The Outer Banks are a collection of barrier islands that stretch over 200 miles along the coast of North Carolina, USA. Besides the beauty of these islands, they also have incredible historical significance, being the location of the first English settlement in the New World, the birthplace of the first English born child in the New World, the location of the first powered aircraft flight, and the former residence of infamous pirate Blackbeard!
Aside from its historical significance, many people come to relax along the long stretches of white sandy beaches, enjoy endless of amounts of fishing or try one of the many water sports offered. The main islands are Bodie Island, Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island.
The Outer Banks have also become widely known after the recent Netflix series. But I’m told it wasn’t actually filmed in the Outer Banks, so here’s what you can actually see 🙂
Where to stay
When choosing a place to say, your options are countless so I would advise basing it on your itinerary. It may be worth staying in a few different locations to avoid long drives to and from places each day.
We chose to stay three nights in Buxton on Hatteras Island near the southern of the Outer Banks, in a lovely place that was literally right on the beach.
And we spent one night in Nags Head as it was much closer to Corolla and Roanoke Island, which made it made it much easier to visit the sites in these areas.
Wild Horses of Corolla
Located in the northernmost part of the Outer Banks, are the towns of Corolla and Corova, where wild horses roam freely and can often be seen enjoying the beach and the cool breeze from the ocean.
These horses are thought to have descended from Spanish Mustangs brought over by early explorers in the late 15th or early 16th century, and either swam to shore from a shipwreck or were abandoned. Since their early arrival, they have learned to thrive and survive in this coastal environment. Today these horses are protected, and their population is carefully controlled.
A great way to see and learn about these horses is to join a truck or jeep tour. These tour operators take great effort to drive throughout Corolla and Corova to ensure you get to see these horses, as they are quite familiar with where they like to spend time. We got really lucky and as we were driving back at the end of our tour, we encountered a group of 6 horses that had wandered up to the beach. We were able to stop and get some great photos of these beautiful wild animals.
Roanoke Island Festival Park
Roanoke Island is famous for the story of the Lost Colony, which is one of America’s greatest unsolved mysteries. These first English settlers, a group of 115 people, landed in America in August 1587, in Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is now North Carolina. These settlers intended to form the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Several months after they arrived, John White the governor of the new colony sailed back to England to get more supplies.
Unfortunately, due to the naval war been England and Spain, he could not return to his family and the colony for 3 years. When he did finally return in 1590, to his bewilderment the entire colony had vanished. There was no trace of the 115 settlors or indication of what happened or where they went except for the word Croatan, which they found carved into a tree.
Despite much speculation and archaeological exploration, what happened to these first English colonists still remains a mystery. The story attracts visitors each year to Roanoke, where tourists can visit Festival Park, which provides an insight into how these early colonists would have lived. You can tour the Elizabeth II, a replica English merchant ship, identical to one of the ships used to sail from England to the New World. The park is set over 27 acres and you will find staff dressed in colonial costumes providing demonstrations and explanations of colonial life to visitors.
Admission to the park is $11 (at time of writing) and I would set aside around a hour for visit here.
Roanoke Island Festival Park: Historic Attraction on the Outer Banks
Manteo
Manteo is a city located along the waterfront on Roanoke Island. The island was named after a native American Crotoan Indian, Manteo, who travelled to England in 1584 and along with another American Indian, subsequently became the liaisons between Roanoke and the soon to be first English settlers.
This town is located in Dare County, North Carolina, with Dare County named after the first American born English child, Virigina Dare. Here’s a few ideas on what to see and do:
- Walk along the waterfront
- Visit the beautiful Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse
- Visit Roanoke Island Festival Park
- Watch the Lost Colony Play that has been shown since 1937
- Visit Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, which preserves the site of first Roanoke Colony
- Visit the Elizabethan Gardens, named after Elizabeth I, who sponsored the expedition led by Sir Walter Raliegh. These beautiful gardens serve as a memorial to those first colonists
- A range of outdoor adventures such as parasailing, dolphin watching, or kayaking
Wright Brothers National Memorial
This US National Park is a must for any visit to the Outer Banks. North Carolina, and more specifically Kitty Hawk, NC is the place where Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully flew the first successful, sustained, powered flight in a heavier than air, aircraft, on December 17, 1903.
