The missus and I are considering vacation spots for the late summer and considering renting a cottage in the Outer Banks for a week. In choosing a place, though, one factor I want to consider is cycling. Is the summer traffic there such that road biking there wouldn't be worth the effort? Are there places other than the main drag to ride? If some places there are better than others for cycling, what are the good ones? Which should we avoid? Any good shops? Any other things I should consider?

I go down there every other year with the family. We stay in Duck so thats all I can offer. Its a nice flat ride up to Corolla Light and back but you want to go early in the AM. As the day picks up so does the traffic. Its about a 30mi round trip from Duck to Corolla. Can get windy but seeing that your from Bethesda you might have done the Seagull and it aint as bad as that. There's a trail most of the way but that gets pretty crowded during the day with the jogger, stroller, kids on bike crowd. Plus alot of cars pulling out from the streets dont really pay attention to the path. Slammed into a Jag once because of that. Hurt it more then me luckily.

Google for Kitty Hawk Cycles. I know there's group rides down there on Saturdays. You'd be surprised how far back some of those roads lead away from the beaches especially out to Collington. Our last Tour de Cure rode there from VA to Manteo and I discovered alot of the back roads during that ride. I also vacation down there (seems odd since its 45 mins from the house) but I'll ride the Beach Rd at 6am to Manteo. Minimal traffic and there's the Manteo bridge to climb which offers some breath-taking views (not advised if you are leery of heights). I'd avoid the N. Beaches (Duck, Corolla). There's no shoulder to ride on to avoid the 10 passenger SUVs barrelling down the road to their McMansion on the water and the MUP/trail is clustered with rollerbladers and babyjoggers as the previous post states.

I used to go out that way for the fishing years ago. anytime I think of the outer banks I all I can remember is the horrid wind that never stopped blowing.

Down near Hatteras the shoulders are pretty wide and clear. The only problems come around shopping centers. If you go midday the heat is worse but the wind is less oppressive.

The Outer Banks is where I grew up, although now I live close to Myrtle Beach. I love the OBX of NC!! Yes, the key is getting out early in the am. I still get back up there as often as I can, and never have trouble getting in some good rides. Just go early. If you are further south, say towards Cape Hatteras and beyond, then there are some very long flat open roads that will make some great out and back rides..along the coast. You will not have as much problems with traffic and can most likely ride any time of day.

Another suggestion is the southern outer banks of Atlantic Beach and Emerald Isle. The entire island has a bike lane on both sides of the highway. Plus there are some interesting neighborhoods to ride through, Ft. Macon, and a bike path connecting the ocean drives in Emerald Isle. The new NC Aquarium is in Pine Knoll Shores. Morehead City and Beaufort provide nice towns for shopping and dining. Both have bike routes as well. The crowds are much less than Duck, etc.

I actually did two 30 rides from Corolla last summer. There are adequate shoulders to ride on in the Corolla/Duck area. As has been said, leave early. Almost everyone sleeps in on vacation, but by 8am the Duck bike paths and lanes are crammed with runners and beach cruisers. By 10am the traffic approaches scary. There are always a ton of roadies in the area. Two strangers were nice enough to let me paceline with them up by the Corolla lighthouse last year. Early in the morning it is a great place to ride. Get on the road by 6am or earlier and you can crank out a few hours and still be back in time for breakfast with the family.

I go down to Duck or Emerald Isle every year. And I basically concur with the above opinions. Duck is very crowded but does have some back street areas. Emerald can be quite crowded too. Get out nice and early and you will be fine or ride at night with good lights. It's so flat its depressing too I ride a fixed gear bike down there to try to make it fun

I spent a week in Duck this summer and rode every day. I hit the main road and most days I headed north. Path part of the way then road. I never had a problem. I was expecting one because of what I had read here but it was fine. Several of the rides I had the trailer with the kids. (It was 100 deg that week so they loved the breaze riding in there.)

I wouldn't think twice about it and am planning to go again this summer.

