit www.rctheatres.com.

REAL Watersports Lesson Center

• 25706 N.C. Highway 12
• Waves
• (252) 987-6000; (866) REAL-548

If you’re thinking of becoming a kiteboarder or surfer or advancing your current skills, REAL lessons and camps are your ticket to accelerated, safe and progressive instruction. REAL’s Zero 2 Hero kiteboarding and surfing camps have been rated by Outside magazine as one of the Top Ten Adventure Camps in the world. The new REAL flagship store is an 18,000-square-foot aquaplex with specific areas for the retail store, school, rental shop, restaurant and spa. Also included in this new space is an additional 4,000-square-foot deck facing the Pamlico Sound, allowing views of all the kiteboarding action and the sunsets on the sound. The REAL rental shop offers everything you need for kiting, surfing or standup paddleboarding. Ask about REAL’s instructional DVDs for these sports.

Ride Hatteras

• 40168 N.C. Highway 12
• Avon
• (252) 995-6755

Ride Hatteras offers windsurfing and kiteboarding lessons for beginner, intermediate or advanced riders. Equipment is tailored to meet the needs of the student and the wind conditions of the day. They also offer surfing lessons for all ages. Kids’ lessons are available, and class sizes are small. You can rent equipment for windsurfing, surfing, body boarding and skimboarding here, and they sell other essential gear.

Rodanthe Surf Shop

• 23580 N.C. Highway 12
• Rodanthe
• (252) 987-2412

Rodanthe Surf Shop exists for the love of surfing alone. They rent body, surf and skim boards, and this is the place to custom order your own Hatteras Glass Surfboard, shaped on site.

Rodanthe Watersports and Campground

• 24170 N.C. Highway 12
• Rodanthe
• (252) 987-1431

Rodanthe Watersports offers affordable rentals of Jet Skis, kayaks, sailboats, surfboards, skim boards, body boards, wetsuits, beach chairs, bikes and umbrellas. Right on the sound, it offers easy, uncrowded access to the water. Look for this business next to the Chicamacomico Water Tower.

Sail World

• 41074 N.C. Highway 12
• Avon
• (252) 995-5441

Sail World is a full-service watersports shop, offering rentals, lessons and the latest gear for kiteboarding, standup paddleboarding, windsurfing and surfing. Lessons are offered for all ages and all levels; reservations are recommended for lessons. The store sells backpacks, street wear, swimwear, wetsuits, sunglasses and pretty much anything else the active crowd needs.

Salvo Day Use Area

• N.C. Highway 12
• Rodanthe

This is a very cool spot for hanging out by the sound. The site is a former National Park Service Campground that was closed due to lack of funds. The former campground area is a little overgrown, but the roads and soundside beach are kept up nicely. When you turn in, head to the right to the northwest corner of the lot. There you’ll find a parking area and restroom facilities next to a small cemetery. The sound beach is an awesome spot for fishing, launching a kiteboard, sailboard, paddleboard or kayak, swimming or sitting in the sun. It’s usually not very crowded, and the calm water is great for kids when the ocean is rough. Be sure to walk through the little cemetery before you leave. Some of the oldest island names are on the headstones.

Sandbar and Grille

• 49250 N.C. Highway 12
• Buxton
• (252) 995-3413

The Sandbar restaurant has a whole level devoted to its game room. You’ll find a pool table, Foosball, video games and more. This is a great place for parents to enjoy a quiet meal with an awesome sound view while the kids play in the game room.

Scotch Bonnet Boat Ramp and Dock

• 51684 N.C. Highway 12
• Frisco
• (252) 995-4242

The marina next to the Scotch Bonnet gift shop offers a boat ramp, which can be used for a $10 fee; parking is available.

Spa Koru

• 40920 N.C. Highway 12
• Avon
• (252) 995-3125

Discover your path to personal wellness at this state-of-the-art campus and vacation destination, offering a fitness center, salon, spa, cafe, meditation gardens and accommodations. “Koru” represents the unfolding of life in renewal, vitality, hope and pleasure, and Spa Koru is well equipped to offer just that to its clients. Spa Koru offers expert instruction in personal training, group exercise, yoga and wellness retreats, as well as a world of relaxation with signature spa services, massage, and hair and nail care in the intimate island salon. The boutique sells health and beauty products, and Koru Kafe serves juice and coffee plus homemade wraps, sandwiches, salads and cookies from Frisco Sandwich Co. With the addition of four two-bedroom villas, offering luxurious accommodations and complimentary passes to the gym and fitness center, Spa Koru is a place where you can stay, play and be pampered. Bridal parties are welcome at Spa Koru. You’ll find it in Avon, next to the Health East Family Medical Center.

