Active road trip Charleston - Outer Banks
Apr 14th, 2016, 09:09 PM
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Active road trip Charleston - Outer Banks
Any ideas on active things to do between Charleston and the Outer Banks? Hiking, biking, walking. We were hoping to get up to Blue Mountains but think the driving distance is too far for the time we have (5 days).
Thank you!
Thank you!
Apr 15th, 2016, 03:17 AM
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You want to stop somewhere between Charleston and OBX and you have 5 days?
You can drive to Asheville (mountains) in about 4 hours from charleston. Spend a day there.
Drive from Asheville to OBX in about 7 hours driving time. If you wanted to stop somewhere along the way (Winston Salem or Wilmington maybe) you could spend part of a day and continue on.
You can drive up the coast from Charleston to the OBX and it is about 7 hours. So you could stop along the way at Brookgreen Gardens at Pawley's Island and then continue on, etc.
Personally I would wonder about spending more time in Charleston and OBX on either end but I don't know your entire travel picture.
You can drive to Asheville (mountains) in about 4 hours from charleston. Spend a day there.
Drive from Asheville to OBX in about 7 hours driving time. If you wanted to stop somewhere along the way (Winston Salem or Wilmington maybe) you could spend part of a day and continue on.
You can drive up the coast from Charleston to the OBX and it is about 7 hours. So you could stop along the way at Brookgreen Gardens at Pawley's Island and then continue on, etc.
Personally I would wonder about spending more time in Charleston and OBX on either end but I don't know your entire travel picture.
Apr 15th, 2016, 08:34 AM
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Don't know your exact start/end times....
But if you are looking to do a true road trip and not a vacation per se, then I would consider the following.
Charleston is awesome. Most of the good shopping is between Calhoun and Broad Street. Most of the mansions are below Broad Street. It's a great walking city...weave your way up and down King Street, Meeting Street, Church Street, and East Bay Streets...and wind up down at the Battery (point at the tip of the peninsula). The houses below Broad are stunningly beautiful.
You probably won't have time to visit a plantation, but my favorite is Middleton Place. You should also shoot on over to Folly Beach....good place for lunch/brunch (Lost Dog Cafe or Taco Boy are favorites). Then for a great walk/hike at Folly, drive to the northern tip of the island and park your car. From there, walk along the beach until you can see the Morris Island Lighthouse (my favorite walk in the whole area). Another off the beaten path thing I enjoy doing is driving through the Old Village of Mt. Pleasant (check out the houses looking back across the bay onto Charleston). The Old Village of MP is also a great place to see sunsets. You may have to stop and ask, but drive to the northern tip of the Old Village. There is an old road/bridge up there where you can park your car and walk out to see the sunset. Pretty awesome view.
Great food all over the Charleston area. Worth the splurge.
After leaving Charleston, head north on Hwy 17.
Two VERY brief detours that may be worth checking out along the way between there and Myrtle Beach would be McClellanville (small shrimping village....and ground zero for Hurrican Hugo) and Georgetown....but you likely won't have time.
You will next need to decide if you want to take the business route through Myrtle Beach (I would recommend it if you have never seen it) or taking the bypass (a much faster route). Also known as "K-Mart By the Sea"....Myrtle is tacky....but there is some fun stuff there. And the beaches are nice.
Continuing north along 17....
When you approach Little River, SC (near the border of NC), you will have the option to make an easy 10 minute detour over to Calabash, NC. GREAT place to stop for some "Calabash Style" seafood. My personal favorite is Dockside Seafood.
There is nothing between Calabash and Wilmington.
Wilmington, especially along the waterfront, is definitely worth checking out. You won't have time, but Southport and Oak Island (just south of Wilmington) are nice areas.
Heading north out of Wilmington will get a little boring as you drive around Jacksonville/Camp Lejuene. There is nothing between Wilmington and Emerald Island.
Stay on Hwy 17 and continue through Atlantic Beach/Morehead City until you arrive in Beaufort. There's an iconic seafood restaurant in Morehead City called the Sanitary Restaurant. Nice spot for lunch/dinner. Beaufort is a cool little town with some fun little watering holes. (Atlantic/Morehead/Beaufort are all clustered together, fyi...only 5 mins apart)
Wake up early and continue to Cedar Island. Try to catch the 10:00am ferry to Ocracoke. It's a pretty 2-1/2 hour ride out to Ocracoke. Sit back and catch some rays.
