Outer Banks Articles & Shorts

If you’re like a lot of people – like hundreds of thousands of people – you love the Outer Banks of North Carolina. You might consider us presumptuous drawing this conclusion so quickly, and we would agree with you . . . except for the fact that we’re right. You love the Outer Banks beaches, the Outer Banks water sports, the Outer Banks towns, Outer Banks shops, the Outer Banks events and Outer Banks activities . . . everything about this place (you wouldn’t be on this site if you didn’t). We do too. And, lucky for you, we also love writing about the Outer Banks. Locals and visitors alike value our Outer Banks information.

Our local writers tell you how to negotiate dining out if you have a big crowd. We show you, step by step, how to pick a crab. We’ve written articles highlighting Corolla and the Currituck Outer Banks or about charming Manteo on Roanoke Island or telling you the mysteries of Ocracoke Island. We cover the events happening on the Outer Banks – and, boy, are there a lot of them to cover! Outer Banks activities, everything from water sports to walking tours to lighthouse tours to birdwatching trips, are focal points. Businesses, rituals and legends local to the Outer Banks are detailed in our articles. You’ll find out how that restaurant got its name or the modest beginning of that now-booming business. We give you insider Outer Banks information about staying safe in the ocean, how to navigate those pesky turn lanes, which restaurants to check out for the best Southern cuisine in the area and resorts’ present and future aspirations. Our Outer Banks articles are good reading. You’ll feel like a local with all the knowledge you’re sure to collect! And we’re adding to them all the time. Click on in to learn about the Outer Banks from the locals' side!

 

Coastal-Driven Variety: The Evolution of the Cotton Gin

By Heather Frese
Seven generations ago, a shipwreck brought Jacob Francis Wright to the shores of Duck, North Carolina. Wright bloomed where he was planted, so to speak, and the family farmed and fished in the area for generations. Over time the family added farmland and expanded their business, even acquiring an abandoned cotton gin... Read More

Get Outside and Explore

By Heather Frese
The world is wild with wonder on the Outer Banks. Arched delicately into the ocean, this fragile yet hardy strand of islands offers an opportunity to explore a maritime environment unlike any other. Imagine digging your toes in the same sand the Wright brothers lifted off from in the first powered flight as you fly a... Read More

Resort-Ready Style All Year Long

By Leah Wingenroth
The Cotton Gin knows style isn’t seasonal – it’s all year round! With each passing year, The Wright family, longtime owners of The Cotton Gin, find new ways to create an exciting shopping experience unlike any other. For more than 60 years, The Cotton Gin has sought innovation in the world of retail, marrying a... Read More

A Nags Head Tradition: 40 Years of The Dunes Restaurant

By Beth P. Storie
Picture a blustery March morning in 1983. It’s cold and windy, but that’s no deterrent to Rufus and Roxie Pritchard, new owners of The Dunes Restaurant, because it’s their opening day. Their very first opening day as owners of a restaurant. Rufus is up at 4 a.m. to get things ready to greet guests at 5:30. The first... Read More

The Beauty of the Windswept Tree

By Molly Harrison
People fall in love with Ocracoke Island for so many reasons — the ocean waves, calm sound waters, weather, history, people, wildlife and on and on. Another element of the island that stirs people’s hearts is the trees. “The wind-sculpted trees are a striking sight,” says lifelong resident Amy Howard, whose home and... Read More