OBX Thread: Corolla/Carova Beach or just stick to Ocracoke? (1 Viewer)

[Oil Chain]

All horse watching aside… is it worth making the trek north to Corolla/Carova beach? We usually just stick to Nags Head and Ocracoke but wanted some opinions. It will be fun to take the LX in the sand for the first time regardless of beach.

Pics of cruisers on the beach are a plus!

 

[mtweller]

Been a while, but... OG ONSC'ers in this one:

 

[gasman4u]

All horse watching aside… is it worth making the trek north to Corolla/Carova beach? We usually just stick to Nags Head and Ocracoke but wanted some opinions. It will be fun to take the LX in the sand for the first time regardless of beach.

Pics of cruisers on the beach are a plus!

My family enjoyed Corolla/Carova, but I have not had a chance to go to other driveable areas of the OBX. It is nice to have a quieter spot, but can say the horses lose their mystique when they start getting too close to your beach setup.

 

[xychromosome]

All horse watching aside… is it worth making the trek north to Corolla/Carova beach? We usually just stick to Nags Head and Ocracoke but wanted some opinions. It will be fun to take the LX in the sand for the first time regardless of beach.

Pics of cruisers on the beach are a plus!

Ocracoke and below nags head are the best beaches to drive on in my opinion. You may not always see horses driving north of Corolla. It's still a nice drive up that way, the town of Duck is nice. But I wouldn't make a special trip up that way if already enjoying Ocracoke!

 

[alk747triodad]

^^ I agree with xychromosome. I love the south end over the Kitty Hawk area but haven't experienced Corova or Duck. Stayed a week at Kitty Hawk back in 1995 and the water was colder than south of the Cape Hatteras light house and the jelly fish were on the attack. After that, we stayed at Hatteras Village and prefer the Exit 49 beach, the ferry ride to Ocracoke, and the beach directly across from Howards Pub. One of the best beaches on the east coast. There is also a small inlet beach just past the ferry launch at Hatteras that we like to go to on windy days or just to get away from the crowds. It is not marked but is a sleeper spot that is a great place that is shallow for the young kids and entertaining watching the ferry's come and go.


Love it when you have the beach all to yourself

Shipwreck at Hatteras village

Favorite beach in Frisco

Just bragging

 

[onemanarmy]

Been a while, but... OG ONSC'ers in this one:

Nice....forgot about that vid. Back when my 55 ran worth a darn.

 

[StinkyPig]

We have a house rented on the 4WD beach in April.
I was thinking of trailering a Toyota down to have a spare vehicle. Is there any place one can park an empty car trailer? Not sure I dare drag it though the sand to the house.

 

[thecapedcapper]

Could someone school me on outer banks 4wd beaches? I've driven on Fort Fischer beach in the past and enjoyed it but it was quite busy, but I would still go back. I've heard a bit about Ocracoke and other beaches on the outer banks but I wonder if it's worth the extra drive time?

Also I'm looking into a weekend getaway to Portsmouth Island if I can get a ferry reservation, any feedback on the island or ferry?

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Portsmouth got cut up by a hurricane a few years ago. Most of us haven't been back since then. Cape lookout is the next island south, and offers the same feel. 10/10.

 

[xychromosome]

Could someone school me on outer banks 4wd beaches? I've driven on Fort Fischer beach in the past and enjoyed it but it was quite busy, but I would still go back. I've heard a bit about Ocracoke and other beaches on the outer banks but I wonder if it's worth the extra drive time?

Also I'm looking into a weekend getaway to Portsmouth Island if I can get a ferry reservation, any feedback on the island or ferry?

OBX beached are well worth the trip. Much less traffic compared to fort fisher, mainly because there are so many access points and you can drive on a much larger area of beach. Head south from Nags head and take your pick of access points all the way down to Hatteras. Ocracoke beaches are the widest and your closest Neighbour may be over 1/2mile away. However you need to take a ferry there so plan on staying the night at least to make the most of it.

 

[SFROMAN]

Could someone school me on outer banks 4wd beaches? I've driven on Fort Fischer beach in the past and enjoyed it but it was quite busy, but I would still go back. I've heard a bit about Ocracoke and other beaches on the outer banks but I wonder if it's worth the extra drive time?

