Planning a trip to visit the Outer Banks

[Somefun]

Guys my wife and I want to take our Rubicon to the Outer Banks for the first time. We’ve never been there and we’re primarily going there to go wheeling on the beach. Do you guys have any suggestions on which are the best beaches with the most amount of miles we can travel on the beach. If possible we’d also like to see the wild horses. Will be driving down from Connecticut and want to rent a house down there for a week. Any suggestions would be much appreciated really want to try and hit some dunes if possible

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[Cookie Monster]

I am certainly not an OBX expert, but I have been there a handful of times (only once with my Jeep). For beach driving, as I understand it, you have basically two options in the summer. Head north of Corolla, or south to Bodie Island, Hatteras Island and Ocracoke. Driving on the sand in Nags Head and Kill Devil is only allowed with a permit but only Oct-Apr.

For any beach parking You need a permit (our rental included one) Check online for local time limits, costs, and availability.

North:
We stayed in 4x4 beach (aka Carova) last summer. And it requires you to drive on the beach to get to your rental. The beach is considered a state highway. The section closest to the dunes as well as near the breaking waves is for driving. When playing on the beach you have to park in the middle and either stay in the middle or in the waves. If you sit too far from the waves, you will be asked to move by the sheriff. I highly recommend this area if you like driving on sand, our rental was 30 min of sand driving after the end of the road. Tons of wild horses here, we saw them daily, usually in the yard of our rental. One thing I never saw mentioned, the off beach streets were full of giant puddles (18+" deep), I lost my front plate in one of them, I found several other missing plates, but never my own.

South:
I have not done any beach driving in the south. But I've seen plenty of beach access points. As I understand it, it is similar to Carova, but check with the town's website for any variations in rules. Either way you are looking at about an hour north or maybe more south from the main access bridges.

Tips:
- Air Down. I ran 15 psi and 4wd the whole week, and never had any issues. Seriously air down before you hit the sand. We passed 3 trucks stuck in the sand within the first 50 yards. Local PD was already assisting them. There are plenty of free/cheap air up stations in the area.

- Don't park at the water line. First it appears to be against the laws. Second, the tide can come in quickly and you don't want to be stuck and have the water rising.

- Be sure to wash you Jeep after you return, salt is corrosive, and you want that gone as soon as possible. I parked over a sprinkler and watched tons of sand come off the underside.

Wild Horses!

 

[Somefun]

Thanks that's great info, We're looking at going in the beginning of October. Nags Head and Kill Devil sound pretty good also. Need to see what's available for a rental home and this work from there.

 

[UNC Rubicon]

@Cookie Monster nailed most all of the points in his post. If you’re wanting to drive the most miles on the beach (11 miles to the Virginia line / fence) and see horses, Carova is the only answer. There are no horses down south.

If you decide on Carova, don’t be disappointed when roughly a mile in, trucks are packed side by side and folks are loud and obnoxious. Keep driving - the farther you go, the fewer people you will see. It seems like 90% of the folks out there stop right past the line where beach parking is permitted.

Regarding the “puddles” - avoid them. No matter how tempting they look. They will swallow you. I winched 2 folks out of one of those puddles. One hydrolocked his brand new JLUR - literally bought it the day before. I saw 2 other folks getting pulled out of those holes both hydro locked.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Regarding the “puddles” - avoid them. No matter how tempting they look. They will swallow you. I winched 2 folks out of one of those puddles. One hydrolocked his brand new JLUR - literally bought it the day before. I saw 2 other folks getting pulled out of those holes both hydro locked.

Yeah, I guess I didn't word it strongly enough. I was intending it to be a warning. I lost the plate the first day on the way into our rental. I wasn't aware of the danger. Once you are there, you will learn which roads to take in and out. A lot of the puddles can be driven around, or avoided with a different route. The worst puddles seem to be on the road closest to the beach that runs parallel to the water line. But there are several doozies elsewhere as well. You'll figure out which access point to take that avoids the worst of them. In our case we would go one exit past our rental, then back track on one of the "better" streets. (street means sand, puddles, and maybe mud in Carova)

Near the end of our stay, they combed the street our rental was on with a tractor and some sort of grading apparatus. It helped a little.

 

[OINC]

I am certainly not an OBX expert, but I have been there a handful of times (only once with my Jeep). For beach driving, as I understand it, you have basically two options in the summer. Head north of Corolla, or south to Bodie Island, Hatteras Island and Ocracoke. Driving on the sand in Nags Head and Kill Devil is only allowed with a permit but only Oct-Apr.

For any beach parking You need a permit (our rental included one) Check online for local time limits, costs, and availability.


South:
I have not done any beach driving in the south. But I've seen plenty of beach access points. As I understand it, it is similar to Carova, but check with the town's website for any variations in rules. Either way you are looking at about an hour north or maybe more south from the main access bridges.

A little to the south of where 64 hits 12, you'll be in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which extends all the way down to Ocracoke. To drive on the beach there, you need an ORV permit ($50/10day) that you have to get online and print out these days. The same permit works for the southern part of Bodie Island as well as all of Hatteras and Ocracoke (ie, the entire seashore, so you can take a day trip on the ferry over to Ocracoke if you don't want to stay there). They do check permits quite frequently. so do not skip it.

There are tons of beach access points, but depending on the time of the year they close sections of the beach for turtle nesting and bird nesting. From mid-November through April, you can drive on the beach any time; otherwise, it opens at 7am and closes at 9pm. Wildlife closures are always very clearly signed, and they keep this page up to date with closures and updates throughout the entire seashore.

https://www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

I always go Ocracoke, largely because I like my beaches free of houses and other crap. Hands down no contest the best beaches in NC, if you ask me (and I've been to almost all of them as both a kid and an adult).

BTW, there ARE wild horses on Ocracoke, but they're in a pasture and no longer allowed to roam free on the island. That may change if they decide move the north ferry dock.

To the south of Ocracoke is the Cape Lookout National Seashore, which is also part of the outer banks, but not the part everyone thinks about. I haven't explored that area much as an adult.

 

[OINC]

Any suggestions would be much appreciated really want to try and hit some dunes if possible

Also, it's important to note: DO NOT DRIVE ON THE DUNES anywhere on the outer banks, except at posted crossing areas/beach access points/"roads" (in Corolla and Carova).

 

[Pepe My Little Mule]

No permit required for the beaches/sand highway north of Nags Head.

National Park Service requires a fee/permit to drive on the beach along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Permit is easy, pay the fee and watch the instructional 15 min video and Boom!

Air down, carry a real shovel, and a flat piece of plywood etc to use as a jack base for the sand. Kinnetic Tow straps come in handy too.

When driving stay outta the surf and when crossing the dunes don't stop, keep driving until you are on or off the beach! Most people get stuck crossing the dunes, the rest in the surf.

The numerous beach access points open/close depending on bird and sea turtle nesting cycles/areas.

Any other questions call ahead, the Rangers and Staff can always give you tips/suggestions.

Enjoy! It's a blast! Best part is throwing all the beach shit in the back of the Jeep and no more bruised shins from lugging beach chairs and Tonka trucks!

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