Roanoke Island Recreation

Ghost Fleet Dive Charters

• 219 Thicket Lump Drive, Thicket Lump Marina
• Wanchese
• (252) 423-0451

Ghost Fleet Dive Charters offers dive trips in the waters off the Outer Banks, long known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic for its numerous shipwrecks. A trip with Captain Crockett or one of his trusted captains and dive masters could include one of many shipwrecks, including several U-Boats that were sunk off the coast during WWII. Or they’ll take you to some of their new discoveries that have never been fully explored. The captain knows where the best conditions are located daily, depending on visibility, currents and weather, and his experience will lead you to the best trip for your chosen day. They supply certified dive masters to assist divers. The dive boat Poppy is docked at Thicket Lump Marina in Wanchese.

It’s Royalty Salon, Spa and Nails

• 205 Budleigh Street
• Roanoke Island
• (252) 473-2209

It’s Royalty is a full-service hair salon and a spa, which specializes in nails, makeup and facials. There’s also a nice gift shop here selling purses, belts, accessories, artwork and other small gift items.

Jet Boat Dolphin Tours

• Nags Head Waterworks, Nags Head-Manteo Causeway
• Wanchese
• (252) 441-0477

Jet Boat Dolphin Tours offers its dolphin tours on a 34-foot, 30-passenger boat that gives a thrilling ride at 40 knots, so they can find the dolphins fast and cover a lot of ground—or water, that is—in two hours. They start the tour with a search for the dolphins and almost always find them. Then they take you to see local attractions such as Oregon Inlet, Wanchese Harbor, the Manteo waterfront and the Elizabeth II, Jockey’s Ridge and Colington Island. The boat is U.S. Coast Guard inspected and the captains are U.S. Coast Guard licensed. Nags Head Waterworks is based on the causeway and also offers parasailing, Jet ski rentals and kayak rentals. Boarding for the Jet Boat Dolphin Tour is at Broad Creek Marina in Wanchese. Call for reservations and directions.

Kitty Hawk Kayaks Kayak & Surf School

• MP 1, 6150 N. Croatan Highway, Kitty Hawk
• Manteo
• (252) 261-0145, (866) 702-5061

Enjoy a kayak tour to some of the finest flat-water kayaking destinations on the Outer Banks. Kitty Hawk Kayak and Surf School offers multiple specialty tours across the Outer Banks, including tours in Kitty Hawk Woods, ocean paddling, night paddling on Roanoke Island, Alligator River and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuges and in Corolla. Surf kayak lessons and rentals are also available. Ask about the overnight trips on the Roanoke River and their Coastal Explorer Camps for kids with field trips, surfing lessons and kayaking. The Surf School offers daily lessons and three-day surf camps throughout the summer, plus yoga and surf retreats during the fall and spring. All instructors and guides are ACA and NSSIA certified. The friendly, professional staff promises your entire family will have fun. 

Kitty Hawk Kites

• 307 Queen Elizabeth Street, Manteo Waterfront
• Manteo
• (252) 473-2357

Stop by the Manteo Kitty Hawk Kites store for all of your adventure needs. Parasailing trips go out on the water just behind the store, and they also offer kayak tours around Roanoke Island Festival Park and the surrounding marshes. If you feel like going out on your own, feel free to rent a kayak from this location as well. With a reservationist on site, you can book other adventures such as dolphin tours, hang-gliding lessons or kite-boarding sessions.

Kitty Hawk Kites’ Kayak Tours

• n/a
• Manteo
• (252) 441-4124 or (877) FLY-THIS (359-8447)

To see a totally different side of Roanoke Island, slip back into the marsh creeks and coves on a kayak. Kitty Hawk Kites offers kayak tours leaving from the Manteo waterfront and winding through the salt marshes into the sound. Guides point out features of the area ecology and wildlife and talk about the history of Roanoke Island. Tandem and single kayaks are available. Expect to pay around $34 to $49 per person for a guided tour. Tours leave from the Kitty Hawk Kites store on the Manteo waterfront. Kitty Hawk Kites offers kayak tours of many areas of the Outer Banks. One that we highly recommend is the Alligator River Tour through the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge on the mainland; the meeting place is about a 20-minute drive inland from Manteo. You must make advance reservations for guided kayak tours.

Manteo Bike/Multi-Use Path

• U.S. Highway 64
• Manteo

A wonderful asset to Roanoke Island is a paved, 7-mile multi-use pedestrian path that runs the entire length of the northern part of the island alongside U.S. Highway 64/264. It’s perfect for bicycling, walking, jogging, in-line skating, baby strolling and dog walking. On all but the nastiest days, the path is filled with a blend of Roanoke Island residents and visitors greeting one another. The path winds all the way to the north end of the island, canopied by shady trees along much of the route. At the north end, the path ends at a little beach on the Croatan Sound. There are a few picnic tables, a sandy beach, a pond and a National Park Service interpretive exhibit about the Freedmen’s Colony.

