PHOTO COURTESY THE NORTHERN OUTER BANKS

Here is a place defined by water, where the Atlantic Ocean waves spill onto white-sand beaches and eye-soothing vistas of the Currituck Sound marshland are found at every turn. A place that paces to the clock of nature, where time stands still as you watch wild horses roam sand dunes, brown pelicans dive for a fishy meal, and a lighthouse beam sweep across a starry night sky.

This place is The Northern Outer Banks, tucked away in the northeastern most corner of North Carolina. A place where coastal flatlands and views to the horizon allow your mind and lungs to expand and where all the amenities, necessities, and entertainments of small coastal villages are ready and waiting.

PHOTO COURTESY THE NORTHERN OUTER BANKS

Also known as Currituck County, The Northern Outer Banks is divided into two long geographic peninsulas separated by the Currituck Sound. On the east is the barrier island that’s home to Corolla and Carova, land of pristine beaches, Corolla Wild Horses, vacation rentals, swimming pools, shopping, dining, and vacation merriment. On the west is the Mainland, a longer, wider peninsula, a pleasant area of farms, vineyards, produce markets, golf courses, and a slower pace of life among a tight-knit year-round population with a deep sense of their history. Between the two, dipping down from Virginia into the Currituck Sound, is Knotts Island, a remote, birding sanctuary with a year-round community accessible from the Mainland by ferry.

PHOTO COURTESY THE NORTHERN OUTER BANKS

Whether you love seafood dinners or barbecue feasts, sunset cocktails or vineyard wine tastings, climbing a lighthouse or browsing a local farm market, photographing dolphins or hunting waterfowl — or all of the above! — The Northern Outer Banks is everything your vacation should be.

For more information on planning your next trip go to TheNorthernOuterBanks.com.