Sunsational Designs Gallery, Coffee and Beads

• 53255 N.C. Highway 12
• Frisco
• (252) 995-5960

This gallery, owned by a native Hatteras Island family for more than 20 years, is not an ordinary art gallery. Sure, they offer paintings and other artwork by local artists, including the jewelry of Sarah Jackson, but they also offer rock art, buoy art and fun gifts and souvenirs, like hats and T-shirts. They also sell hundreds of beads, so this is a great place to make your own custom jewelry. Sunsational now offers gourmet coffee and espresso-based drinks and specialty teas.

Teach’s Lair Marina

• 58646 N.C. Highway 12
• Hatteras Village
• (252) 986-2460

Teach’s Lair has a ramp for launching boats that can be used for a fee as well as a full-service marina and slip rentals.

The Frisco Jubilee

• 52859 Piney Ridge Road and N.C. Highway 12, Little Grove Church
• Frisco
• (252) 995-3540

Every Saturday night from June 6 through October, be sure to catch Hatteras Island’s best musicians for a night of pickin’ and singin’ old favorites, classic bluegrass, gospel and Outer Banks originals at the Frisco Jubilee. Some of the musicians you might see include Martin Garrish and Friends, Speedy Price, Stash Lawrence, Mahlon Blue and John Couch, April Trueblood, Caitlyn Gray and Johnnie Baum. The show begins at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are sold at the door for $10 each. Watch for special performances to be held in Rodanthe and Hatteras Village.

The Glass Bead

• 39774 N.C. Highway 12, Dairy Queen Shopping Center
• Avon
• (252) 995-7020

Let your creative streak shine at this make-your-own-jewelry store. The Glass Bead has thousands of beads, including handmade beads, crystals, semiprecious stones, charms and seed beads, plus hemp for designing your own necklaces, bracelets, earrings and other jewelry. You can make the jewelry here, and lessons are offered. All the supplies you need are available, including cording, thread, clasps and idea books. Pre-made jewelry is for sale as well. Java Junction, a coffee shop and Internet café is right
next door.

U.S. Weather Bureau Station/Hatteras Welcome Center

• Hatteras Village
• (252) 986-2203

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, weather observations gathered near Cape Hatteras were important for forecasters all along the East Coast. The Hatteras Island weather station was so critical that in 1901 the U.S. Weather Bureau constructed a dedicated Weather Bureau building in Hatteras Village, one of only 11 such buildings constructed in the nation at the turn of the century. The building still stands in Hatteras Village and is next to the Burrus Red & White grocery store at the corner of Saxon Cut and Kohler roads. The National Park Service restored the building to its original 1901 appearance, yellow exterior and all. The NPS had the benefit of the original building plans to aid in its restoration, so the building is true to its original. The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau operates a visitors/welcome center in one room of the building; stop by to pick up tourist information and also to see the interior of this historic building.

Uglie Mugs Coffeehouse

• 40534 N.C. Highway 12
• Avon
• (252) 995-5590

Uglie Mugs offers quite the combination of enticements—coffee, baked goods, Internet access and beads galore. The bead shop offers thousands of beads and all the supplies you need to make your own jewelry.

Uncle Eddy’s Frozen Custard and 18-Hole Minigolf

• 46860 N.C. Highway 12
• Buxton
• (252) 995-4059

Next to Falcon Motel, this is the place for summer fun. The 18-hole mini-golf course is nestled under live oaks, providing a shady spot to get out of the sun. Unlimited play is available for a very reasonable price. After golf, cool down with the delicious homemade frozen custard and ice cream this place is known for.

Unloading Catches at the Docks

• Hatteras Village Marinas
• Hatteras Village

For a chance to see the offshore boats unloading the day’s deep-sea catches, head down to one of the Hatteras Village marinas between 3:30 and 5 p.m. When the boats come in, the fishing mates unload the day’s catches onto the docks so the fish can be taken away and cleaned. Most days you’ll see something, usually yellow-fin tuna, mahi-mahi and Wahoo plus some other interesting fish. The big-game fish are caught and released, so you won’t see all the white marlin, blue marlin and sailfish that were caught that day, though you can count the flags on the boats to see how many were released. If you’re really lucky in the winter months you might see a boat bring in a giant blue-fin tuna, a rare spectacle.

Video Arcade

• St. Waves Plaza
• Waves
• (252) 207-3400

For fun times out of the sun, stop by the Video Arcade at St. Waves Plaza. There are pool tables, air hockey, a variety of video games, a skiing simulator and a few games for little kids.

Village Marina

• 57980 N.C. Highway 12
• Hatteras Village
• (252) 986-2522

In Hatteras Village, this marina charges a small fee per launch but it’s a convenient spot to put in.