About midway along the path, you come to an entrance to Roanoke Gardens on Mother Vineyard Road. This neighborhood, known as Mother Vineyard, provides a delightful detour from the main path. In this neighborhood grows the largest scuppernong grapevine on the island, the mother of all vineyards, said to date to the 1500s. If you turn east onto Mother Vineyard Road, you’ll do a nice loop through this beautiful and serene section, getting a peek at some local homes, well-manicured yards and the vineyard, and also catching views of Roanoke Sound, Nags Head and Jockey’s Ridge along the back stretch. The full loop will bring you around to Scuppernong Road, which leads back to the bike path.

If you’re headed to Roanoke Island just to use the bike path, you can park your car at Roanoke Island Festival Park or in downtown Manteo. Downtown Manteo’s quiet residential streets are also perfect for running, walking and biking.

Manteo Boardwalk

• Manteo Waterfront
• Manteo

A great place to stroll and pass some time is the boardwalk that winds along most of the Manteo waterfront. One end is quiet, with benches that look out over the sound and marsh grasses tickling the edges of the walk. The boardwalk stretches from Marshes Light development marina to downtown Manteo, past Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse and a children’s playground with swings and a pirate ship for climbing on, past a gazebo that hangs over the water, past the busy waterfront docks, where transient and resident sailboats and motorboats fill the slips, and ends at the Cora Mae Daniels Basnight Bridge that leads to Roanoke Island Festival Park. Alongside the public docks, storefronts and restaurants line this portion of the boardwalk, and their customers spill out onto the boardwalk to enjoy the breeze. Boat and kayak tours leave from this area of downtown.

A delightful stroll over the Cora Mae Basnight Bridge provides you with a commanding view of the Elizabeth II, Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse, the Manteo waterfront marina and the working waterfront on Dough’s Creek. At the end of the bridge, follow the sidewalk to the boardwalk at Roanoke Island Festival Park. The trailhead is reached by a crosswalk to your left through the parking area. A sign announces the entrance to the boardwalk.

This relaxing nature walk weaves its way alongside a tranquil waterway used by local watermen to access Shallowbag Bay and Roanoke Sound. To your left, you will observe the expansive vista of a black needle rush salt marsh that provides habitat to numerous aquatic species. Continuing along, you are surrounded by a maritime forest of Atlantic white cedars, red cedars, loblolly pines, live oaks, myrtles and hollies before the boardwalk pauses at a dock overlooking Jockey’s Ridge and the soundside shore of Nags Head.

Continue left along the paved walkway that circles the Pavilion lawn to the second path to your left. A sign announces the entrance to the park’s award-winning Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration project. This shoreline restoration project is a collaborative effort among the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Wilmington District, State of North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Division of Water Resources and the Roanoke Island Commission. Other federal, state, local and non-profit agencies played major roles in restoring the shoreline by building a rock sill, planting marsh grasses and maritime forest and creating a one-acre oyster reef outside the sill.

This pathway and boardwalk lead to a dock on Shallowbag Bay. Five interpretive signs placed along the path illustrate the unique components of the project through photographs, sketches and descriptive text. This self-guided tour provides visitors with an opportunity to learn more about the value of environmental restoration and management of aquatic and maritime forest resources, a first-hand look at the beneficial effects of restoration methods and information to assist in identification of aquatic plants, animal and native tree species found in and around the Roanoke Island Festival Park.

From here you can walk back to Manteo’s downtown area, or stay and explore all of the great activities at Roanoke Island Festival Park (see Attractions).

Manteo Skate Park

• Uppowoc Street, behind the College of the Albemarle on U.S. Highway 64
• Manteo

Manteo built a killer skatepark for the local kids (and the few adults who are still at it). It’s free to skate here, but be sure to bring protective equipment. The park is located behind the College of the Albemarle campus. There are usually experienced skaters there who are willing to offer newcomers to the sport helpful advice, and these same long-time skaters regularly organize competitions.

Manteo Waterfront Boat Ramp

• At the end of Ananias Dare Street, Waterfront
• Manteo

A free public boat launch is located at the waterfront, right beside the bridge that leads to Roanoke Island Festival Park. Parking is on site, but there a no long spaces for boat trailers.

