Recreation | Insiders' Guide® North Carolina's Outer Banks, 26th Edition

		Hang Gliding The closest any human being will ever get to feeling like a bird is by flying beneath the brightly colored wings of a hang glider, with arms outstretched and only the wind all around. Lessons are available for fliers of all ages. Just watching these winged creatures soaring atop Jockey's Ridge or catching air lifts above breakers along the Atlantic is enough to make bystanders want to test their wings. Kitty Hawk Kites/Carolina Outdoors US 158, MP 13, Nags Head (252) 441-4124, (800) FLY-THIS www.kittyhawk.com Kitty Hawk Kites, the country's most popular hang-gliding school, offers various ways to learn how to fly. The company's headquarters, in Nags Head across from Jockey's Ridge State Park, faces the main training site on the largest sand dune in the East. Here learn to fly solo 5 to 15 feet over the soft, forgiving sand, or soar through the clouds at altitudes up to 2,000 feet with an instructor. Either method, offered at various locations along the Outer Banks, is an exhilarating experience you'll never forget and undoubtedly will return home to brag about. If hang gliding has kindled your desire to fly, Kitty Hawk Kites can also help you train to become a certified pilot. A number of packages are designed to help you achieve your goal. This school, the world's largest, has taught more than 250,000 students to fly since 1974. No experience is necessary, and there are no age limitations. As long as you weigh within the parameters, you can fly! Tandem hang gliding instruction is offered at three locations along the Outer Banks. There are no age restrictions and no minimum weight requirement for tandem instruction, which is also accessible to the disabled. Kitty Hawk Kites offers two methods of instruction-by plane or boat. Rates for tandem lessons begin at around $115. Reservations are required for most recreation, so be sure to call ahead. Discount packages are available. Ask about fun and exciting events for adventure enthusiasts of all ages throughout the season!
		Kite Flying Kite flying is not what it used to be. Thanks to modern technology, today it's an adventurous, interactive activity, even a competitive sport. And the Outer Banks is the perfect place to try your hand at it, since one of the top kite stores in the world, Kitty Hawk Kites, is here. There are plenty of open spaces to fly kites on the Outer Banks, though Jockey's Ridge State Park in Nags Head is the absolute best because it offers acres unobstructed by power lines and trees. Kitty Hawk Kites/Carolina Outdoors US 158, MP 13, Nags Head (252) 441-4124 www.kittyhawk.com This is the only dedicated kite store in the area, and it offers an enormous range of kites, from the backyard variety to competition style, which come with an instructional video. The staff is knowledgeable about what they sell, and they can help you pick out just the right kite for your skill level. In addition to lessons and repairs, they offer kite-making workshops in summer. There are several locations of Kitty Hawk Kites on the Outer Banks, but the Nags Head location across from Jockey's Ridge has the largest selection. This company hosts several kite-flying events throughout the year, including the annual Outer Banks Stunt Kite Competition and Festival at Jockey's Ridge in October. See our Annual Events chapter for more kite events.
		Miniature Golf Courses No beach vacation is complete without the timeless activity of miniature golf. More than a dozen minigolf courses adorn the Outer Banks from Corolla through Hatteras Island. Themed fairways featuring African animals, circus clowns, and strange obstacles await even the most amateur club-swinging families. Small children enjoy the ease of some of these holes, and even skilled golfers can get into the par 3 grass courses that have been growing in numbers over recent years. You can tee off at most places by 10:00 A.M.Many courses stay open past midnight for night owls to enjoy. Several of these attractions offer play-all-day packages for a single price. Almost all minigolf courses operate seasonally, and since they are all outside, their openings are weather-dependent. Corolla The Grass Course NC 12, Corolla (252) 453-4198 Offering the Outer Banks's first natural- grass course, these soundside greens are open seven days a week throughout the summer season from 10:00 A.M.to 11:00 P.M. The 18-hole course includes par 3s, 4s, and 5s. The undulating hills winding around natural dunes provide intriguing challenges for beginning and better golfers. The course is open from April to October and at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Grass Course sells hot dogs and barbecue. Kitty Hawk The Promenade US 158, MP 1/4, Kitty Hawk (252) 261-4900 This family fun park includes Victorian- style buildings, turn-of-the-20th-century streetlights, waterside recreation, a children's playground, and an 18-hole themed minigolf course called Waterfall Greens. There's also a 9-hole, par 3, natural-grass putting course, complete with separate putting greens; a target driving range; a par 3 chip-and-putt 9-hole course; and an 18-hole course. A restaurant, snack bar, and picnic tables are on-site. The Promenade is open Easter weekend through early October. Summer hours are from 8:30 A.M.to midnight, seven days a week. Paradise Golf US 158, MP 5 1/2, Kitty Hawk (252) 441-7626 More challenging than the usual minigolf