70 free miles of wild ponies, shipwrecks, and open beach on North Carolina’s Outer Banks

Three Barrier Islands You’ll Never Forget

Cape Hatteras National Seashore runs more than 70 miles across three barrier islands on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Bodie, Hatteras, and Ocracoke sit between the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound, holding about 30,000 acres of sandy beaches, salt marshes, dunes, and maritime forests.

You don’t pay a cent to get in, and the whole place stays open 24 hours a day.

Seven small villages line Hatteras Island with spots to eat and sleep, so you can stretch the trip as long as you want.

America’s first national seashore started with donated land

Congress authorized the seashore back in 1937 to keep these barrier islands from getting developed.

Philanthropist Paul Mellon put up the money to buy much of the land, and local families donated large stretches of their own oceanfront property to make it happen.

On Jan. 12, 1953, Cape Hatteras became the first national seashore in the country.

The National Park Service still manages it today alongside Wright Brothers National Memorial and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.

The 208-foot lighthouse with spiral stripes you can spot from sea

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse towers 208 feet over the island, painted in black and white spiral stripes you can’t miss.

The Park Service built it in 1870 to warn ships off the dangerous Diamond Shoals, and its beacon reaches 20 nautical miles in clear weather.

On a normal year, you’d climb 257 steps to the top for a full view of Hatteras Island. But the lighthouse is closed for a major restoration through at least late 2026, with no reopening date set yet.

They moved 4,830 tons of brick to save it from the ocean

By the late 1990s, the Atlantic had eaten so much shoreline that the ocean sat just 15 feet from the lighthouse.

So in the summer of 1999, crews picked up the entire structure and its support buildings and moved them 2,900 feet inland. The job took 23 days.

At roughly 4,830 tons, it became one of the tallest masonry structures ever relocated. The move put it 1,500 feet from the shore, right where it stood when it was first built.

Climb Bodie Island by moonlight or visit Ocracoke’s oldest light

Bodie Island Lighthouse wears horizontal black and white stripes and stands about 165 feet tall.

You can climb its 219 steps from mid-April through mid-October, and on select nights, the Park Service runs full moon climbs that let you see the landscape washed in moonlight.

Down on Ocracoke Island, a small white lighthouse stands in the village as North Carolina’s oldest operating light and the second oldest in the country. You can’t climb it, but it’s worth the walk.

Over 5,000 ships sank in the waters off this cape

The waters off Cape Hatteras carry a nickname that tells you everything: the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

The Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current slam into each other right here, and the shifting Diamond Shoals make things worse. More than 5,000 ships have gone down since recordkeeping started in 1526.

The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras Village tells those stories with recovered artifacts and interactive displays. It reopened in 2024 after a major remodel, and admission is free.

Spanish mustangs have roamed Ocracoke since the 1500s

A small herd of Banker ponies lives in a 188-acre enclosure on the sound side of Ocracoke Island.

They look like ponies, but they’re full-grown horses descended from Spanish mustangs, likely stranded by a shipwreck in the 1500s or 1600s. Records go back to the 1730s, when the herd ran about 300 strong.

The National Park Service took over their care in 1959. Fewer than 20 remain today, and you can watch them from raised platforms at the NPS Pony Pen.

Cast a line at the East Coast’s best surf fishing spot

Cape Point in Buxton sits near the geographic turning point of Hatteras Island, right where the Gulf Stream meets the Labrador Current.

That collision pulls in a huge variety of fish, and anglers come from everywhere to try their luck. Red drum, striped bass, bluefish, king mackerel, and cobia all run through here.

You can fish year-round from the beach, from piers, or on charter boats. Anyone 16 and older needs a North Carolina saltwater fishing license.

Drive on the beach, surf the breaks or hunt for Scotch bonnets

Five beaches have lifeguards during summer if you want a guarded swim.

If you’d rather explore on wheels, the Park Service sells permits for designated off-road vehicle routes right on the sand.

Kiteboarding, surfing, and stand-up paddleboarding draw crowds to the ocean side, while kayaking and canoeing on the calmer Pamlico Sound give you a quieter ride.

Between sessions, walk the tide line and look for Scotch bonnets, whelks, sand dollars, and scallops.

360 bird species and the darkest skies east of the Mississippi

More than 360 bird species show up at the seashore throughout the year, putting it on any serious birder’s map. Five species of sea turtles nest on these beaches during summer.

Ghost crabs scatter when you walk at dusk, dolphins roll through the surf line, and the occasional seal hauls out on the sand. After dark, the sky opens up.

Cape Hatteras has some of the darkest night skies east of the Mississippi, and you can stargaze from the beach year-round with no city lights in the way.

Camp behind the dunes and hike nine miles of island trails

Four Park Service campgrounds sit across the seashore at Oregon Inlet, Cape Point, Frisco, and Ocracoke. Every site tucks behind the dunes, so the beach is a short walk away.

Tents and RVs both fit. Hiking trails range from a quarter-mile to nine miles roundtrip, and several are accessible.

The Bodie Island Marsh Blind viewing platform gives you a quiet perch for watching birds and taking in the landscape without another soul around.

A free ferry, empty beaches and a million reasons to come back

NC Highway 12 threads through the seashore on one of the prettiest coastal drives on the East Coast.

A free ferry connects Hatteras Island to Ocracoke Island, and the ride alone feels like you’re leaving the mainland behind for good.

Three visitor centers on Bodie Island, Hatteras Island, and Ocracoke Island stay open year-round. Ranger-led programs run seasonally, covering everything from maritime history to sea turtle nesting.

Close to a million people visit each year, but long stretches of empty beach are still easy to find.

Explore Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina

You can reach Cape Hatteras National Seashore by heading south on NC Highway 12 from Nags Head. The seashore stretches from South Nags Head all the way to Ocracoke Inlet.

There’s no entrance fee, though campground reservations and lighthouse climbing carry separate charges.

Visitor centers on Bodie Island, at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse on Hatteras Island, and on Ocracoke Island open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Check the official website for seasonal updates before you go.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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