Manteo Waterfront Playground

• On the waterfront beside the Weather Tower
• Manteo

Manteo provides a nice playground along its waterfront right beside the Weather Tower and the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse. Here, caregivers can relax on one of the benches and enjoy the panoramic view of the sound, Nags Head and beyond while keeping a watchful eye on their charges. Swings, a play ship and slides keep the wee ones happy.

Miss Broad Creek

• 708 Harbor Drive, Wanchese Seafood Industrial Park
• Wanchese
• (252) 473-9991 or 473-5344

The Miss Broad Creek, a 61-foot head boat, offers a Sunset Cruise starting at 6 p.m., and you may bring your own beverages on that cruise. It’s best to call ahead for a reservation. The boat also takes two bottom-fishing trips a day, both half-day, from 8 a.m. to noon or 1 to 5 p.m. See Fishing for more information. The Sunset Cruise is $20 per person. Fishing costs $40 per person or $30 for children 12 and younger, and they offer discounts if you pay in cash.

Nags Head Diving

• 210 Budleigh Street
• Manteo
• (252) 473-1356

Pamela Malec Landrum, author of A Guide to Sea Kayaking the NC Coast, offers scuba diving lessons, referral dives and beach dives. A National Association of Underwater Instructor Scuba Diving teacher, Landrum teaches NAUI certification courses. Lessons include class work (which can be completed at home), pool work and open-water dives. Ages 10 and older can participate. Classes can be mixed to suit your schedule. Nags Head Diving is based at The Outdoors Outfitters; stop by or call the shop on Budleigh Street.

Nautics Hall

• Elizabethan Inn, 814 U.S. Highway 64
• Manteo
• (252) 473-2103

Nautics Hall at the Elizabethan Inn is a fitness site offering fitness classes, water aerobics, a regulation-size indoor pool, a weight room with free weights, machines and cardio equipment, a sauna and a whirlpool. Weekly passes are available; call for prices.

Olde Towne Creamery

• 500 U.S. Highway 64/264, corner of Ananias Dare Street
• Manteo
• (252) 305-8060

Olde Towne Creamery rents bicycles for kids and adults, including tri-bikes with three wheels. While you’re there you might as well enjoy something sweet — fudge, true Italian ice, 24 flavors of premium, hand-dipped ice cream, smoothies, sundaes, milk shakes and banana splits. Ice cream cakes are also available; call ahead to order. There’s indoor and outdoor seating. Hours are 1 to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Outdoors Outfitters

• 210 Budleigh Street
• Manteo
• (252) 473-1356

Pamela Malec Landrum, author of A Guide to Sea Kayaking the NC Coast, offers kayak tours for children and adults as well as beginning kayaking and advanced kayak touring lessons. Tours are held in the salt marsh areas around Roanoke Island, Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Alligator River. In the lessons, beginners learn about gear, basic strokes, technique and self-rescue, while advanced students learn in-depth techniques, trip-planning skills and rescue techniques. Ask about the Children’s Activity Tour, a family favorite, as well as the Everglades kayak trip offered in winter months. Also operating out of this storefront is Nags Head Diving (see separate listing) for scuba diving lessons and tours. Pam also has a 22-foot sailboat on the Manteo waterfront available for tours and lessons. The Outdoors Outfitters store sells and rents kayaks and related kayak gear and scuba gear.They also rent bikes for adults and kids (they also have carriers for infants and little tikes) and offer bike tours of the island.

Outer Banks Air Charters

• 400 Airport Road
• Roanoke Island
• (252) 256-2322

Charlie Snow, who owns Outer Banks Air Charters, is a very experienced pilot and seems to have a knack for putting his flying guests at ease. He offers standard and custom air tours of the Outer Banks. As a retired National Park Service engineer and pilot, he understands the history, geography and lifestyle that makes this place so special, and he has hundreds of great stories and tidbits only a local would know that make his tours informative and lively. He also provides air charter service to and from airports all over the country or to other specialized locations.

Outer Banks Community Sailing Program at the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum

• 104 Fernando Street, Manteo Waterfront
• Manteo
• (252) 475-1750

If you’re interested in sailing or learning to sail, the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum has a program just for you. The museum hosts Shallowbag Bay Sail-Abouts and Open Sails on Tuesdays starting at 6 p.m. throughout the summer, weather permitting. This is a great way to learn about the traditional watercraft of Roanoke Island and even get out on the water in one.

Kids ages 8 and older can learn to sail with the Maritime Museum. Week-long youth sailing programs are held in June and July, Monday through Friday; morning or afternoon sessions are available. Children ages 8 to 12 are taught on the Optimist, the number one sail training boat in the world. Students should be good swimmers, but no previous sailing experience is required. Youth ages 12 and older are taught on the Vanguard 420, the boat used by most high school and collage sailing programs. Special courses on racing are offered in July for Optimist sailors. Students participate in a local regatta at the end of the course and will be eligible to participate in further regattas. Advance registration is required. You can register or get info and prices by calling the Outer Banks Sailing Academy at (252) 207-7179.