If you've got a bike with steel frame or parts....DON'T LEAVE IT OUTSIDE. I had a Nashbar MTB that I left out under the deck, and it was never the same after that. Lots of the components rusted out faster than you could turn your head. Most of that goes to the fact that it was an entry-level MTB, but still. Salt spray in the air can do a number on your bike....take it indoors when you're not riding it.

Not sure where you plan to go in the outer banks. I've been to Avon a few times, it's on Hatteras Island and can only comment on cycling there. I'll never again take my bike, there is one road, Highway 12, you either go north or south, turnaround and ride back. Lots of traffic, especially trucks delivering things, and lots of side streets and shopping centers with cars pulling into traffic. Sand can also wreak havoc on your bike if it works its way into moving parts. I like going to the outer banks for relaxing, but the cycling in my experience is slightly worse than riding an indoor trainer.

As you probably can tell from the responses so far, riding conditions vary depending on your exact location. The Outer Banks is large.

The northern part, Duck and Coralla, is more like riding in the in a surburban area with some shoulders, a very hills, some shops, etc.

Further south in the Nags Head and Kitty Hawk area, you face lots of traffic with shopping, restaurants, and even didvided highways with faster traffic. From there you can cross a bridge to Manteo and head west away from the ocean for some less stressful and relaxed riding on less travelled roads.

Go even further south across Oregon Inlet through Rodante, Waves, Salvo and you have nothing a but a two lane raod with smaller shoulders and sand. You can keep going all the way down to the Beuxton Lighthouse and get some serious miles in. You have to watch the traffic, and especially trucks, but it's scenic with the ocean close by and the usually constant breeze. But it's a really good workout and I always enjoyed the feeling of pushing myself with the sun, salt air, and wind.

I go down twice a year for ~ 2 weeks. We go in early June and late September. Best time to go because you have nice weather and much smaller crowds of people to deal with. It is technically the off season. I always stay on Hatteras Island, usually in Avon. I have taken my bike in the past, but usually find myself getting up early for high tide to fish and not to bike. The last few times I have gone without my bike and just rented a beach cruiser if I really, really, wanted to ride. Yeah, it is not the same, but still can be fun. Plus my bike doesn't get as nasty traveling down and back, or has to deal with the salt air. Steel and salt air don't mix well. Ocracoke makes a great day trip if you leave you car on Hatteras and just take your bike on the ferry. It is nice because you don't have to wait nearly as long for the next ferry. Word to the wise: it can be a lot of biking, in hot sun, so you need to go prepared.

I used to ride this route, in the spring, the air smells of Wisteria the whole way. Off tourists season, it's really a nice ride, some carp roads, but otherwise ok.

We did that one year. Stayed in Hatteras (usually stay in Avon/canal side/behind Froggy Dog) and took the ferry to OK. Made that 13 mile bike ride to the town, did the tourist thing and then stopped in Howard's Pub on the way out of town for a frosty one. Needless to say, one turned into several and that 13 mile ride back to the ferry felt like a century.

If you are near nags head / kitty hawk, check out the kitty hawk bike shop, it's on a side road (eckert?) between the beach road and the main highway. It's small, the owner is super nice and will hook you up with free area cycling maps with bike routes marked, plus he will mark out route link-ups on the map, you can do a ~30 miler staying mainly on bike paths, bike lanes, and residential streets. The route I rode had ocean front riding, ritzy neighborhoods, beautiful sound side riding, and also went by the wright bros. memorial. Just take note of the wind direction and ride the beach road leg with the wind. The bike shop at kill devil hills is "okay", they cater more to tourists wanting beach cruisers, and they seemed to have an attitude about how I chose to build up my fixy. Here is the kill devil hills shop w/ my fuji track outside:


here is the wright bros. memorial:


here is the sound:

and here's the ocean, all pics are from the same ride.


have fun!

Thanks very much to everyone for all the helpful information. Makes me want to go on vacation right now!

From atop the CH Lighthouse in Buxton