The Wright brothers choose Kitty Hawk as the location for their flight experiments due to its strong winds and soft sands to land on. The Memorial includes a small museum that houses photographs, letters and a full-size replica of the 1903 flying machine. The park outside includes the reconstructed camp buildings built on the same location where the brothers lived while conducting their flight experiments.
You can see flight markers that marked where the flights took off and where they landed – there were four in total on that historic day with the longest flight going 859 feet and in the air for 59 seconds. You can walk to the top of Kill Devil Hill, the same spot the brothers conducted many of their glider experiments and admire the 60-foot granite pylon memorial commemorating their achievement. The entrance to the park is $10 and you can even go on guided tours of the park.
Oregon Inlet Lifesaving Station
As we drove from Nags Head on our way to Hatteras Island, crossing over the Bonner Bridge, it’s impossible to miss this building and be in awe of the beauty and it’s location amongst the dunes and sea grass. It was like a setting out of a romantic movie.
I researched how to stop and see this place, as I love taking photos and I just had to capture how incredibly beautiful this was. Coming from Rodanthe head towards Nags Exit, as you are nearing Bonner Bridge, there will be an exit for Lifeboat Station Road. Take that exit and there is a parking lot that you can park in. At the back right of the parking lot there will be a sandy entrance that you can follow, leading you back to the lifesaving station. I can’t say enough how amazing this area was. This is where I got my favourite photos from our trip. If you have time, I highly recommend a short stop here to enjoy the walk and take in the view.
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
It’s hard to miss this black and white striped Light House as you drive onto Hatteras Island. It stands to protect and guide ships from one of the most dangerous areas of the Atlantic Coast. An area offshore of Cape Hatteras is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, where hundreds or possibly thousands of shipwrecks can be found.
You can climb the lighthouse for some incredible panoramic views of the island and cape. It’s free too!
Ocracoke Island
This is the southernmost island in the Outer Banks. Ocracoke was once the old stomping grounds for the notorious pirate Edward Teach, or more commonly known as Blackbeard. The waterways and inlets around the island provided great cover for pirates, like Blackbeard, to hide and attack unsuspecting ships.
To reach the island you need to take a passenger or vehicle ferry. The Hatteras Ferry is free and departs from the south of Hatteras Island. It runs once an hour. I would advise to arrive early, as it can get crowded, and you may have to wait several hours before being able to get aboard for the hour-long ride across to Orcacoke.
If you do arrive by foot, there is a free tram that takes you from the ferry terminal to the end of the island.
The town of Ocracoke, located at the southern end of the island is small and the best way to get around is either to walk or to rent a golf cart. We rented a golf cart for a period of 3 hours and the cost was $45. It’s a quick, easy (and fun!) way to get around the area and make the most of your time here.
Community Cart Rentals – Ocracoke Island
Some of the top sites to see on the island are:
- Ocracoke Light Station
- Ocracoke Preservation Society
- Ocracoke Banker Ponies
- British Cemetry
We enjoyed some delicious coffee and sweets at the Ocracoke Coffee Company too, which I totally recommend. Ocracoke Coffee Co.
For lunch we went with a quick stop at Eduardos’ Taco Truck , and had some fabulous tacos – definitely recommend especially if you are short on time. Eduardo’s Ocracoke – Authentic Regional Mexican Cuisine
Restaurants
Along the Outer Banks there are hundreds of restaurants to choose from, and all the options can be overwhelming. But I do want to mention a few that I thought were really great and would definitely recommend.
Wrap up thoughts
My trip here was incredible and entirely too short. I honestly feel I just scratched the surface on really enjoying everything the Outer Banks has to offer.
I had never ventured to North Carolina or the Outer Banks all my time growing up in the US, and that was truly unfortunate! I loved the incredible history of these islands, and can’t wait to come back and enjoy the many activities I didn’t get to experience!!