The Seaside Town of Duck

Duck— Something for Everyone

Spectacular sunset vistas from a boardwalk bordering Currituck Sound, a wonderful village-like feel with a town green and an amphitheater are just some of the features that keep visitors coming back to the town of Duck year after year. Of all the towns of the Outer Banks, Duck has managed to combine shopping areas and green space into a plan that makes a visit a delight.

Until the 1970s, Duck was an almost forgotten village where residents eked out a living hunting, fishing and taking odd jobs in the more developed areas of the Outer Banks of Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head.

Legend has it that the town got its name around 1910 when local resident Lloyd Toler applied for a post office for the cluster of homes on Currituck Sound. The application asked what the name of the post office should be, and Toler, noting what seemed to be most abundant wrote, “Duck.”

The town stretches for about five miles along Currituck Sound. For almost the entire five miles, Currituck Sound is visible just to the west of the business district. To the east a line of sand dunes hides much of the residential and lodging areas of the town.

Placing Duck on the Map

Duck is the northernmost town in Dare County. Corolla is to the north of it and Southern Shores is to the south. The only road in and out of town is NC 12.

The Beach

The Duck beaches are exquisite, some of the finest on the Outer Banks. However, at this point in time, there is no public access to the beach. Homeowner associations and subdivisions offer access to guests and property owners, but generally, the public cannot use that access.

That may be changing. At least on beach access has been found to be for public use following a lawsuit, although it is unclear what the impact of that will be.

As is true for all North Carolina beaches, the beach is available for public use.