Also ask about other workshops that are offered at the museum, such as Build a Boat in A Day and Simple Rigging. See Attractions for more about the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum.

Outer Banks Marathon, Gateway Bank Half-Marathon

• Ends in downtown Manteo
• Manteo

Outer Banks Marathon, Gateway Bank Half-Marathon
If you’re a runner or walker, you don’t want to miss this event on a flat course with awesome scenery and the spirited residents of the Outer Banks cheering for you all along the way. On Sunday, November 14, 2010, you can participate in the fifth annual Outer Banks Marathon or the Gateway Bank Half-Marathon. The course for the marathon begins in Kitty Hawk, travels on through Kill Devil Hills and around the Wright Memorial, goes through Nags Head and ends on Roanoke Island. The Gateway Bank Half-Marathon begins in Nags Head and ends on Roanoke Island. Walkers are welcome. There is a $25,000 prize purse for the marathon. Several other events are held on Saturday, November 13, including an 8K, 5K and a 1-mile Fun Run. For information and to register, go to www.obxmarathon.org.

Paradise Dolphin Cruises

• 219 Thicket Lump Drive, Thicket Lump Marina
• Wanchese
• (252) 573-0547

Paradise Dolphin Cruises has the area’s newest dolphin boat, the Kokomo, which carries up to 40 passengers and offers a comfortable ride with a canopied top, cushioned seats and a restroom. The boat’s location at Thicket Lump Marina in Wanchese offers the closest access to the waters where these amazing creatures are most often found. Paradise offers three dolphin trips daily plus sunset cruises. Every Monday is family day; ask about family prices. The boat is handicapped accessible and is available for private parties and catering. Call for reservations.

Pilates on the Green

• Marshes Light Waterfront
• Manteo
• (252) 489-1581

Patti Waller teaches all-levels Pilates classes on the Manteo waterfront at Marshes Light beginning the first week in May. The classes are held Monday and Wednesday evenings at 5:30 p.m. and Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 8:30 a.m., and the cost is $10 per class. Bring your own mat or towel. Of course, classes are cancelled when it rains. 

Pioneer Theatre

• 113 Budleigh Street
• Manteo
• (252) 473-2216

The Pioneer Theatre represents all that was good about the good old days. Fair prices, wholesome entertainment and friendly folks are the hallmarks of this theater that dates back to 1918. (The original building burned, and this one was built in 1934.) The theater runs one first-run movie per week, with show times at 8 p.m. nightly. All the movies are suitable for families. Tickets cost $5, and the snack prices are the best you’ll find anywhere. (We mean it — $2 or $3 is usually all you need for popcorn, candy and a drink!) Locals cherish this theater and go even if they’re not particularly interested in the movie. For a movie preview, call the number above and listen to the recording.

Pirate’s Cove Marina

• 1 Sailfish Drive, Nags Head/Manteo Causeway, off U.S. Highway 64
• Roanoke Island
• (252) 473-3906, (800) 367-4728

Just about every afternoon between 4 and 5 p.m. a dozen or more sport fishing boats return from the Gulf Stream to the Pirate’s Cove Marina to unload their catches of tuna, dolphin, wahoo and other deep-sea fish. If you’re interested in seeing the fish before they’re cleaned, head down to the docks and watch the mates hurl the whopping creatures onto the docks. Kids love this, and the anglers are usually friendly about sharing their experiences of the day.

If you’re more of a hands-on type, you might want to take a fishing trip yourself. Pirate’s Cove offers several options for getting to the fishing grounds. Approximately 18 private charter boats are available to take you off-shore fishing, and other boats are available for inshore fishing charters. Makeup charters are available. Call for details. See our Fishing section for more information.

R.D. Sawyer Motor Company

• 404 U.S. Highway 64
• Manteo
• (252) 473-2142

You can rent a car from this local dealership, but be sure to call well in advance to make reservations.

Red Wolf Howling Safaris

• Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Highway 64, East Lake (Dare County Mainland)
• Manteo
• (252) 796-5600

Endangered red wolves live in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, and you can meet up with a group at the Creef Cut Wildlife Trail to learn about the wolves and hear them howl. Howlings are held June 9 through September 1 on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. Programs last about two hours. Bring a flashlight and wear insect repellent. There is a small charge for this program, and reservations are recommended. Free howling dates are April 24 (7 p.m.), October 16 and 30 (6 p.m.) and December 11 (4 p.m.).