Town of Duck

Such a cute little town near the Outer Banks. It is definitely worth a visit. They have a very pretty and scenic boardwalk that is over the water. There are sections on the boardwalk where you can walk up directly into stores or ice cream or restaurants. It is so pretty to be on the water!

Duck! DUCK! Goose...We are currently right in the middle of enjoying a week vacation to this shining gem of a place on the North Carolina Outer Banks, and couldn't be happier with our stay so far. Beautiful beaches, and this is the best time of year to come out with the crowds having died down a little bit. The town is full of nice people, and is convenient to larger places in the Outer Banks while being nicely removed from that over-commercialized feel. To the north is Corolla with their sand roads and wild horses, and to the south you've got all your touristy needs as well as some famous NC monuments.Only complaints I have about the town is they don't have any public beach access. Didn't affect me since we rented a house, but I'm sure that irks a lot of people.

In 1960, a man named George Koenig bought land from the federal government. After inviting both his kids and grand kids to enjoy a good time at his beach home. He then told friends about a place in paradise called Duck. Tourists began to flood in the tiny community and now it is one of the most desirable tourist destinations on the island. One visit to the village and you will understand where the towns name is derived. The area is flush with water fowl, but admittedly is no where near levels it once enjoyed in it's hay day prior to major development.There are several reasons why families flock to the Outer Banks newest town in Dare County. The area is consistently ranked as a top 10 "Best Beach" and top 10 "Family Beach Vacation" If you have ever been to this small city you can see why the town is so decorated. There are many opportunities for outdoor recreation, bike and walking paths, fine dining, specialty shopping, art galleries, concerts and even a nationally known jazz festival. Duck has two seasons, much like all of the Outer Banks. On Season Summer months the small community swells to over 20,000. Off season it turns into a sleepy little village with a population of less than a 1,000. During this "off season" time many of the shop owners close for lack of business.Prior to the incorporation of the town in 2002 it had already been a top destination for vacations. Families have loved the small town beach feel of the village with it's quaint boutique shops and spectacular wide beach. With the incorporation the town took on an aggressive beautification effort to add a .75 mile boardwalk along the Albamarle Sound, an outdoor amphitheater, a green space for recreation and a children's park. These type of services have been fully embraced by locals and tourist alike and has driven even more interest to this tiny enclave. Also with the incorporation is a city police force. Watch your speed going through town. the speed limit is 25 mph. This is not only marked by road signs, but a huge portable that shows your speed. I must say from my years of being in Duck the speed limits makes sense. There are many pedestrians crossing the road going from shop to shop. There is almost no crime in Duck, so officers need something to do and basically are traffic cops. The heavy vehicular traffic through town "on season" is probably the only blemish I can think of for the tiny enclave. There are many reasons why tourist choose a Duck destination for their vacation. I highlighted several of the top attributes the city enjoys, but possibly glossed over the primary reason George Koenig fell in love with this adorable area. It is without a doubt a stunningly beautiful area that is no longer a secret to it's annual visitors and residents. If you have yet to experience Duck, NC I encourage you make the trek and decide if this is paradise for your family.

Never reviewed an entire town before, but here I am.Duck is fun for a half-day trip. Unless you stop in at a restaurant or bar, or catch some live music, there's not all that much to do.The boardwalk/dock is nice. Great views of the super blue water, with a few shops dotted along the way.The parking lot situation isn't great though. Just one small lot.

Duck is a cute town. Family friendly. Lots of cute shops. Go to spots when we are there - duck cottage coffee shop, duck deli, blue pointe grill, donutz on a stick!

There's not many places you go to that you think of as being just really cute. But a town called duck and it has different streets called ductus induct dad or different kinds of ducks like mallards it was absolutely fabulous. The street lights at ducks on them there were unusual renditions of duck memorabilia comes, abstract looking ducks and any kind of duck you could think of.The shops in the restaurant even had unusual names that went along with the whole theme of duck. This is near Nags Head & is really just a cute to location. It is also very picturesque and of course on the water since its in OBX. I wish I'd had more time to look in the various Shop because they all looked very interesting and unique.What's a girl to do? When on vacation check on unusual name sounds like duck.

Such a cute little town to go. I enjoyed visiting the local shops. I will definitely be back next summer!

Duck is a place that was on a list a couple years ago - a list suggesting that it was a little known tourist destination and would be much less busy or crowded as other beaches along the OBX. This may have been true, yesterday, in that the weather was awful (windy as all get out, overcast, on and off rain), however, I think too many people do know about this place, so it did not seem as described.Regardless, the town was cool, nice parks, nice boardwalk and nice beaches. Yes, traffic was a bear. Finding a place to park (public parking) was a bear in that there is little or no public beach parking. We found a place to park at one of the commercial strips and just walked the rest of the day, to the beach, on the boardwalk, to the businesses etc.Charming little town that lives on the tourism industry - nice place to be.

When you put in the zip code for Duck, NC it shows the address as "Kitty Hawk, NC". But Duck is actually a little town of its own, just North of Kitty Hawk on the outer banks (OBX) of North Carolina. 95% of the people here are families from up and down the East coast, especially the Carolinas, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Since my wife and I have several good friends living in the D.C area (with kids about the same ages as ours), it's been a great place for us to meet up and chill out for a truly relaxing vacation.Duck is basically a quiet, laid-back town with beautiful beaches, warm water (compared to the chilly Pacific), and sunny skies, punctuated by the occasional afternoon thunderstorm in the Summer. The town (or village, as some call it) is full of the usual t-shirt stores, cafes, gift shops, equipment rentals, etc., though it's higher-end and less commercialized than Kitty Hawk and Nags Head to the south. It's pretty much an ideal family spot; It's not so much a party town - There are no weekend warriors in site (since there are few motels) and only a few bars. Most of the people here are renting for the entire week. Consequently, traffic in and out can be downright horrible as the changeover occurs (Saturdays or Sundays around midday). Traveling early morning or late evening is the best time to avoid this.

This area of the Outer Banks is my favorite place to stay and in my opinion has the best well kept beaches on the main area of the barrier islands. I have stayed on this part of the island over a dozen times and it has the laid back beach town feel while being upscale and family friendly.The traffic can be a bit hectic getting in and out during the high seasons but it's worth it. Personally my favorite time to visit is in the off season or during Christmas time. You will find mostly locals at these times, the weather is still decent to walk the beaches and it makes the perfect backdrop for a beach Christmas vacation. You won't find as many restaurants and things to do but, coming here to relax makes up for it.The access to attractions and other parts of the barrier islands is fairly easy even though it is more North on the islands. The shelling opportunities are great and the sunrises and sunsets are unforgettable! There are plenty of public parking and public beach access points as well. The rental prices are a bit higher here than other parts of the island but, for me it's worth it to stay in such a quaint and beautiful place.