The shore on the Sound is tiny, but there's still room for sand castles. And the shallow water is perfect for little ones. EDIE GROSS/THE FREE LANCE-STAR View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

Here's a side of OBX you may not have seen

Roanoke Sound offers a softer side of the Outer Banks

Date published: 9/20/2009

BY EDIE GROSS

NAGS HEAD

Hurricane Bill and Tropical Storm Danny were surprise guests.

And though they never swung close enough to the shore to seriously disrupt the weather, both storms churned up waves and currents fierce enough to make us think twice about letting our kids swim in the ocean.

Even my husband, who will swim in just about any conditions, declared the ocean too rough.

But what kind of a beach vacation is it if you can't get in the water?

Out of necessity, we soon discovered there's another side to the Outer Banks: the Sound side.

'THE BABY BEACH'

We'd rented a three-seater kayak for the week, but for the first few days, lifeguards closed the beach in front of our house to all but surfers in light of the rough seas.

So the folks at the boat rental shop suggested we test the waters of Roanoke Sound, the narrow body of water west of Nags Head.

They pointed us to a tiny, soundside beach at the rear of Jockey's Ridge, a state park famous for its massive sand dunes and popularity with hang gliders.

On a day when the waves in front of our beach house pummeled the shoreline without mercy, the water in Roanoke Sound was like glass.

It gently lapped at the sides of our kayak as we paddled near the estuary on the western edge of Jockeys Ridge. All of us hopped into the water to cool off, and no matter how far out we paddled, it never seemed to grow deeper than 31/2 feet.

No riptides. No strong cur-rents. No loud "booms"--my 2-year-old niece's word for the crashing waves near our house.

While she eyed "the big wet" of the Atlantic Ocean suspiciously, she fell in love with the calm waters of Roanoke Sound, a place she fondly referred to as "the baby beach."

COASTAL PLAYGROUND

We visited the baby beach on at least four different occasions during the week, and sure enough, the place was packed with families with young children.

That's largely because the Sound averages between 3 and 4 feet deep pretty much everywhere except the boating channel, said park Ranger Jennifer Thoburn.

When the waves along the Outer Banks pounded the shore so hard we couldn't let the kids in the water, locals pointed us toward a tiny beach on Roanoke Sound in Nags Head, where the water was calm. The beach is part of Jockey's Ridge State Park. To reach it from Highway 158 (Croatan Highway), head west on Soundside Road, which runs along the south side of the park. When the road curves left, turn right into a small parking lot. There are no bathrooms at the beach, though Jockey's Ridge State Park has a welcome center about a mile from there. No alcohol or motorized boats, including wave runners, are allowed, and all dogs must be leashed. The beach is open until 7 p.m. in the spring and summer and 5 p.m. the rest of the year.

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Date published: 9/20/2009