Millions of people visit our beautiful Outer Banks each summer season. The magic of this place has brought generations of families, sun seekers, travelers, surfers, artists, fisherman and outdoor enthusiasts to its dynamic shores for decades. One secret that hasn’t gotten the same level of notice is how amazing the Outer Banks are in the winter off-season. Admittedly we are biased because we get to view life from an Oceanfront Hotel in Kill Devil Hills, but winter brings a whole different kind of beauty to the OBX.

 

Here are 10 Great Reasons To Visit The Outer Banks In Winter:

  1. You have the beach to yourself (and room to move): Each weekend in the summer, hundreds of thousands of people drive across the bridge to vacation. This means that our beach gets very crowded! In the winter you will be able to walk on miles of beaches that you can have almost to yourself. Ask any local who lives here, and they will tell you how beautiful the ocean is in winter and how wonderful it is to have the beach to yourself.
  2. Great deals: With less people traveling here in the winter, this means that you will be able to get great deals on lodging here at The Sea Ranch Resort. You can find our special offers here and can book an affordable ocean view here.
  3. Access to nature and parks: Did you know the Outer Banks is within a 2 hour drive of numerous Wildlife Refuges, State and National Parks? There are too many to mention in this article, but you can follow the links in the previous sentence to discover them. You will be surprised!  The Outer Banks is a naturalist’s dream. In the winter, many of the refuges that have forests and swamps become much more accessible due to the colder weather.
  4. Winter birds: Did you know that each year the Outer Banks becomes the winter home for over 100,000 Snow Geese and Tundra Swans? This number doesn’t include the numerous other species of birds that come through here each winter season. Visiting places like Pea Island, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and Lake Mattamuskeet during the winter will yeild breathtaking sights of massive flocks of these beautiful birds. It’s something not to be missed!
  5. Restaurant access: Very much like our beaches become more spacious in the winter, so do our restaurants. Because more and more people are making the Outer Banks their permanent home, most of the best places stay open year round, and the lack of summer crowds makes it easy to get a great meal without the wait.
  6. Mix with the locals: With the vanishing summer crowds, our beach community opens up in a different way during the winter. The off season allows locals to catch their breath, so this is a great time to meet locals and get to know the people who live here year round. Our communities are filled with some amazing people. We treasure authenticity here, so come and learn what “stuck here on purpose” truly means!
  7. It’s quiet: If you value peace and quiet, the Outer Banks is amazing in the winter. Because there are less people here, there is less noise. The winter is a great time to experience the Outer Banks much like it was decades ago before it became such a popular vacation spot. The winter is a perfect time to book a room with us right on the beach, read that novel you have been wanting to read and to catch up with friends and family away from the business of the outside world.
  8. A beautiful night sky: The Outer Banks boasts one of the darkest night skies on the east coast for stargazing, and winter only heightens this attribute. Shorter days bring longer, darker nights which make for great viewing of the stars and planets. If you have never seen the full moon rising out of the ocean horizon on a dark winter’s evening we can attest it is something that you will remember forever. Here is an astronomy site that lists notable celestial events for the upcoming year.
  9. Better Surf: The surf in winter tends to be much bigger than in the summer. This is due to a variety of factors, but local surfers know that winter is the time to suit up for some world class waves. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s a source of pride for people who live and surf here. If you don’t surf, you can still enjoy watching surfers in full wetsuits ride the beautiful grey ocean of winter. Seeing the ocean in winter is worth the trip alone…
  10. Less traffic:  In the winter you have all the road to yourself, or at least most of it. It is much easier driving here from wherever you live and you will arrive on time, in style!

We hope to see you soon…