North Carolina · Cape Hatteras National Seashore
The Outer Banks run from the Carova 4x4 beach to Ocracoke, and seven authorities set the beach rules along the way. Which town you’re in decides where you can park, drive and walk the dog.
Photo: Roger Mulligan · Jennette’s Pier, Nags Head · CC BY 2.0
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For a day trip, head to the northern towns, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head, where the street accesses have public lots. South of Nags Head, Cape Hatteras National Seashore runs down Bodie, Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. The Seashore charges no entrance fee and has lifeguards at five beaches in summer. Duck and Southern Shores are beaches for the people staying there.
Outer Banks beaches
Small lots · dogs year-round
Eleven public accesses with parking, 266 spaces in all (8 accessible), mostly gravel. The Kitty Hawk Bath House, 3840 N. Virginia Dare Trail Directions, has 50 spaces and the town’s restroom with showers, open in season. Lifeguards staff stands from Memorial Day to Sept 30. No driving on the beach. Swimming is banned when red “No Swimming” flags fly, with a $250 fine. Accessible sound access at Windgrass Circle, sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.
Family · step-free
Ocean Bay Boulevard is the town’s step-free access, with paved parking, a summer lifeguard, a bathhouse with showers, and Mobi-mats Directions. Free beach wheelchairs are picked up there after 9:30 a.m. and returned each evening (350 lb limit). Lifeguards 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Memorial Day to Labor Day, with a roving patrol through Oct 15. Overnight parking at the accesses, midnight to 6 a.m., needs a town permit, which is for residents and property owners. Flags: red means no swimming, yellow strong currents, purple sea life such as jellyfish or stingrays. Wright Brothers National Memorial is in Kill Devil Hills, at 1000 N. Croatan Highway.
Pier · bathhouses
Public accesses up and down town, with bathhouses at Bonnett, Hargrove, Epstein and Jennette’s Pier, and mats at Eighth St, Barnes, Bonnett, Bladen, Enterprise, Grouse, Hargrove, Ida, Jay and Jennette’s. Access parking is first come, first served, 6 a.m.–midnight. In October lifeguards rove the beach and no stands are staffed. Free beach wheelchairs year-round from Fire Station 16, 5314 S. Croatan Highway; reserve well ahead at 252-441-5909. Dogs are welcome on a leash at all times. Jennette’s Pier, 7223 S. Virginia Dare Trail Directions, is open year-round with free parking: 6 a.m.–10 p.m. May–October, 7 a.m.–9 p.m. in November. Jockey’s Ridge State Park is on the sound side, at 300 W. Carolista Drive.
Seashore bathhouse · step-free
Off NC 12 across from the Bodie Island Lighthouse road, south of Nags Head Directions. Summer lifeguards and a bathhouse with 14 changing rooms (two accessible), four outdoor showers and restrooms; a boardwalk runs from the bathhouse to the beach. Three NPS lots hold 170 regular, 13 accessible and 9 long-vehicle spaces. Off-road Ramp 2 is next door.
Tri-villages · accessible
23732 N.C. Highway 12, Rodanthe Directions. A Dare County access with 97 spaces, a bathhouse, outdoor showers, picnic tables and an ADA boardwalk to the dune-top gazebo; NPS calls it one of the only accessible public accesses in Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo. Lifeguards from the NPS and Dare County in summer, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Surf · shells · lighthouse
Parking sits yards from the ocean, with no dunes to climb Directions. Surfers know it for its waves, and the jetties pile up big clam, scallop and whelk shells. A circle of granite stones marks where the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse first stood before its move.
Southern Hatteras · bathhouse
Frisco, southern Hatteras Island Directions. 48 regular spaces across three lots, plus a long accessible parking area in front of the bathhouse, with showers, changing rooms and restrooms. Lifeguards in summer. NPS says the water here runs warmer than on the northern beaches, thanks to the nearby Gulf Stream.
Ferry island · guarded in summer
Half a mile north of Ocracoke village. Showers, changing rooms, restrooms and a bike rack; lifeguards Memorial Day to Labor Day. The way in is the ferry from Hatteras village.
4WD only · wild horses
North of Corolla the beach itself is a public vehicle area. Currituck County allows only 4-wheel-drive vehicles on the beach. Air down before the ramp, to 20 PSI for SUVs and half-ton 4x4s or 35 PSI for three-quarter-ton; air stations are at Historic Corolla Park, and there’s no gas in the 4x4 area. Speed limit 35 mph, 15 mph within 300 feet of anyone. Tour vehicles keep at least 50 feet from the wild horses. From the second Saturday of May through the last Saturday of September, parking on the beach takes a county permit. Rentals in the 4x4 area come with two; other visitors can buy a weekly permit from Currituck County for $50, and the county sells 300 a week.
Off-road · fishing
Seashore off-road routes need an NPS permit; ramps 2, 4, 25, 27, 43, 44, 48, 49, 70 and 72 lead to the priority ocean routes when they’re open. The Inside Road, a sand road of about 4 miles from Ramp 44 in Buxton to Ramps 48 and 49 in Frisco, reaches about 3 miles of vehicle-free beach between just north of Ramp 48 and Cape Point. No lifeguards on these beaches.
Residents and renters
The Town of Duck owns no public beach accesses. Residents, renters and their guests reach the beach through private accesses, and there’s no public parking at them or along state roads. Dogs may run off leash on the beach year-round under a guardian’s control. Lifeguards 10 a.m.–6 p.m., May 1 to Oct 31. Water activity is banned around the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers research pier at 1261 Duck Road.
Rules
Currituck County, Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head and the National Park Service each set their own beach rules.
Ferry
Sign up for NCDOT ferry alerts before a trip.
Hatteras Island
NC 12 is the only road from Bodie Island to Hatteras village, and ocean overwash can reach it at Pea Island. Check DriveNC.gov for road closures and Dare County for emergency orders before you head south.
Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head have the public lots and the pier, and the shortest drive to the Wright Brothers memorial.
The villages from Rodanthe to Hatteras sit along NC 12, the one road, near the Seashore beaches and the lighthouse. The Ocracoke ferry leaves from Hatteras village.
A ferry island with a guarded summer beach half a mile from the village.
Ten miles of town beach and the Boardwalk, with Assateague’s wild horses to the south.
State-park ocean beaches at Lewes or the City’s bay beaches outside the gate.
Another national seashore, with Nauset Light, Coast Guard Beach and Marconi, and the pass each lot takes.
Tell us about your trip and we’ll suggest a stretch.
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