Duck, North Carolina

Duck sits on a narrow stretch of the northern Outer Banks between Southern Shores and Corolla, bordered by the Currituck Sound to the west and the Atlantic a short walk east. It's the newest incorporated town in Dare County, chartered only on May 1, 2002, after residents petitioned the state legislature specifically to protect the village's low-key character from the kind of commercial strip development seen further south.

A Duck-Hunting Outpost, Not a Resort

Long before vacationers arrived, the area was a remote hunting and fishing outpost on Currituck Sound, popular with waterfowl hunters in the early 20th century — the source of the town's name. It stayed a sparse scatter of cottages until the Duck-to-Corolla stretch of NC-12 opened up development in the 1980s and 90s.

The Soundside Boardwalk and Waterfront Shops

Duck's defining feature today is its half-mile wooden boardwalk running along the Currituck Sound, completed in 2014 and now the town's social spine — connecting Duck Town Park to the Waterfront Shops, a village of some two dozen boutiques, galleries, and restaurants built out over the water. It draws comparisons, only half-joking, to Rodeo Drive for its concentration of upscale local shopping.

A Village, Not a Strip

Duck's year-round population is only a few hundred, but summer swells it toward 20,000 — nearly all in vacation rentals rather than hotels, since the town has deliberately kept large-scale lodging out. It has consistently ranked on national best-beaches lists since 2000.