fairways, this natural-grass site includes two 18-hole, par 56 courses. Most holes are 110 feet from the tees. The courses are open from 10:00 A.M. until midnight daily during summer. For one price ($7.00 for adults, $5.00 for children) you can play all day. Kill Devil Hills Lost Treasure Golf US 158, MP 7 1/2, Kill Devil Hills (252) 480-0142 One of the barrier islands' newer-and most attention-getting-minigolf parks, Lost Treasure Golf features two 18-hole courses situated among five waterfalls illuminated with different colors at night. Kids love the little train that carts them up to the first hole and through a series of caves and mines. Professor Hacker, a fictional adventurer, tells his story about gold and diamond expeditions that kids read about as they play. Lost Treasure Golf is open April through November. Hours are 9:00 A.M.to 11:00 P.M. daily in the summer and are decreased accordingly in the off-season. Nags Head Galaxy Golf NC 12, MP 11, Nags Head (252) 441-5875 Aliens, flying saucers, and outer space objects surround 36 lighted holes of mini- golf at this popular Outer Banks course on the Beach Road. Galaxy golf is open on weekends in April, early May, September, and October and daily throughout the summer. In-season hours are 9:00 A.M.to midnight. Children younger than four with a paying adult play free. The price doesn't change after dark as it does on many minigolf courses. Blackbeard's Golf and Arcade US 158, MP 16, Nags Head (252) 441-4541 The Outer Banks's most infamous pirate wields his 6-foot sword above these greens. Open daily, summers only, until at least 10:00 P.M., Blackbeard's includes a video arcade for alternate entertainment after putting around. Jurassic Putt US 158, MP 16, Nags Head (252) 441-6841 Life-size models of dinosaurs from the Jurassic period hover over and among Jurassic Putt's greens, delighting kids and adults alike. Two 18-hole courses wind through caves and streams and around the dinosaur models. Jurassic Putt is open daily from mid-March until November. Hours are 9:00 A.M. until midnight. Call or stop by for rates. Hatteras Island Avon Golf NC 12, Avon (252) 995-5480 Adjacent to the Avon Pier, this 18-hole, natural-grass course is open from 11:00 A.M.to 11:00 P.M., seven days a week all summer. You can play as many games as you can squeeze in from noon until 6:00 P.M.for $8.00. In the off-season, you can play all day for $8.00. Avon Golf is open from Easter through the week after Thanksgiving, depending on business. Cool Wave Ice Cream Shop and Miniature Golf NC 12, Buxton (252) 995-6366 Located in the neighborhood of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, this nine-hole course is open from Easter through Thanksgiving. Summer hours are noon to 10:00 P.M., seven days a week. Call for prices. If you play one round of nine holes, the second time around is free. Ice cream, milk shakes, and the best banana splits on Hatteras provide extra incentive to play a good game. Frisco Mini Golf and Go-Karts NC 12, Frisco (252) 995-6325 This 18-hole championship miniature golf course is a little more challenging than the average minigolf game, though all levels of players will enjoy the experience. Waterfalls splash amid the well-manicured course, and children feed goldfish. In addition to the course, there are also two go- kart tracks, a concession stand, and an arcade on the premises.
		Movie Theaters On some steamy summer afternoons or those rainy Saturday nights, there's no better place to be than inside a dark, airconditioned movie theater catching the latest flick with a companion. First-run movies are offered at most Outer Banks theaters. Popcorn, candy, and sodas are, of course, sold at all movie houses. Corolla RC Theatres Corolla Movies 4 Monteray Plaza, NC 12, Corolla (252) 453-2999 This seasonal establishment in Monteray Plaza includes four wide screens and is open from May through Labor Day. The theater reopens for shows again from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. Movies are shown seven days a week from 2:00 P.M.to midnight. Tickets are $8.00 for adults and $6.00 for children younger than age 11. Matinees cost $6.00 for children and adults. Kill Devil Hills RC Theatres Movies 10 US 158, MP 6 1/2, Kill Devil Hills (252) 441-5630 This multiplex cinema opened in 2004 and houses 10 screens. Films are shown seven days a week in season from 2:00 P.M. until midnight. On summer days when the weather is bad, the theater adds a rainy-day showing at 11:00 A.M. Roanoke Island Pioneer Theatre 113 Budleigh Street, Manteo (252) 473-2216 The nation's oldest theater operated continuously by one family, the Pioneer is filled with nostalgia and smells of just- buttered popcorn. And it's been showing flicks since 1934. For the $5.00 admission price-and the old-fashioned feel of the place-it can't be beat. Even the popcorn, sodas, and candy are a great deal. The Pioneer is open year-round, and all movies start at 8:00 P.M. daily. Listings change weekly on Friday; call for a synopsis of the current show. See our Attractions chapter for more information. Hatteras Island RC Theatres Hatteras Cineplex 4 Hatteras Island Plaza, NC 12, Avon (252) 995-9060 With four screens and first-run movies year-round, this large movie house shows films all day on weekends and throughout the summer, and on evenings only in the off-season. Admission is $8.00 for adults and $6.00 for children. Matinee shows are $6.00 for everyone.

Continue to Nature Hikes