COROLLA BEACH ACCESS
Click on streets in white to view beach access.
Some streets only have boardwalks and dune deck walkovers.
(These have no links, but are shown below for their location).
Information and access amenities may change • Map is not to scale.
About Corolla
It wasn’t long ago that if you took a left at the fork after crossing over the Wright Memorial Bridge and kept driving through Southern Shores and Duck, you had reached the end of civilization. Or at least it appeared that way.
Corolla was known as “where-four-wheel-driving-starts” when visiting the northern stretches of the Outer Banks. That meant let some air out of your tires and spend the rest of the day on a deserted strip of beach. With any luck, you would see a few wild horses roaming the dunes.
Those same beach conditions still exist today, but now a variety of businesses dot the landscape where once there was just sand dunes and a sprinkling of cottages.
Luckily, plans were made to create plenty of public beach accesses mixed in with the private homes in Corolla. South of the four-wheel drive section, there are plenty of beach access points that have handicap parking, wooden walkways to preserve the sand dunes, public beaches with lifeguard stands, and pet-friendly beaches.
(The private neighborhoods and developments tend to require resident or guest parking permits.)
Still popular for four wheel driving and wild horses, Corolla and Carova beaches offer a rare opportunity for vacationers. Many companies rent 4WD vehicles for self-driving tours or offer tour guides who will drive you to the wild horse areas.
Those desolate beaches create ideal conditions for shell-seeking, surf fishing, and kicking back in your favorite beach chair. Another bonus: your beach blanket and umbrella will not be touching (or even come close to) the beach towel of the family nearby.