New to Duke? 10 Resources That Will Help You Make the Most of Durham

Whether you're arriving in Durham for the first time or returning for another year, there's a lot more to Duke than what happens inside a classroom, lab, clinic, or residence hall.

From hidden gems to volunteer opportunities, community-engaged learning, student guides, and insider tips, these resources can help undergraduate, graduate, and professional students connect with their campus and community.

Check Off a Durham Bucket List. 

Not sure where to begin exploring? A few starter ideas:

• Visit the Durham Farmers' Market for local wares and fresh, locally grown food.
• Walk down Durham’s Parrish Street, the historic home to Black Wall Street
• Attend a Durham Bulls home game (get your discounted student ticket for college night, September 9)
• Explore Eno River State Park
• Do some thrifting at the Scrap Exchange, and while you’re in Lakewood, stop in to do some candle shopping (and smelling) at Bright Black.
• Check out Duke Arts at American Tobacco Campus free concert series every Wednesday evening in September.
   

Eat at a local restaurant in “the tastiest town in the South.”

• Fonda Lupita – $1.99 Tacos on Tuesdays and right by East Campus.  
• EO’s Athletic Club – A sports bar that shows equal parts women’s and men’s sports. 
• Little Bull – Be one of the first to dine in their new location at the corner of Foster and E. Chapel Hill St. 
  Fun fact: Owner and chef Oscar Diaz was featured on the latest season of Top Chef. 
• The Oak House Durham – According to their IG, your “favorite home away from home.” Part coffee shop, part lounge, part study hall. 
• The lobby of the Durham Hotel – You’ll catch a who’s who of Durham community members weekday mornings, sipping coffee sodas and checking off their to-do lists. 
   

Attend the Volunteer Fair

Every fall, Duke hosts its annual Volunteer Fair, bringing together community organizations looking for volunteers and students looking to make a difference. The fair is often the fastest way to discover dozens of organizations in one place. The 49^th annual Volunteer Fair will take place on October 19, 2026, from 11 am to 3 pm in Penn Pavilion.

Perfect for: Students who want to get involved but aren't sure where to begin.

Explore Durham through the Hidden Durham app. 

Want to experience Durham beyond the usual restaurant recommendations and tourist stops?

The Hidden Durham app offers an interactive way to discover the people, places, and stories that have shaped Durham. Through multimedia storytelling, tours, and community-created content, you'll uncover history, culture, and local landmarks you might otherwise miss. It's a great place to start if you're looking to understand the city Duke calls home. Think of it as your Durham orientation guide, available year-round.

Find Volunteer Opportunities Through the Duke Partnership Platform

Looking for a way to get involved off campus? The Duke Partnership Platform connects students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community organizations. The Platform includes volunteer opportunities, community partners, events, maps, and information about projects happening across Durham and beyond. 

One of the easiest ways to find meaningful opportunities that match your interests. You can explore local nonprofit organizations, search and sign up for volunteer opportunities, discover community events, and explore Duke’s community partnerships.

Connect Through Service-Learning and Community-Engaged Experiences

Community engagement can be more than volunteering. Across Duke, students can participate in service-learning courses, community-engaged research, internships, fellowships, and experiential learning opportunities that connect coursework with real community priorities. The Duke Center for Community-Engaged Scholarship coordinates and expands many of these opportunities. 

Check Out the GPSG Durham Asset Map and Resource Tools

Looking for food, transportation, wellness resources, community organizations, or local services? Graduate and professional student leaders developed resource directories and community mapping tools to help students identify resources available on campus and throughout Durham. 

Take Advantage of International Student Resources

For students arriving from outside the United States, Duke's orientation and international student programming can make transitions easier. Events and resource fairs through Duke’s International Student Center often include information about banking, cell phone providers, transportation, housing, shopping, local services, community resources, and more. These connections can help students settle into Durham and navigate everyday life with confidence.

Remember: Durham Is Part of the Duke Experience

One of the best parts of being at Duke is having a vibrant city right outside your classroom door. Be sure to sign up for Discover Durham’s e-newsletter for weekly updates and check out their events calendar.

Whether you're volunteering with a local nonprofit, hiking at Eno River, discovering a Hidden Durham story, attending a community event, supporting a local business, or working alongside residents through a service-learning project, Durham offers endless opportunities to learn, contribute, and belong.

The best advice? Don't wait until your final semester to start exploring. Your Duke experience is bigger than campus. Durham is part of it.

Have more Durham resources to share with Duke students? Send them to michelle.benham@duke.edu.

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I am De’Zaria Lucas, a Senior, Mass Communications student concentrating in journalism at N.C. Central University. I participated in the 2026 Dr. Mac Fellowship program as an editorial storytelling intern with Duke Community Affairs. 

Durham has many hidden gems, some that most people don't think to visit. For anyone looking for a niche workout place, try a spin class at Revel.  

On Revel’s website, you can book a ride; the opening statement makes it clear that Revel is about the riders. 

Mia Wise and Kyle Mumma, who founded Revel, are both Duke alumni, or as Wise described them, “double Dukies,” because they both earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Duke.  

Wise said they decided to open a spin class in Durham because it always felt like home to them.  

When deciding to open Revel, Wise said they were looking at downtown Durham and saw plenty of restaurants, shops, and bars, but there wasn’t really a place for a cardio fitness option. 

Revel differs from other spin studios in many ways, including the classes it offers and the way the bikes are made, according to Wise. 

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“Revel is a rhythm-based studio, which means we are very musically driven... it is all very anchored to the music and the energy,” Wise said.  

“What that means is that we intentionally don’t have statistics or numbers, or data on bikes; that is something that many studios have, not all. But we made that choice that we wanted to create a fully immersive experience where people could leave whatever is going on outside.” 

Another way Revel differs from other studios in the Durham area is that it engages the Durham community by uplifting other local businesses, according to Wise. 

“We try really hard to create a space where people can connect beyond just the workout itself, which I think is really important,” Kyle Mumma said.