(http://www.ncdot.gov/download/transi...ryschedule.pdf)
Again, not sure about your travel dates. If your only option is the 10:00am ferry, then I would recommend staying in the Atlantic Beach/Beaufort area. If there is a 1:00pm option, then you could consider a stay in Wilmington. You just want to give yourself time to arrive at the ferry on time. If you miss it...then you will have to kill hours in Cedar Island (literally in the middle of nowhere)
Spend the night in Ocracoke (I like Blackbeard's Lodge). Silver Lake is pretty. Great beaches just north of town. Howard's Pub is a good place to grab a beer/burger. Watch out for the strong ocean currents on the Outer Banks. Love Ocracoke.
Catch the short/free ferry from Ocracoke to Hatteras Village. Canadian Hole is a cool place to windsurf. Kayak outfits all over the area there....you'll want to kayak on the sound side (calmer waters).
Continue north through Nag's Head (would only stop there if you are hungry). Check out Jockey's Ridge...a HUGE sand dune that you can hang glide off of. I would also recommend quickly visiting the Wright Bros Memorial/Museum in Kitty Hawk if you have time.
You'll exit out of the Outer Banks just north of Kitty Hawk, so you'll miss the towns of Duck and Corolla (nice places to stay on a future trip fyi).
And as you head north to Maryland, be sure to check out Chincoteague Island (VA/Md border) if you haven't been there.
Probably too much to do in 5 days but some things to shoot for. Unfortunately....although there are great stops along the way, you will hit long distances between them where there is absolutely nothing. The area between Myrtle/Wilmington, between Wilmington/Emerald Isle, between Kitty Hawk/Virginia Beach, and pretty much the entire Eastern Shore of Virginia. You will spend an entire day (out of your five) driving through those areas....so keep that in mind.
Personally, the highlights (in my opinion) will be Charleston and Ocracoke...so maybe focus on those.
Have fun!
But if you are looking to do a true road trip and not a vacation per se, then I would consider the following.
Charleston is awesome. Most of the good shopping is between Calhoun and Broad Street. Most of the mansions are below Broad Street. It's a great walking city...weave your way up and down King Street, Meeting Street, Church Street, and East Bay Streets...and wind up down at the Battery (point at the tip of the peninsula). The houses below Broad are stunningly beautiful.
You probably won't have time to visit a plantation, but my favorite is Middleton Place. You should also shoot on over to Folly Beach....good place for lunch/brunch (Lost Dog Cafe or Taco Boy are favorites). Then for a great walk/hike at Folly, drive to the northern tip of the island and park your car. From there, walk along the beach until you can see the Morris Island Lighthouse (my favorite walk in the whole area). Another off the beaten path thing I enjoy doing is driving through the Old Village of Mt. Pleasant (check out the houses looking back across the bay onto Charleston). The Old Village of MP is also a great place to see sunsets. You may have to stop and ask, but drive to the northern tip of the Old Village. There is an old road/bridge up there where you can park your car and walk out to see the sunset. Pretty awesome view.
Great food all over the Charleston area. Worth the splurge.
After leaving Charleston, head north on Hwy 17.
Two VERY brief detours that may be worth checking out along the way between there and Myrtle Beach would be McClellanville (small shrimping village....and ground zero for Hurrican Hugo) and Georgetown....but you likely won't have time.
You will next need to decide if you want to take the business route through Myrtle Beach (I would recommend it if you have never seen it) or taking the bypass (a much faster route). Also known as "K-Mart By the Sea"....Myrtle is tacky....but there is some fun stuff there. And the beaches are nice.
Continuing north along 17....
When you approach Little River, SC (near the border of NC), you will have the option to make an easy 10 minute detour over to Calabash, NC. GREAT place to stop for some "Calabash Style" seafood. My personal favorite is Dockside Seafood.
There is nothing between Calabash and Wilmington.
Wilmington, especially along the waterfront, is definitely worth checking out. You won't have time, but Southport and Oak Island (just south of Wilmington) are nice areas.
Heading north out of Wilmington will get a little boring as you drive around Jacksonville/Camp Lejuene. There is nothing between Wilmington and Emerald Island.