Also I'm looking into a weekend getaway to Portsmouth Island if I can get a ferry reservation, any feedback on the island or ferry?

I’m surprised fort fisher was busy. It usually never is when I go.
I love fort fisher but now that I have been to Cape lookout it is my new favorite place.
In my opinion cape lookout should be your first option if your goal is to have a beach pretty much all to yourself. Just call the ferry and make a reservation ahead of time and you should be fine.

 

[xychromosome]

I’m surprised fort fisher was busy. It usually never is when I go.
I love fort fisher but now that I have been to Cape lookout it is my new favorite place.
In my opinion cape lookout should be your first option if your goal is to have a beach pretty much all to yourself. Just call the ferry and make a reservation ahead of time and you should be fine.

Last time I was at fort fisher was a weekday in Feb and it was empty. Time before that it was a fishing tournament weekend and it was like trying to find a parking spot at a Costco!

 

[onemanarmy]

The cabins on portsmouth are still closed, but you can tent camp. This means far fewer people.

Wait...its terrible. Don't go.

 

[SFROMAN]

Last time I was at fort fisher was a weekday in Feb and it was empty. Time before that it was a fishing tournament weekend and it was like trying to find a parking spot at a Costco!

Haven’t experienced that. Hope I ever do.
I know a couple of years ago they started limiting the amount of people at freeman park so the crowd has gotten bigger at fort fisher.
It used to be the beach use fee and the 2 mile entrance to the beach were deterrent enough to keep fort fisher pretty isolated. I hope it doesn’t turn into the clown show that is freeman park.

Not that I am too worried. Im sold on cape lookout so if I am going to go to the beach I will make the effort to go to cape lookout and have the beaches mostly to myself.

 

[lumbee1]

Haven’t experienced that. Hope I ever do.
I know a couple of years ago they started limiting the amount of people at freeman park so the crowd has gotten bigger at fort fisher.
It used to be the beach use fee and the 2 mile entrance to the beach were deterrent enough to keep fort fisher pretty isolated. I hope it doesn’t turn into the clown show that is freeman park.

Not that I am too worried. Im sold on cape lookout so if I am going to go to the beach I will make the effort to go to cape lookout and have the beaches mostly to myself.

 

[onemanarmy]

Just remember....your elected officials have encouraged unregulated population growth in NC the past few years without any concern of the open lands, green spaces, woods, trees, wildlife, beaches and over all quality of life.....so be prepared for ever increasing stress on these limited natural resources and be ready to be elbow to elbow with transplants that could care less about the history and wonder of NC and what made NC so great

 

[SFROMAN]

be elbow to elbow with transplants that could care less about the history and wonder of NC and what made NC so great

I’m a transplant and I can’t care less about the history and wonder of NC. That doesn’t mean I’m going to trash the place.
In my defense I’m originally from Texas so I already downgraded to live here. Haha

 

[thecapedcapper]

I’m a transplant and I can’t care less about the history of NC. That doesn’t mean I’m going to trash the place.

Same here.

 

[onemanarmy]

cool...i guess. you're the very small minority.

However, all of the things that 'make NC a great place to live' are RAPIDLY being destroyed due to unrestrained growth and a by a sole focus of the idiots in charge to increase the tax base (read: power for themselves), all other short, mid, and long term issues (that any person capable of rational thinking can see coming) be damned. Trashing the place can mean a wide variety of things.....clear cutting a 1000 acres for rows of souless houses that encourage more wasteful cars and driving, paving over farm land for another harris teeter shopping center, 2 lane roads are now 5 lanes, state and local parks (read: beaches) that are noisy and crowded, increasing crime from more liberal policies, increasing property taxes and home prices....and on and on. Just because trash isn't actively being thrown on the ground doesn't mean the area isn't being trashed.

It just blows my mind that people hear "great place to live and work" and then in very short order ruin the very things that made it a 'great place'. What is the purpose?

I'll report to the rant thread now.

 

[AWOLDoc]

Out on the coast now with family. Have to keep the dogs away from the baby gator. Using my Solo I won in the raffle. Great portable fire pit that just works every time. Drinking bourbon so maybe I should be posting this there.