This place is crowded and overrun heavy traffic! It lacks the charm it had 20+ years ago. While you have the little shops and restaurants as with any other coastal town, it is overpriced and not worth the hassle. Save your time and gas, and go elsewhere. You would be better off. This is nothing more than another tourist trap and a time suck sitting in traffic for nothing. As the name of this town suggests, better to duck this one out.. read more

Town of Duck - Boardwalk - Parks Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

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! read more

Town of Duck - Parks Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

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. read more

Town of Duck - Beautiful views! - Parks Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

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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. read more

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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. read more

Such an amazing town with compact everything. When I say that, a majority of what you will want to do here is so centralized that if you blink, you will miss it. Majority of the shopping in this small, quant town is what I assume is the center of town, and their business district. When you think shopping while on vacation you are probably thinking chain stores and discount outlets. Not here, a majority of what you will run into is local spots and small chain stores relevant to the area. There is some great dining in the area as well. Just about every palate can pleased in this small town. The problem is trying to find just one place you like. A lot of the places in Duck still come up as Kitty Hawk, since the town is relatively new in means of being founded. I'm sure Duck is much older than most people realize. It's a great little place to shop, dine and play. read more

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! read more

Such a great small town for a vacation. Super laid back and very family oriented. 10 of my friends decided to rent a house when two of our friends decided to get married here. The town has a lot of charm and is remote enough for you to feel like you are "getting away" without too much of a sacrifice on modern amenities. There are a ton of things to do: beach, adventure tours, kayaking, paddle boarding, lighthouses, mini-golf.... if you run out of things to do there is probably something wrong. Honestly, the best thing I found was to sit on the beach, with a good book, and just take in the waves.... the wildlife (we saw a ton of dolphins swimming 50ft from the shore). read more

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. read more

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

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. read more

There are no public beach accesses in this town. The only way to gain access to the beache is to rent a house from the tenant. The HOA runs the town and could care less about visitors. This is truly all about money and whose pockets are being padded. It's not the police officers fault, they are only enforcing the law. How can a town take millions of dollars from tax payers over the years for the beach, yet no one can access it. Just ride down the rode a little and visit the other towns who has plenty of beach accesses. read more

Our very own Mayberry! Home away from home. No stoplights. No franchises. All family. Great beaches. I hesitate to say come visit but you really should! read more

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. read more

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. read more

From my tourist perspective I really enjoyed Duck! It's a cute residential town with lots of people running & riding bicycles. The waterfront shops are very cute with restaurants on the boardwalk. Out of the places we visited in the Outer Banks, Duck was our favorite. read more

I HEART DUCK! Recently took a swing down to Outer Banks and had no idea Duck, N.C. even existed. After some bar-top cell phone research at the steakhouse, the whole Duck boardwalk situation presented itself. After reading a few lines about Duck, how could anyone not take a ride up Rt. 12 for a visit? The boardwalk isn't a boardwalk the way places like Ocean City, Md. or Myrtle Beach have wide expanses of basically beachfront plank to help people rumble their strollers from shop to shop where tacky graphic tees are sold between taffy shops 5-for-$10. Duck's boardwalk is basically a breezy waterfront walkway system wide enough for 2-3 walkers across. There's ample access to auxiliary pathways and boat slips, with benches and spots for pics. As I walked it up and back, I paused quite a bit to enjoy just how stinking charming Duck is. Man. People did great work here. This section of Duck in particular is what I'd consider a mature beach town. There were no obnoxious drinking parties, no packs of high schoolers jamming the attractions, and no muttonheads drag racing their cars on the main road. Duck is clearly a town where people vacation to spend quality time in a quaint, serene getaway nook. read more

It is what it is. If it looks like a Duck and walks like a Duck. It's probably a Duck. And what a Duck. This town is fantastic. Great spot to rent and feel like you are away from it all. Unlike most beach towns the beach is private access so if you rent a home you probably have access. Check before you rent. So, no massive amount of cars parked everywhere going to the beach. And if you want to eat it is not just tacky tourist traps. Really eclectic mix here. And if you are in town you need to get on the sound as well. Several places to rent boats, jet skis, sailboats, etc(NorSail best option). There is a boardwalk that is a great walk and has tons of stuff like the famous Duck Donuts and lots of shopping to do. So, look at Duck as an option next time you have some time and want to get away from it all. read more

Nice boardwalk and some good food make Duck an enjoyable destination .. I prefer Roadside for lunch or dinner , but Heart is desirable as well read more

Great place to vacation or live year round. The only thing that keeps it from being a 5 is the fact that traffic in the peak season can be challenging. The coffee shop is a place you don't want to miss. read more

We loved the town of Duck! There was a small playground right near the awesome boardwalk along the sound. We did that with the kids just about every morning. Then at 10am there was something for the kids in the amphitheater. the Lost Colony put on a play, it was so cute and the kids got on stage with the actors. And very educational for older kids. We also did story time and played Frisbee in the grass. The bathrooms were so clean and the town hall adorable. We can't wait until next summer. Wonderful place, I wish I could live there year round. read more

I will never ever come to the Outer Banks and Duck again. The beaches may be beautiful, but you cannot go to them because of these nasty black, biting flies. I have been here for five days, and unable to go to the beach. Fortunately, the expensive resort I'm staying at has a nice pool. I'm told that the flies are because the wind is blowing from the west. If the wind changes direction the flies will go away. So I guess it's my tough luck. But I won't take a chance on coming here again and having a west wind. It's not just me, everyOne here is complaining. In fact, a couple of the pool yesterday have your very own flyswatter to swap the flies away. When you're paying $400 a night for a hotel, you'd really like to be able to go to the beach. And in the evening, there are hundreds, if not thousands of some sort of insects that swarm around any outdoor light. I picked up a pizza tonight and had to brush them out of my way to get into the restaurant. Coming out, they swarmed around me, and I have my mouth open and several flew in. Disgusting. They even flew into my car around the domelight. I'm staying in a nice place, with a nice spa, and have enjoyed both of those, but the bugs are just not worth it. Too many other beautiful beaches to go to this country that don't have these problems. read more

Duck is not beach friendly. The locals make no bones about not liking weekly vacationers. They just want the revenue from your dollars. The Duke beaches are hard to get to, very unkept, downright dirty in fact. The local residential areas try to make up for this by having some amenities, but cannot overcome the rudeness of this town. It seems only driven to get as much of your money as they can. The traffic is horrendous from ill planning of the roadways, but I think this is on purpose so you will get frustrated, stop and maybe spent some money in their very, very overpriced storefronts. Where do they get these prices? If they took just some of the profit that they gouge out of the vacationers and spent it on their beaches, perhaps they might make it better. I have been coming to the outer banks for 20 plus years, stayed in many different places, but this town, Duck, by far, has the worst beach and even worse attitude toward vacationers read more