Bogue Banks: What Makes It Distinctive and Mysterious?

Ever dream of waking up to the sound of waves while sipping your morning coffee and watching the sun rise over the ocean on your island paradise? Or, strolling on a white, sandy beach in the late afternoon, smelling the salty breeze and searching for shells? If you do, you are watching the right blog because I had those dreams, too. Pack your bags, fasten your seat belt, and join me for an informative look at the distinctive island where I live my dream, a distinctive island that goes by many names, a distinctive island where your next home may be waiting. Google Bogue Banks and you’ll learn that it is a 26-mile barrier island off the southeast coast of North Carolina in Carteret County. It is one of more than 160 barrier islands along the eastern United States.  

What makes Bogue Banks a distinctive island? Let’s find out. First, I grew up going to the Jersey Shore, where single-engine Cessna airplanes stirred the air and towed banners up and down the beach advertising some amusement park or all-you-can-eat restaurant. This was part of the beach experience, or so I thought, until I visited Bogue Banks for the first time. No droning Cessna stirred the air along this stretch of the North Carolina coast.  Instead, it was the distinctive THWOP-THWOP-THWOP sound made by a squadron of helicopters hugging the shoreline about 150 feet above the beach,  transporting Marines from Camp Lejeune to the nearby Cherry Point Marine Air Station. If that didn’t tell me, I wasn’t in Jersey anymore; not seeing a single banner screaming KIDS EAT FREE among them did.

A second distinctive feature of Bogue Banks is that this East Coast barrier island faces south. This orientation allows me to view the sunrise and sunset over the ocean. How cool is that? A third distinctive feature is the dearth of commercialism. Business establishments are low-key and discreet, confined to widely spaced pockets along the island's spine, Highway 54, also known as Emerald Drive.

A fourth distinctive feature of Bogue Banks is that it is surrounded by real people living in real-life communities. Along with those Marine installations to the west and north, plenty of shrimp boats and farmland are in plain sight or just around the corner. The folks I’ve met while exploring Bogue Banks are earnest, honest, and unfailingly polite. I've never had so many people address me as "sir" -- and I'm not just referring to our men and women in uniform. And, when I go on a walk, I feel like I’m running for mayor for all the hand-waving I do. And this has continued for some 25 years. Is it any wonder that the motto for the Town of Emerald Isle is “Nice Matters!”

A fifth distinctive feature of Bogue Banks is the abundance of shrimp and blue crab. Along Emerald Drive, brick and mortar fishmongers and pop-up stands sell shrimp for under $10 a pound. And, it’s not the foreign shrimp you get at Costco. Once you’ve tasted a Carolina brown or white shrimp, you’ll never go back. At many of these "stands" -- sometimes simply a station wagon with a cooler on the tailgate -- locals know to ask whether the shrimp still have heads on. If the price per pound includes them, a grimace and hesitation on your part usually result in a drop in the price or the heads. As for that other Crusatean, head out to Bogue Sound with chicken-baited hand lines and crab traps. But go early. The rising sun's rays send the crabs into deeper, cooler water or the sand/mud for relief. Better yet, do what I do and head over to Willis’ Seafood on Emerald Drive or drive east about 10 miles to quaint Salter Path and stop at one of several old houses with signs advertising that morning’s catch.

A sixth distinctive feature of Bogue Banks is the diversity of the island's communities. Emerald Isle is an upscale residential community on the west end of Bogue Banks. Incorporated in 1957, Emerald Isle looks like a planned community consisting mainly of beach homes, many built back from the beach amid stands of live oak and cedar trees. The few commercial developments -- a shopping center, grocery stores, realty offices, a small-scale waterslide park -- are understated and well-camouflaged. It's like being in a small-town college community in New England, only better: It does not snow in Emerald Isle, and it is impossible to find any McDonald’s or Starbucks unless you drive over the bridge to the mainland.  Emerald Isle took its name from the greenish hue of the water here, which is unusual for any beach north of South Florida. An offshore sandbar created waves ideal for body surfing and, indeed, for surfboards, which dot the water near the Bogue Inlet fishing pier each evening. Because of the low-density housing, the beach in Emerald Isle, compared to the Jersey Shore, cannot be considered crowded.  Head east from Emerald Isle on Highway 54 and drive to Salter Path, the oldest community on the island. With its bungalow architecture, it looks like a black-and-white snapshot from the 1940s. Further east is the planned community of Pine Knoll Shores, the beach town built in a maritime forest. At the eastern end of Bogue Banks is Atlantic Beach, an older, more typical resort with amusement parks, cheesy architecture, and noise. On Bogue Banks, you are sure to find a community to match your personality. And that's how life is on the Bogue Banks. Things feel familiar and comfortable, like a pair of comfortable shoes. The past and the present, the working folks and the vacationers, all exist right alongside each other, like old friends. 

A seventh distinctive feature of Bogue Banks is its name. People have puzzled over its derivation for centuries. The most accurate is the one you hear least: Bogue Banks. This name, Bogue, first appeared on maps in the early 1700s, identifying the island, the sound or body of water that separates the barrier island from the mainland, and the inlet at its western end. Yet, no one knows the origin of the name ‘Bogue.’ It’s not a personal name. It didn’t come from England. It’s not Native American. It’s not a word from another language. It’s not a descriptive word. It’s neither flora nor fauna. It’s origin remains a mystery. And then we can ask: why the title ‘Banks’ and not ‘island.’ After all, from Maine to the southern tip of Florida there are 165 barrier islands. All are designated ‘Islands’, except four-Currituck, Core, Shackleford and Bogue- which carry the name ‘Banks.’ The word ‘Banks’ is most strongly associated with The Grand Banks fishing grounds, a submerged ocean plateau in the North Atlantic made famous in the book and movie “The Perfect Storm.”  Another strong association is river banks. Perhaps when the earliest explorers viewed these land masses from their tiny ships, what they saw reminded them of riverbanks.  However, these barrier islands are neither submerged or on rivers, making the word ‘banks’ as mysterious as the word ‘Bogue.’ Official North Carolina highway maps do not identify the Outer Banks nor do National Geographic or Rand McNally maps. Maybe that’s why most tourist brochures use "Crystal Coast" or the “Southern Outer Banks” rather than Bogue Banks. If you have a thought, leave it in the comments below. Thanks so much for reading!