Stay on Hwy 17 and continue through Atlantic Beach/Morehead City until you arrive in Beaufort. There's an iconic seafood restaurant in Morehead City called the Sanitary Restaurant. Nice spot for lunch/dinner. Beaufort is a cool little town with some fun little watering holes. (Atlantic/Morehead/Beaufort are all clustered together, fyi...only 5 mins apart)
Wake up early and continue to Cedar Island. Try to catch the 10:00am ferry to Ocracoke. It's a pretty 2-1/2 hour ride out to Ocracoke. Sit back and catch some rays.
(http://www.ncdot.gov/download/transi...ryschedule.pdf)
Again, not sure about your travel dates. If your only option is the 10:00am ferry, then I would recommend staying in the Atlantic Beach/Beaufort area. If there is a 1:00pm option, then you could consider a stay in Wilmington. You just want to give yourself time to arrive at the ferry on time. If you miss it...then you will have to kill hours in Cedar Island (literally in the middle of nowhere)
Spend the night in Ocracoke (I like Blackbeard's Lodge). Silver Lake is pretty. Great beaches just north of town. Howard's Pub is a good place to grab a beer/burger. Watch out for the strong ocean currents on the Outer Banks. Love Ocracoke.
Catch the short/free ferry from Ocracoke to Hatteras Village. Canadian Hole is a cool place to windsurf. Kayak outfits all over the area there....you'll want to kayak on the sound side (calmer waters).
Continue north through Nag's Head (would only stop there if you are hungry). Check out Jockey's Ridge...a HUGE sand dune that you can hang glide off of. I would also recommend quickly visiting the Wright Bros Memorial/Museum in Kitty Hawk if you have time.
You'll exit out of the Outer Banks just north of Kitty Hawk, so you'll miss the towns of Duck and Corolla (nice places to stay on a future trip fyi).
And as you head north to Maryland, be sure to check out Chincoteague Island (VA/Md border) if you haven't been there.
Probably too much to do in 5 days but some things to shoot for. Unfortunately....although there are great stops along the way, you will hit long distances between them where there is absolutely nothing. The area between Myrtle/Wilmington, between Wilmington/Emerald Isle, between Kitty Hawk/Virginia Beach, and pretty much the entire Eastern Shore of Virginia. You will spend an entire day (out of your five) driving through those areas....so keep that in mind.
Personally, the highlights (in my opinion) will be Charleston and Ocracoke...so maybe focus on those.
Have fun!
Apr 15th, 2016, 09:16 AM
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Gretchen, you responded to her first post.
They have a week to get from Charleston to a wedding in St Michaels, Maryland, and wanted to see Asheville, spend some time hiking in the Smokies and drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, drive back to the Outer Banks, spend two days, and arrive in St Michaels on a Friday afternoon. To much stuff, too little time.
I strongly agree with uncfan's itinerary. I have done most of it, though I recommended Swan Quarter ferry if coming from the west when I posted before.
Schools won't be out yet, so it shouldn't be too crowded during the week. I envy the OP!
By the way uncfan, the championship game was a heartbreaker. I am a grad school alum, both my kids got their undergraduate degrees in Chapel Hill. My DIL is a Tarheel born and a Tarheel bred, and her parents house overlooks Pamlico Sound.
They have a week to get from Charleston to a wedding in St Michaels, Maryland, and wanted to see Asheville, spend some time hiking in the Smokies and drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, drive back to the Outer Banks, spend two days, and arrive in St Michaels on a Friday afternoon. To much stuff, too little time.
I strongly agree with uncfan's itinerary. I have done most of it, though I recommended Swan Quarter ferry if coming from the west when I posted before.
Schools won't be out yet, so it shouldn't be too crowded during the week. I envy the OP!
By the way uncfan, the championship game was a heartbreaker. I am a grad school alum, both my kids got their undergraduate degrees in Chapel Hill. My DIL is a Tarheel born and a Tarheel bred, and her parents house overlooks Pamlico Sound.
Apr 15th, 2016, 12:39 PM
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And our "favorite" in Calabash is probaby Ella's but we don't go to that area any more.
Ate at Dockside every trip 50 years ago! Ella's is the origin of Jimmy Durante's "Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are."!! If you haven't had fried oysters on that part of the coast, have a real treat.
Ate at Dockside every trip 50 years ago! Ella's is the origin of Jimmy Durante's "Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are."!! If you haven't had fried oysters on that part of the coast, have a real treat.
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