live in toronto have a week of holiday …and …have to take a week in a RCI time share or i lose it …would the outer banks be too cold for day trips in mid to late april …or is there another destination witin a 12 hr drive south of toronto that would have great day trips and might have time shares close by …appreciate any advice thanks stan
Should be perfect there
in mid to late April.
Not too warm and not too cool
The only thing about the outer banks, unless you are paddling in the sound, you will have to punch your way out through surf, and then came back in through it.
Cheers,
JackL
Late April can be great.
Check the wether averages for the area online. April can be very windy and the Outerbanks are known for wind. Even the sounds can get very choppy.
And the water is cold, but that is
relative.
Another Option
Coastal Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay area are splendid destinations.
Other Info
If the sun is out, it will probably be warm enough. You will be early for the season. Most of the stores and restaurants will not be open.
The more interesting paddling we have found in the area is on the mainland. There are several wildlife refuges, creeks and rivers. They should be well protected.
yes, more good destinations
– Last Updated: Feb-15-10 6:38 PM EST –
Very close to the Outer Banks are some great places to paddle where you'll find protection from the wind. It's good to have these as options.
Check out the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and look at Milltail Creek. (Launch at "Buffalo City" on Buffalo City Rd.)(Access from hwy. 64, same route as takes you to the Outer Banks.
See the maps and description of the NC coastal paddle trails (they're at an www.ncsu.edu/paddletrails/). Click on trail maps, then click on Region 1. These are the northernmost paddle trails -- those on the north side of the Albemarle Sound. There are some beautiful, beautiful blackwater rivers and creeks up there. I love Catherines/Warwick Creek. But they're all lovely. (Edenton might be a good base of operations; likewise, you could camp at Merchants Millpond State Park.)
And go to roanokeriverpartners.org and look at the Roanoke River and Cashie River camping platforms. These are platforms in a tupelo-cypress swamp on a big brownwater river. (Cashie is blackwater.) In April there will tons of wildlife and great birds. (I saw my first mink in NC on the Roanoke -- it ran along the bank looking at us.)
North Carolina is heaven for touring kayakers -- from the Outer Banks, to the sounds, over into the coastal plain. You will love it here! (I wish I could go right now!)
Ginger
hey, one more!
Dragonboat, another possible good destination for you would be Bear Island (Hammocks Beach State Park) off Swansboro – this is down the coast from the Outer Banks on the Bogue Banks. Undeveloped island and state park. Get a permit at the park headquarters on the mainland and paddle the 3 miles over through the marshes and camp on Bear. Walk the wild beaches. You can paddle out Bogue Inlet into the ocean or take some refuge from wind in the extensive marshes. Or you could have a base camp at Cedar Point in the Croatan National Forest on the mainland. There’s also a hospitable funky motel, the Waterway Inn, and a paddle shop run by a wonderful guy and very good paddler, Lamar Hudgens (Barrier Island Kayaks), who will let you launch for day trips from his place on the Intracoastal Waterway. Beautiful islands and saltmarsh there. You can find all these places online if you want to research them. Enjoy!
G in NC
nc
I currently live in Portland Ore, but I grew up in NE NC. Yes, the NC coast is awesome for touring kayaks. As mentioned the wind and walled up shore break can be tricky, but the sound and Merchants Mill park will be a pleasure. I used to camp as a boy scout at Merchant’s - surreal like the everglades, but no man-eating gators…
thank you to all
appreciate all the advice
gators at Merchants Millpond
Hey Phrancis, guess what! Since your Boy Scout days, Merchants Millpond has acquired gators. I’ve not seen one but haven’t been there in 10 years. I have just heard from people there more recently that they saw gators. Not many but some. There’s some speculation that the gators there were turned loose by people. On the other hand, there’s a gator on Milltail Creek in the Alligator River NWR that has charged my kayak twice over a period of three recent years (during which it appeared to grow from a 4-footer to a 5. With the warming of our planet, I may live to see or hear of gators in the tidal basis at D.C. (Or wait, that might too salty. Crocodiles maybe? Yippee!!!)