Currituck Banks Reserve — Attraction in Corolla

Currituck Banks Reserve is protected area just north of Corolla. It is jointly managed by the state and federal governments as part of the NC Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve. Going north through Corolla on NC-12, there is a small parking area right where the road makes a sharp right hand curve about a half mile before the (paved) road ends. From here, there are two short trails through the reserve. The Boardwalk Trail leads from the parking lot to a nice overlook on the Currituck Sound with beautiful views of the sound and marshy wetlands at the water's edge. The natural-surface Maritime Forest Trail leads from the middle of the Boardwalk Trail through a wonderful maritime forest dominated by live oaks. These fabulous trees have evolved to survive the harsh conditions of salt, sandy soil, and frequent hurricanes and their waxy leaves and wildly-twisted branches protect the trees themselves as well as the understory living under the trees. The reserve provides a great option to get away from the crowds and sun of the beach and enjoy the beautiful and rare habitats that exist on this thin stretch of barrier island. In the summer, beware of mosquitoes and other insect pests as well as snakes and be sure to wear plenty...

Boardwalk goes out to the sound (approx half to 3/4 mile round trip), my kids loved watching the dragon flies and schools of fish. This was a great and easy little walk. We did the other trail off the boardwalk which is 1.5 miles round trip, it's a very neat walk but the end is kind of disappointing at the grasses, not all the way to the Waters edge. And we were really hoping to get lucky and spot some of the Corolla wild ponies but didn't. We did pull at least 4 teeny ticks off of us, we didn't know it wasn't all boardwalk and didn't have spray on. I did think the walk was really unique meandering through all the different trees we don't have at home, but my kids were tired and...

Such a beautiful nature walk & right across from where we stayed in Corolla too! We were able to see birds, I think they were Osprey, and heard lots of frogs. The pathway looked to have been redone shortly before we arrived as it's in very good condition. What a surprise awaited us at the end of the walk when it opened up out of the wooded area and came to a boardwalk that overlooks the sound! We love Corolla for all the little gems like this. Definitely do this walk if you're in the area. We took babies, a toddler, and some great-grandparents on this walk so our leisurely pace took us about an hour and some change from start to finish. It's a very easy walk and is...