Five Outer Banks attractions join forces in time for tourist season

Five Currituck Outer Banks attractions have teamed up despite past differences.

Representatives from The Whalehead Club, the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education, the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, the Corolla historic village and the Corolla Wild Horse Fund have formed the Corolla Coalition.

Plans are to make site maps and improve common signage by the start of tourist season, said Karen McCalpin, director of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.

Formed this month, the group is the first formal effort to make the sites more of a single experience for visitors, she said. The idea ha s been bandied about for years but never realized in part because of a long dispute between Currituck County, which owns The Whalehead Club, and Outer Banks Conservationists, which owns the lighthouse.

Two years ago, Currituck County and Outer Banks Conservationists settled a lawsuit after a 5 -year-long dispute over the historic beacon that drew national attention, reached top levels of the federal government and cost thousands in legal fees. OBC was awarded ownership of the lighthouse by the federal government in 2003. Currituck challenged the decision. Later the county sued OBC and said it was not abiding by local ordinances that required providing restrooms and adequate parking.

"What's happened has happened," Currituck Commissioner Owen Etheridge said. "If we can't move forward, then we'll suffer the consequences."

The Whalehead Club is within sight of the lighthouse, and visitors often go to one after seeing the other.

At one point, the county considered building a tall wooden fence between the lighthouse and The Whalehead Club. At issue was a disagreement over sharing a set of public bathrooms and parking on county property that was used by lighthouse visitors.

The coalition makes sense, McCalpin said. All five attractions are within half a mile of one another along the Currituck Sound. Outer Banks beaches are a short walk away. Although t he lighthouse is very visible, the historic village, its shops and the Corolla Wild Horse Fund headquarters are tucked along back roads.

"Most people said, 'I had no idea this was back here,' " McCalpin said. "They just kind of stumbled upon it."

The Whalehead Club and the wildlife center are more visible, but many visitors go to one site without realizing the other is there.

Currituck ordinances limit the addition of more road signage, but signs could be placed within each site advertising others, McCalpin said. Plans are to have at least the site maps ready by Memorial Day.

Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com