Welcome to Oriental!

Community Pickleball at Camp Caroline

Community Pickleball continues to grow in Pamlico County as more people go to the gymnasium at Camp Caroline to play for exercise, friendship, and fun. You’re invited to join in and play pickleball even if you’ve never played the game before. New players and beginners are welcome, and equipment is available. 

Play is open to residents and visitors alike, but play is limited to 18 people per session.  Play is by Reservation Only on Signup Genius 

During fall, winter and spring, courts are open every day of the week except Thursday.  Times are 10a-12p every day except Sunday when times are 1-3p.  Cost is $2 per player.  A medical waiver must be completed yearly.  Summer play is Friday 1-3p, Saturday and Sunday 10a-12p.  If the courts are closed due to a conflict of activities at Camp Caroline, the closure will be noted on SignUp Genius. 

For more information and a link to SignupGenius, please contact pamlicopickleball@gmail.com.

Lupton Park 

The Oriental Court is open for play seven days a week, dawn until dusk. Pick up play often occurs on Saturday mornings, starting at 9:00. Pickleball paddles and balls available on site.

Croakerfest is an annual event held on the first weekend in July.  Arts and crafts, food and fun, and be sure to attend the parade on Saturday morning!  Visit: https://www.croakerfestival.com

Take a leisurely stroll through the village and feel yourself relax.  The trees will shade you, the classic homes delight  you and the friendly people will make you feel right at home. Sit a spell on one of the dancing chairs at our riverside Lou Mac Park or stroll out onto our new pier and enjoy the sights of the Neuse River.

Walk a little farther, take your shoes off and wiggle your toes in the sand at the Town Beach.  Or go two blocks inland and play or picnic with the kids and grandkids at the playground at Lupton Park.

Cruising boats are welcome in Oriental! 

Oriental is mile-marker 182 on the Intracoastal Waterway

Our Town Dock, located in 'downtown' Oriental, is available for transient boaters and can accommodate four to five boats.  True, there is no electric or water, but the price is right...it's FREE.  Vessels are welcome to tie up on a first-come/first-served basis for up to 48 hours in any given month.  We rely heavily on the honor system. 

You can paddle in protected creeks or venture out into the wide Neuse River.  There’s something for every level of ability and experience.  Remember, in Oriental…it’s all about the water.  Each year the "Pamlico Paddle" highlights one special area of the county and is very well attended by both local and regional residents. 

Oriental is North Carolina's Sailing Capital.  Local sailing clubs hold races throughout the year.  Other sailors prefer cruising, using Oriental as a convenient base for sailing trips to nearby towns such as Beaufort or Ocracoke. Some have sailed out of Oriental around the world and back, and some just cruise to a nearby creek, drop anchor and spend a quiet evening under the stars.

Some folks bring a bike, or rent one in the village. It's a good way to take in the town...breathe the air, get some exercise.  And, being a coastal area, the terrain is flat.  Some do get their “mountain biking” muscles in shape by riding over the bridge a few times.  Even if you’re not in training, the view from the top of the bridge is not to be missed.  It will take your breath away.

Or join the Oriental Express Bicycle Club  for a weekly ride. 

To some, it's about being on the water...for anglers, it's about what's in the water.  The river and creeks abound with an amazing variety of fish, from three pound Flounder to hundred pound Drum and Tarpon. 

When Babe Ruth came to Pamlico County in the 1930's because of the great local duck hunting, he stayed in Oriental.  We still welcome and host hunters in our inns and hotels.  It is unlawful to use firearms within the town limits of Oriental, but there are many areas in the surrounding county that offer a variety of excellent seasonal hunting opportunities.

For more information on hunting, see the Pamlico Chamber of Commerce on hunting. or  the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Website which has information about hunting licenses and Boat registration.

In Oriental, it IS about the water!  We spend a lot of time watching the water, what's on it, what's in it, the way the sun and the stars reflect on it, the silence of still water and the way it rages during storms. 

Our harbor is the conjunction of five creeks, some of which wander twisting and turning for miles through the marshes and forests of the county. 

Our river is the Neuse River, the widest in the USA.  It flows as a fairly small stream from Raleigh through the towns and villages of eastern North Carolina, blossoming to its full magnificence at New Bern.  From New Bern it continues to widen until at one point it is six miles across.  The Neuse flows right by Oriental, heading  North to dissolve into Pamlico Sound.  The Sound is an enormous body of inland water, protected by the islands of the Outer Banks, with access to the sea at just a few shallows and inlets.   When you look North, down the river from Oriental, all you see of the water is the horizon.

You can watch the many recreational and commercial vessels each year as they navigate the Intracoastal Waterway, which runs right down the middle of the river.  Water-watching brings broad vistas full of nothing but the track of the moon on the water.  Or, there is the serene glimpse of paddlers coasting noiselessly by.  And the water hosts water creatures of every sort.  The area is a key part of the East Coast Flyway and there are mornings that the river seems paved with ducks of every kind.  Then there are mullet to jump, pelicans to dive, turtles to bobble, frogs to sing, and a quiet amongst it all where the smallest giggle of a child's delight can be heard from a distance.

 We watch the water to see watermen and fishermen making their living, challenging the elements, to bring us wonderful things to eat and enjoy.  

We've watched to see more than a few of our local residents head for the sunrise, and not see them again until they and their small vessel had circled the world.  At one time, Oriental was "pretty sure" that there were more circumnavigators per capita here than any place in the world.