Imagine this: You’ve flown halfway across the country to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, expecting a relaxing drive, tales of lost colonies, and wild horses prancing on the sand. Instead, you lose your glasses out the window of your truck, get stuck with a weird tour guide who makes jokes about child labor, and have an admittedly good beach day—but there are no horses to be seen.
The sun is starting to set, and you’re excited to see the sunset . . . until you realize you’re on the wrong side of the island. Slightly deflated, you pull off the beach to a station where you can refill your tires. You get out of your car and that’s when you see it: the sun setting on the Currituck Sound over a picturesque little park, complete with an old wooden bridge reaching across a little pond and an egret perched perfectly below it.
That was me this past August. The spot I found, by accident, is a recognized tourist spot called Corolla Park in the Northern Outer Banks. Back in the 1920s, the park functioned as a prime spot for duck hunters, who could stay at a large hunting lodge called the Whalehead, which is still open for tours today. The owners of the land, the Knights, hired a contractor to dig out a channel on the western side of the then-peninsula, thus creating an island. Gorgeous wooden bridges were constructed to access the island, and the park now features a floating gazebo dock as well. Central to the park is a small “pond” that flows under the main bridge and into the Currituck Sound. Close by stands the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, completing the quaint scene.
For months, I had been planning this trip and hadn’t found anything about this park. It was pure chance that I happened upon that park that day, but on your next trip, you can plan for it! If you’re headed to Kitty Hawk, Duck, or Kill Devil Hills this next summer, make sure to take a trip just a bit further north to Historic Corolla Park. Bring a picnic or come for the sunset, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.