Recreation - Rodanthe, Waves & Salvo

Barefoot Station

• 40618 N.C. Highway 12, next to Village Grocery
• Avon
• (252) 995-7011

Barefoot Station is an upscale convenience store selling what you’d expect: gas, drinks and snacks, beach stuff, T-shirts and specialty beers and wines. What you don’t expect is all the extras they have. They offer hand-dipped ice cream and a Build-A-Bear workshop that costs only $16 per bear. They’ve got a pool table that offers $1 pool games and a really cool movie theater space where you can catch a movie and enjoy a beer or glass of wine. The intimate, 32-seat theater shows current DVD releases with free admission; call to check the schedule and times. The theater is available to rent for $25, so you can bring a group of friends or hold a birthday party here. It’s a great place for a kid’s birthday party as the children can build their own teddy bear, watch a movie and enjoy ice cream.

Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station

• 23645 N.C. Highway 12, MP 39.5
• Rodanthe
• (252) 987-1552

The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station is the nation’s most complete existing example of the life-saving stations that were built along the coast in the late 19th century, the age of shipping, to attend to shipwrecks and rescue survivors. The 1874 station was the first operational life-saving station built in North Carolina, serving until 1954. Chicamacomico has been partially restored, thanks to numerous volunteers who formed a nonprofit organization to save it, and it is now a fine museum and historic site; all structures are original buildings.

On a visit here you’ll see the 1874 Station, the 1911 Station, two cookhouses, water tanks and cistern, a stable, a tractor shed, the smaller boathouse (now the Visitors Center) and a village home built in 1907. In the museum, you’ll learn about the U.S. Life-Saving Service and some of the rescues that occurred here. Artifacts, uniforms, rescue equipment, displays and video presentations abound, and self-guided tours help complete your knowledge of place and history. The gift shop is full of unique nautical items and works by local craftspeople plus books and old-fashioned toys.

June through August, try to catch any of the special programs offered Monday through Friday at 2 p.m. Mondays, hear about the movie Nights in Rodanthe, which was filmed on Hatteras Island. Tuesdays hear true shipwreck and rescue stories. Wednesdays hear native Hatteras Islander Carol Dillon speak about being the real-life inspiration for the book Taffy of Torpedo Junction. Thursdays is the popular historic Beach Apparatus Drill Re-enactment – the only Breeches Buoy demonstration in the country performed by active-duty U.S. Coast Guard personnel. Fridays hear author Scott Dawson’s ideas about what really happened to the Lost Colony. Programs are free with paid admission to the site.

The site is open from mid-April through Thanksgiving weekend, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission fees are charged.

DVO/Duck Village Outfitters

• 26689 N.C. Highway 12
• Salvo
• (252) 987-1222

A surf shop staple in Duck for decades, DVO now has a location on Hatteras Island. DVO rents bikes, kayaks, surfboards and paddleboards and offers kayak tours and surf lessons for all ages. The surf shop sells major brands of clothing for men, women and children, including Billabong, Hurley, Quicksilver and more.

Good Times Surf Shop

• 23280 N.C. Highway 12
• Rodanthe
• (252) 987-2245

Good Times is dedicated to sharing the love of surfing. Experienced instructors offer group, semi-private and private surf lessons and surfing day camps that are great for kids. They also rent surfboards, boogie boards, skim boards and kayaks, and their store sells some surfing-related gear.

Hatteras Island Massage

• 23280 N.C. Highway 12
• Rodanthe
• (252) 305-5551

Licensed therapist Chris Rutledge has a massage studio next to Good Times Surf Shop and offers a variety of therapeutic massage techniques.

Hatteras Island Sail Shop

• 25199 Vela Court and N.C. Highway 12
• Waves
• (252) 987-2292

This soundfront recreation center offers rentals of kayaks, sailboats and windsurfing equipment plus lessons in windsurfing and kiteboarding. An on-site launching facility makes it easy to slip into the water. Kayak eco-tours are offered here.

Hatteras Island Surf Shop

• 25410 N.C. Highway 12
• Waves
• (252) 987-2296

This classic surf shop in an old cottage has been a fixture on the island surf scene for more than 40 years. The shop sells new and used boards and surf-related gear and rents surf, body and skim boards plus beach gear. Surf lessons are available for adults as well as kids.

Island Cruisers

• 26248 N.C. Highway 12
• Salvo
• (252) 987-1250, (252) 202-8388

Island Cruisers offers car rentals on Hatteras Island, including four-wheel-drive vehicles. RV campers who need a car to get around like this service. You can also rent a classic VW–powered fiberglass convertible Buggy that’s a blast to drive. Or you can rent a regular car — economy size to multi-passenger mini-vans. All their vehicles are street legal and get excellent gas mileage. Fishing gear packages are available to rent as well. Reservations are required.

Kitty Hawk Sports

• 24502 N.C. Highway 12, Waves Village Kiteboarding Resort
• Rodanthe
• (252) 987-2297

Kitty Hawk Sports offers gear and equipment for surfing, standup paddleboarding and kayaking. Ask about surf lessons. Kitty Hawk Sports also carries the name brands that everybody wants: Quiksilver, Billabong, Volcom, O’Neill, Roxy, The North Face and many more for men, women and children.

New Inlet Boat Ramp

• Pea Island Wildlife Refuge
• Rodanthe

The New Inlet ramp is for small boats only, and you may launch here for free. It’s in the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, so you’re surrounded by natural beauty.

Oregon Inlet Fishing Center

• 98 N.C. Highway 12
• Oregon Inlet
• (252) 441-6301

The Fishing Center is located on the north side of Oregon Inlet on Bodie Island. It’s free to use the boat launch here, and there’s plenty of parking for vehicles and trailers. The Fishing Center sells fuel (there are pumps for boats in the water and pumps on land) and has air for filling up tires, restrooms and a store selling bait and tackle, clothing, food and snacks, ice and beverages. In the afternoon, it’s fun to come here and watch the anglers from the offshore boats unloading their catches of the day.

REAL Watersports

• 25676 N.C. Highway 12
• Waves
• (252) 987-6000; (866) REAL-548

REAL Watersports teaches kiteboarding, surfing and standup paddleboarding lessons and camps seven days a week. REAL’s Zero 2 Hero camp program was ranked by Outside magazine among the Top 10 Adventure Camps in the world. Inside REAL, you’ll find hundreds of kites, kiteboards, surfboards and standup paddleboards for sale as well as a fully stocked rental shop to get you geared up for your next session. Also onsite is MOJOs Sunset Café with waterfront seating and live entertainment. REAL is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

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 offer surf lessons.

Sailing OBX

• 24170 N.C. Highway 12
• Rodanthe
• (252) 216-9283

Sailing OBX is the sailing component of Rodanthe Watersports. You can rent a 16-foot Hobie cat, an 18-foot American daysailer or a Sunfish to sail on your own, and they’ll give you lessons if you need them. If you prefer to let someone else do the sailing, they offer sunset charters on the American 18-foot Daysailor. Sailing OBX can deliver two of its sailboat models — a Hobie 16 or a Lightning Daysailor 19 — to your location.

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.