Elizabeth City, North Carolina

"The Elizabeth City dining room. Local seafood and Southern comfort food."

The best dinner restaurant in Elizabeth City — a waterfront spot serving local seafood, steaks, and Southern-influenced comfort food. The crab cakes use local blue crab. The service is friendly and unpretentious. The waterfront setting elevates the experience.

"The local oyster bar. Albemarle Sound oysters served correctly."

A casual raw bar and seafood spot where the Albemarle Sound oysters — briny and small, different from the Atlantic variety — come by the dozen. The steamed shrimp and she-crab soup round out the menu. The kind of place where regulars have their own seats.

"Eastern North Carolina whole-hog BBQ. The real thing."

Eastern NC is a distinct BBQ religion — whole hog, vinegar-pepper sauce, with hushpuppies and coleslaw. Finding the real thing near Elizabeth City requires a short drive to smaller operations, but Martin's and the handful of local pits in the surrounding area are authentic. Ask base personnel where they go.

"The definitive history of the Albemarle region. Surprisingly excellent."

A North Carolina state museum covering the entire history of the Albemarle Sound region — from the first English colonial attempts at Roanoke through the Civil War and into the maritime culture of the 20th century. The Lost Colony exhibits and the freshwater fishing culture displays are the highlights.

"A 112,000-acre peat swamp on the NC/VA border. Genuinely wild."

One of the great swamp wilderness areas on the East Coast — 112,000 acres of Atlantic white cedar, tupelo gum, and vast stands of bald cypress straddling the North Carolina/Virginia border. The refuge has an active black bear population, abundant waterfowl, and the only remaining natural lake in Virginia. Canoeing and kayaking through the interior waterways is otherworldly.

"The Harbor of Hospitality. The town earned this nickname genuinely."

Elizabeth City's downtown waterfront earned the "Harbor of Hospitality" nickname from a local who greeted visiting boaters with free docking, a welcome party, and roses for the women — a tradition now institutionalized and continued by the town. The waterfront walk, restaurants, and marina make for a pleasant afternoon.

"Red wolves and black bears in a coastal swamp. The most remote road in NC."

A massive 153,000-acre refuge south of Elizabeth City on the Dare County peninsula — one of the last places where the critically endangered red wolf persists in the wild. The refuge has American black bears in high density, massive waterfowl concentrations in winter, and a landscape utterly unchanged from the colonial period.

"A tannin-stained blackwater river through coastal NC forest."

The Pasquotank River runs from the Virginia border through Elizabeth City to Albemarle Sound, with blackwater paddling through cypress and tupelo forest. The upper river sections are quiet and wildlife-rich. MWR rental is available through base.

"Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, and Cape Hatteras — 50 miles east."

The Outer Banks barrier islands are a 50-mile drive across Albemarle Sound. The northern Outer Banks (Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head) have Wright Brothers National Memorial, beach towns, and the most accessible beaches. Cape Hatteras National Seashore further south is wilder and less developed.

"Where powered flight happened. 12 seconds that changed everything."

Kill Devil Hills, 50 miles east, has the actual site of the Wright Brothers' first flights on December 17, 1903. A granite monument marks the location of each flight. The visitor center has a full-scale reproduction of the Flyer and the actual launch ramp. For aviation community personnel at ATC Elizabeth City, this is a pilgrimage.

"Coastal NC marine life, well presented, in a convenient location."

One of three NC state aquariums, the Roanoke Island location covers coastal sounds, offshore reefs, and freshwater North Carolina habitats. An inland sea exhibit, shark tank, and excellent estuary displays. Located near the Roanoke Island Festival Park and the Lost Colony historical site.

"A converted textile mill turned events, market, and community space."

A repurposed cotton mill in downtown Elizabeth City housing local businesses, a farmers market, and community events. A good example of the downtown revitalization happening in Elizabeth City — the building has genuine character and the market attracts local producers.

"Freshwater boating with no surf, no tide, no crowds. Family paradise."

Albemarle Sound is essentially a vast freshwater lake — protected from ocean conditions, warm in summer, and surrounded by accessible public beaches and boat ramps. For families with boats or kayaks, the Sound offers recreational boating that's accessible and low-stakes in ways the open ocean isn't.