Things to Do in Corolla NC With Kids: Our Relaxed Family Guide
We just got back from a week in Corolla, North Carolina, and if you're searching for things to do in Corolla NC with kids, I'm going to start with something that might be a little different from most Outer Banks vacation guides: we really don't do that much.
And that's kind of the point.
We spend most of our days at the beach. We don't make a packed itinerary or feel like we need to go somewhere every day. We leave plenty of time for the kids to swim, hang out at the house and play games at night, with a few activities mixed in when we feel like doing something different.
Our kids are 6 and 13, and we also vacation with another family who has a 6-year-old. We invite the grandparents too, rent a big house right on the beach, and settle in for the week. Over the years we've figured out a few things that make the trip easier, along with the activities that are actually worth getting everyone off the beach for.
So if your idea of a family vacation is less "we need an itinerary" and more "let's see what everyone feels like doing today," here's what we love about Corolla.
Why We Keep Coming Back to Corolla With Kids
One of the biggest reasons we like Corolla is that it's quiet. We aren't looking for a beach vacation where we have a long list of things we need to see and do. We want to go to the beach, spend time together and have enough options nearby when everyone needs a break from the sun.
We rent a large house right on the beach through Twiddy, which works really well because we're traveling with multiple families and grandparents. Having everyone under one roof is a big part of what makes the trip fun.
And I highly recommend vacationing with another family if you have friends you travel well with. The kids have built-in friends for the week, the adults get to hang out, and it also makes some of the practical parts of renting a big beach house easier. My friend has coined the term “summer brothers” and I love it.
We don't even prioritize getting a house with a pool. Every time I see one, I think it sounds really nice, but our kids were basically ocean fish this year. All they wanted to do was swim in the ocean, so for us, paying extra for a pool just wasn't worth it.
Of course, that completely depends on your kids. Mine were perfectly happy to spend hours in the waves, come back to the house and then do it all again the next day.
Things to Do in Corolla NC With Kids
There are plenty of things to do in Corolla NC with kids, but my biggest advice is not to feel like you have to do all of them.
We usually have a few ideas in mind and decide as we go. If everyone is perfectly happy at the beach, we stay at the beach. If we want a change of scenery, these are some of the things we've really enjoyed.
Spend a Lot of Time at the Beach
This one is obvious, but it's number one for a reason.
Most days, the beach is our activity. The water was great during our trip, it wasn't overly crowded, and the kids would have happily stayed in the ocean all day.
One of the best decisions we make is renting beach chairs and an umbrella for the week. We used Corolla Beach Services. Having the chairs and umbrella already there is worth every penny for us.
If you've ever carried chairs, bags, towels, coolers, toys and an umbrella over the sand dunes with kids, you know why. Not having to haul everything back and forth or set it all up every morning makes getting to the beach so much easier. The Outer Banks has large sand dunes, so you can’t easily take a wagon since you have to go up and down stairs.
Get Up Early and Watch the Sunrise
This one might not be for everybody because I am very much a morning person, but this is probably my favorite part of the entire week.
Most mornings I'm up around 6 and head down to the beach by myself to walk or run along the shoreline and watch the sunrise. It is absolutely gorgeous, and the beach is so quiet at that time of day.
It's also a little bit of time that's just mine.
I love vacationing with another family. I love having the grandparents there. I love having a house full of people and kids running around. But I also really love getting that little stretch of time by myself before everyone wakes up. I can walk or run, watch the sun come up over the ocean and take in how beautiful the beach is before the day gets going.
If you are absolutely not a morning person, I realize that setting an alarm for 6 a.m. on vacation might sound ridiculous. But I think it's worth doing at least once.
For me, it's worth doing every morning.
Take a Corolla Wild Horse Tour
This year we did a wild horse tour with Wild Horse Adventure Tours, and this was probably our biggest planned activity of the week.
The tour takes you into the 4x4 area north of Corolla to look for the wild horses. It was really cool to get up into that part of the Outer Banks, drive along the beach and see the horses.
I do have one very specific warning for anyone with kids, or adults, who get motion sickness: it is very bumpy.
My son and I both get motion sick, and there were definitely moments when we were holding it together a little bit. You're riding off-road and on the beach, so obviously a smooth ride isn't part of the deal. If anyone in your family is prone to carsickness, I would definitely keep that in mind.
Even with that, I'm glad we did it. It was completely different from the rest of our week and a really fun way to see an area we otherwise wouldn't have explored.
Walk Around Currituck Beach Lighthouse
We also visited Currituck Beach Lighthouse, although we didn't climb it. We were perfectly happy staying on the ground and walking around the area.
I actually like outings like this on vacation because they don't need to become a whole event. We walked around, took everything in and moved on when everyone was ready.
Visit the Maritime Museum
While we were near the lighthouse, we went into the maritime museum. I wasn't expecting us to spend very long there because it's pretty small, but somehow we ended up staying for about an hour.
The kids actually took their time looking at everything and reading about what they were seeing. And after being outside in the summer heat, the air conditioning wasn't exactly a downside.
It's an easy stop to combine with the lighthouse and was a nice change of pace from spending most of the day outside.
Play Adventure Golf
Adventure golf was a hit with the kids and gave us an easy activity when everyone wanted to get out of the house for a little while.
We don't schedule it ahead of time. It's more of a "what does everyone want to do tonight?" kind of thing, which is pretty much how we handle most of our week.
Go to the Arcade
The arcade is another easy one that our kids love. It's not an all-day activity or something we plan our vacation around, but that's exactly why it works for us. They would definitely spend all day though if allowed….
