Colony Lake

Colony Lake is a small lake tucked back from the ocean on the inland, soundside half of Kill Devil Hills, in the Colington and Eagleton area west of the Beach Road/Croatan Highway corridor most visitors stick to. It sits roughly two and a half miles from the town's commercial center, surrounded largely by the residential neighborhoods that have grown up around it — this is a lake defined by the homes around it more than by public infrastructure. The Town of Kill Devil Hills' official list of soundside access points (Moor Shores, Dock Street, Hayman Boulevard, and Third Street) doesn't include Colony Lake, so there's no confirmed public launch, pier, or parking area on its shoreline.

That makes it less a destination to plan a visit around and more a quiet landmark you'll notice driving out toward Colington Island — a reminder that Kill Devil Hills isn't only the beach strip along NC-12. If you're exploring the Colington side of town, it's worth knowing the name, but for boat launches, kayaking, and shoreline access in this part of Kill Devil Hills, the town's marked soundside accesses a few miles north and east are the better bet.