Corolla Wild Horses
I decided to go see the Corolla Wild Horses on the Northern side of the Outer Banks. Several people told me it is worth it. I was debating if I should take the Subaru Outback on the beach. The Corolla Visitor’s center staff warned me against it. I had spent a couple hours the night before searching for feedback on using the Outback in sand. It seems if X-Mode is turned on, it does pretty well depending on how deep the sand is. For 2021 and later models, there is an X-Mode 2 setting, which was designed for sand. I decided I would go with my 2020 Outback if all the tours where filled.
After almost two hours of calling, I almost gave up. I called Wild Horse Adventure tours and they were about to tell me they were all filled when I said I’m one person. There was one seat available for the 3:00 pm tour. They told me I’d be setting up front and asked if that was OK. That seemed to be perfect.
I went on line and read about the horses. These feral horses were introduced by the Spaniards in the 1500’s. I made a cup of strong coffee and relaxed. After a while, I found my way to the Dare County Library so that I could be closer to the tour site and do some things online. The library was small but quiet. The trip from the library to the tour site took 30 minutes.
Wild Horse Adventure Tours
I found my way to the Wild Horse Adventure Tours. I’m so glad I did this at this time of year. In the summer, it must be packed on the beaches and the sandy streets of Corolla, NC. Corolla seems to be part of The Currituck National Wildlife Refuge. The narrow strand runs all the way up North to Virginia Beach. I hadn’t checked on the map, but the guide told us the horses wonder over into the Refuge. He also told us this was the last week of tours for them. As I researched the horses, I began to research my day trip, I realized there were so many groups that are trying to profit from or protect the horses in some way. There were all the tour companies, local governments, and wildlife groups (Corolla Wild Horses).
Our tour left promptly at 3:00 pm with 13 tourists and the driver / guide. I wasn’t the only person from Connecticut on the tour. The guide said that more and more people from Connecticut are coming to the Outer Banks to escape the winters. I could understand it at this time of year, but I wouldn’t want to be there in the summer when it takes at least 5 times longer to drive somewhere. I’d have trouble with all the crowds that he described.
Wild Horse Adventure Tours
In Corolla, we entered the beach, which seemed the only way to get to the homes that were there other than by boat. Apparently, construction of new homes continues at and even faster pace than in the past. Large fences and very dense forest separated this part of the island from the rest.
There were two sides to the beach, packed sand toward the ocean and dried soft sand . There were Outbacks on the beach as well as many other Jeep and SUV type automobiles. We saw a Toyota SUV stuck in the sand. Our driver explained that the woman didn’t lower the air pressure in the tires to 20 PSI. People on the beach were pushing her and finally got her out.
We were told that people that live here use their boats to go grocery shopping. It is so much easier than driving through the sand and into town.
Further up the beach, the tour guide pointed out the homes of the rich and famous. After doing further research and receiving feedback from a local, the information provided by our tour guide was completely inaccurate. I’m not sure why they feel the need to provide false information (Updated 7/6/2023).
The streets here are not paved and are only routes that people have found through the sand. We passed a no trespassing sign and the guide explained that the owner of the tour company bought a large section of land and donated it to the wilderness preservation group. This is the only company that’s allowed on this land. We did see one horse on this land but it was behind bushes at a distance.
Our guide periodically talked to the other drivers from the same company to see if they had seen any horses. When any of them saw a horse the others would be informed. As we passed drivers from other companies, we would slow and the drivers exchanged where they had seen horses.
There are strict rules about feeding and getting close to the horses. Your supposed to stay at least 50 feet away and not feed them. Apparently, people have fed them carrots, apples and other food and have either made them sick or actually caused the death of the horse.
Further North, we began to see horses in people’s yards, in the park, right on the road, and hidden in bushes. They were constantly eating what was called sweet grass. What I saw didn’t look like sweet grass. I was surprised that the horses were eating down to the sand. The sand must be getting in their teeth. I asked if the sand wore down the teeth. The answer wasn’t conclusive and I couldn’t find information online.
We stopped one time on the road and the horses were 10 feet from us. They continued to eat and meander as if we weren’t there.
Horse In A Park
Photographing the horses was more difficult than I thought it would be. I always seemed to have the wrong lens on the camera. When the horses were close, I had the long distance lens on, when they were further away, I had the shorter lens on. We never stayed in one place for more than a minute.
The entire trip was two hours long. It was getting dark when we got back to the meeting point.
On the way back, I entered KOA into the Google Maps and didn’t pay attention to where it was taking me. I drove 35 minutes before I realized I had taken the wrong road.
It was a warm night and I was able to sit at the table and relax as I did some things online.