Whalehead Club

Whalehead Club anchors Currituck Heritage Park in Corolla's historic district, standing a short walk from the Currituck Beach Lighthouse on the shore of Currituck Sound. The mansion was built in the 1920s as a private hunting retreat for a wealthy couple drawn to the sound's waterfowl, and its copper roofing and art nouveau styling still set it apart from every other building on this stretch of the Outer Banks. Restored and now operated as a house museum, it's one of the few places in Corolla where you can step inside a piece of the area's Gilded Age hunting-club history rather than just read about it from a plaque outside.

Touring the mansion

Self-guided and staff-led tours move through the restored rooms, with exhibits covering the estate's construction, the hunt-club era, and the building's later use and rescue from decades of neglect. Plan on the visit taking less than an hour unless you linger over the grounds.

• Open Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm; closed Saturday and Sunday
• Part of Currituck Heritage Park, alongside the Currituck Beach Lighthouse
• Grounds are walkable before or after a lighthouse climb