Our Favorite Food Stops Around Corolla
We cook quite a bit at the house, but there are a few food stops that have become part of our week.
Pizza on the First Night
We always get Duck Pizza on the first night, and this is one vacation tradition I have no interest in changing.
We've already left home ridiculously early, driven to the Outer Banks, gotten into the rental house, unpacked and dealt with everything that comes with getting a big group settled for a week. Nobody needs to cook dinner after that.
Pizza. Done.
Northern Lights Bakery and Coffee
If you're visiting the lighthouse area, Northern Lights Bakery and Coffee is right nearby and has really good cinnamon rolls.
This works especially well because you can visit the lighthouse and maritime museum and then get something good to eat. I fully support building cinnamon rolls into a family outing.
Duck Donuts and Dairy Queen
Duck Donuts is always a favorite, and we also made more than one trip to Dairy Queen during the week.
There are plenty of restaurant guides out there if you're looking for the best dining in the Outer Banks. This is not that guide. These are just the places my family actually likes to go.
The Practical Corolla Tips That Make Our Week Easier
The activities are fun, but some of my strongest Corolla recommendations are actually the really boring practical things we've figured out over time.
Bring Groceries From Home
We bring as many groceries from home as we reasonably can, especially pantry items and anything that doesn't need to stay cold. Then we buy our perishable groceries after we arrive.
There are Harris Teeter and Food Lion stores nearby, so getting groceries isn't difficult. The issue is that everyone else arriving at their beach house also needs groceries.
The stores can get pretty crazy during weekend turnover, so we usually wait until later in the day rather than trying to shop right when everyone is arriving.
Divide Up the Cooking
Because we vacation with another family, we take turns being responsible for dinner.
It makes a huge difference. Each family gets a night to cook rather than one person feeling responsible for feeding a big group all week, and we're still eating dinner together.
Between splitting up the meals and ordering pizza on arrival night, cooking doesn't become someone's full-time vacation job.
Rent the Beach Chairs and Umbrella
Yes, I'm mentioning this twice because it's that helpful.
Especially if your beach access involves going over a dune, renting the chairs and umbrella means you aren't starting and ending every beach day carrying half your belongings across the sand.
We still have plenty of stuff to bring with kids. I'm happy to remove chairs and an umbrella from that list.
Vacation With Another Family
Obviously this tip comes with one important qualification: choose people you actually travel well with.
For us, though, vacationing with another family has been great. Our 6-year-old has another 6-year-old to play with, our older daughter is 13, and the kids aren't relying on us to entertain them all the time.
We also invite the grandparents from both families, so it's become a multigenerational trip where everyone gets to spend time together in a way we don't necessarily get to do during a normal week at home.
A big rental house makes that possible without everyone feeling like they're on top of each other all week.
Our Slightly Crazy Corolla Traffic Tip: Leave at 4 A.M.
Yes. Four in the morning.
We leave ridiculously early both on the way to Corolla and on the way home, and I realize this is not going to appeal to everyone. Between this and getting up at 6 to watch the sunrise, I'm not exactly making a strong case for sleeping in on vacation.
But the 4 a.m. departure works incredibly well for us.
Both of my kids are prone to motion sickness, so leaving that early means they sleep for a good portion of the drive. We also miss a lot of the traffic, which makes getting there and back so much easier.
I'd much rather set an alarm for an unreasonable hour and have sleeping kids and emptier roads than spend extra hours sitting in beach traffic with two kids who don't feel well.
If your kids sleep well in the car, it might be worth trying.
Why We Don't Overplan Our Corolla Family Vacation
I think this is probably my biggest tip for a Corolla family vacation.
You really don't have to do that much.
Before a trip, it's so easy to start searching for things to do, saving recommendations and feeling like you need a plan for every day. Then you get there and realize the kids just want to swim in the ocean.
So we let them.
We keep the week really loose. We go to the beach, come back to the house, make dinner and play games at night. Maybe we decide to go to the arcade or play adventure golf. One day we'll do something bigger like the wild horse tour. But we aren't waking up every morning with somewhere we need to be.
And I think that's a big reason we enjoy it so much.
There's enough going on at home during the rest of the year. I don't need to create a color-coded vacation schedule too.
Is Corolla NC Good for Families?
For us, absolutely.
If you're looking for a quieter beach vacation with big rental houses and enough nearby activities and conveniences that you have options without needing constant entertainment, Corolla is a great fit.
Our kids are 6 and 13, and the other family we travel with has another 6-year-old, so we're dealing with pretty different ages and interests. Somehow Corolla works for all of them. The younger kids have a buddy, our older son can do his thing, the grandparents get time with everyone, and the adults get a vacation too.
There are plenty of things to do in Corolla NC with kids, but I wouldn't go there because you're trying to fill seven days with activities. I'd go because you don't have to.
Rent the chairs. Bring some groceries from home. Order pizza the first night. Get up early enough to see the sunrise at least once. Pick a couple of things your family really wants to do and leave the rest of the week open.
Then go back to the beach.
That's pretty much our Corolla vacation, and we like it that way.
A Quick Hello From Me
If you found this post while planning a family trip, hi! I'm Ginny, a family photographer based in Silver Spring, Maryland. Most of the time you'll find me photographing families around Maryland and the DC area, but I also love sharing the places and experiences that work well for my own family.
My approach to family photography is actually pretty similar to my approach to vacation: keep things relaxed, don't overcomplicate it and leave room for people to actually enjoy themselves.
If you're looking for a Maryland family photographer and want photos that feel natural, playful and like your actual family, you can see more of my family photography here.