Waves, North Carolina

Waves sits between Rodanthe and Salvo on Hatteras Island, the middle of the three Tri-Villages that were once all part of the historic settlement of Chicamacomico. The village went through several names — South Chicamacomico, Little Kinnakeet, South Rodanthe — before the local postmaster settled on "Waves" in 1939, reportedly because it fit better on the post office's rubber stamp than its predecessors.

From Surf Shop to Kiteboarding Capital

Waves stayed a quiet backwater until 1971, when the Hatteras Island Surf Shop opened here — at a time when the village's post office served all of 25 mailboxes — and began drawing surfers to the consistent wind and swell along this stretch of coast. That same wind has since made Waves one of the premier kiteboarding destinations on the East Coast, with multiple kiteboarding schools and resorts operating directly on the shallow, flat waters of the Pamlico Sound, ideal for beginners and experts alike.

A Watersports Calendar

The village hosts the Triple-S Invitational each June, one of the longest-running kiteboarding competitions in the country, alongside a steady calendar of surf and windsurfing events. Away from the water, Waves remains a small, residential community of vacation cottages with little commercial development of its own.