Visit The Outer Banks

Waves in North Carolina's Outer Banks

Waves lives up to its name as one of the best spots for watersports in North Carolina's Outer Banks, with new adventures to try and beachside lodging close to the sand.

From a distance, Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo can feel like a single community. Many residents and repeat visitors refer to the trio as The Tri-Villages because their edges meet and one village seems to flow directly into the next. Still, for locals and longtime guests, each village has its own identity, backstory and character.

The reason they can seem like one place is part geography and part local lore. One story says that there was a time when travelers could distinguish the villages only by their village-limit signs. According to that same tale, surfers or beach-loving vacationers kept taking the Welcome to Waves sign as a keepsake whenever a replacement appeared, until officials finally stopped putting the signs back up. Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo also carry unusual names, and those names — along with earlier names for the villages — have histories of their own.

Waves is the middle member of the Tri-Villages. For years, it was often treated as Rodanthe’s smaller sibling, but as both communities expanded to their natural boundaries, the two began to look like one continuous town. No sign now marks where Rodanthe ends and Waves begins, though a wooded area and marshland once separated them; that sound-side area is now the site of a campground. Local tradition repeats the story of a Waves welcome sign that disappeared into the hands of surfers or visitors seeking an unusual vacation memento, followed by more stolen replacements until the signs were retired altogether.

As the village formed its own sense of place, Waves carried several names, including South Chicamocomico, Little Kinnakeet and, later, South Rodanthe. In 1939, Postmaster Anna E. Midgette — a family name commonly seen on Hatteras — changed the post office and town name to Waves. Today, the Tri-Villages have only that one post office, North Rodanthe is simply Rodanthe, and Waves continues to invite visitors to discover why the name fits.

Surfers and watermen answer that invitation enthusiastically. It may be a slight exaggeration to say everyone in the village has a surfboard on a vehicle roof or stored at home, but watersports are clearly part of daily life in Waves. At REAL Watersports, a committed group of surfers and kiteboarders has built a watersports campus in the heart of the village. The REAL Watersports shop offers gear sales and rentals, along with surfing and kiteboarding lessons. Visitors may spot large kiteboarding kites, shaped like oversized parachutes, pulling riders across the Sound behind REAL Watersports during lessons or when experienced riders are keeping their skills sharp.

REAL also supports the surf-centered lifestyle with Watermen’s Retreat, offering rental condos, cabanas and cabins for visitors on a surfin’ safari, as well as Watermen’s Bar and Grill. Throughout Waves, travelers will also find many rental homes and another campground.

Waves has several restaurants and cafes serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus a small market for groceries. Visitors preparing for a beach house stay or gathering campground supplies may find the broader grocery options in nearby Avon, or at stores and specialty shops north of Whalebone Junction.

Discover More of Waves

Places To Stay

The Outer Banks offers a wide range of lodging choices, including condos, vacation rentals and cottages.

Restaurants

Whatever visitors do while exploring Waves, food is part of the trip. Waves includes places to eat for travelers looking for meals in the village.

More Hatteras Island Villages

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