Outer Banks Parks Create Calm Outdoor Getaways

Written by Aaron Tuell on Nov. 07, 2019

OUTER BANKS, N.C. – Travelers who love nature and outdoor recreation can find a private-feeling haven on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. These barrier islands on North Carolina’s East Coast have long been associated with quiet scenery and calm, offering vacationers a place to step away from everyday noise. From empty beaches and remote fishing spots to wildlife refuges, hang-gliding above the highest sand dune on the Atlantic Coast, and walking the grounds of historic lighthouses, the Outer Banks gives outdoor enthusiasts a long list of places to discover.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the nation’s first national seashore, runs 70 miles from north to south over three barrier islands: Bodie, Hatteras and Ocracoke. N.C. Highway 12, a slim paved route, and the Hatteras Inlet Ferry connect the islands.

Blending natural landscapes with cultural history, the National Seashore gives guests many ways to enjoy the outdoors. Fishing and surfing are regarded as some of the best on the East Coast. These ever-changing islands contain varied habitats and serve as an important winter home for migrating waterfowl such as snow geese, Canada geese and ducks. The park also carries significant history tied to shipwrecks, lighthouses and the U.S. Lifesaving Service.

Across the Seashore’s long, clean beaches, visitors spend time surf fishing, sunbathing, swimming, beach combing, boating, canoeing, kayaking, sailing and surfing. In the dunes, marshes and wooded areas, other popular activities include auto touring, biking, bird watching, wildlife viewing, camping, hiking, hunting, and stargazing.

Three visitor centers support travelers during their time in the National Seashore. Each center stands at one of the Outer Bank’s well-known lighthouse stations: Bodie Island, Cape Hatteras and Ocracoke. Bodie Island and Ocracoke lighthouse are not open for climbing, but Cape Hatteras Lighthouse welcomed climbers again in April 2003 after a major renovation that followed its relocation 2,900 feet inland to protect it from the advancing ocean.

Lighthouse climb tickets are sold at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Visitor Center from the 3rd Friday in April through Columbus Day in October, starting at 8:30 a.m. each day. Self-guided climbs start at 9 a.m. and continue every 20 minutes until 5:30 p.m. through Labor Day; after Labor Day, climbing hours end at 4:30 p.m. until Columbus Day, which is the final climbing day of the season. Admission for climbs is $7 for adults and $3.50 for seniors age 62 and older and for children under 12. Tickets are sold only for the same day, so early arrival is recommended.

All three visitor centers include exhibits covering lighthouse history, the keepers who worked there, and the surrounding region, along with bookstores and walking paths. From mid-June through mid-August, each location offers ranger-led programs.

Guests wanting to stay longer than a day can use one of the National Seashore’s four campgrounds. Cape Point, Frisco, Ocracoke and Oregon Inlet campgrounds accommodate tents and RVs and include amenities such as cold showers, drinking water, flush-toilets, picnic tables and fire grills. Utility hook-ups are not available. Lodging is not offered within the Seashore, though the small villages throughout the National Seashore have inns, motels and private rental properties.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore is open year-round. Its three visitor centers operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily from September through May, except for Christmas, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from June through August. Admission is free. For more information, call the National Seashore at (252) 473-2111 or visit www.nps.gov/caha.

Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge

Close to Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge has been managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since it was established in 1937. The refuge occupies the northernmost portion of Hatteras Island, between Oregon Inlet and Rodanthe, N.C., and includes barrier island beach, sand dunes, upland, fresh and brackish water ponds, salt flats and salt marsh.

More than 400 species of wintering waterfowl regularly visit the 5,834-acre refuge. These include snow geese, egrets, herons and many kinds of wading birds, shorebirds and songbirds. The refuge also contains several shorebird nesting sites and wading bird rookeries. Winter, spring and fall all offer strong bird watching conditions at a place widely known as a Birder’s Paradise.

Beyond its birdlife, the refuge supports 25 species of mammals, 24 species of reptiles and five species of amphibians. Endangered and threatened species include: peregrine falcons, American bald eagles, loggerhead sea turtles and piping plover.

The refuge is known for some of the country’s best bird watching and wildlife viewing, and it also offers a visitor center, two wildlife trails, observation platforms and towers equipped with spotting scopes. During the summer, bird walks and children’s programs are offered regularly; guided canoe tours and several special events take place at selected times during the year.

Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge is open year-round during daylight hours. The visitor center is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. year-round and on Thursday through Sunday during winter months. Admission is free, with a nominal fee charged for guided canoe tours. For additional information, call (252) 473-1131, or visit www.fws.gov/refuge/pea_island/about.html.

Jockey’s Ridge State Park

The 400-acre Jockey’s Ridge State Park includes the highest living sand dune on the Atlantic Coast and remains one of the Outer Banks’ most recognizable landmarks. Found on the U.S. 158 Bypass at milepost 12½, the park lets visitors experience a desert-like landscape. Moving sand, strong winds, intense temperatures and limited water make the area feel similar to barren places such as the Sahara Desert. At the same time, the park also includes an estuarine setting. Along the park’s western edge, the tidal waters of Roanoke Sound provide rich habitat for many plants and animals.

For guests who cannot climb the nearly 90-foot dune to see wide views of the Atlantic Ocean and Roanoke Sound, park staff can take people needing assistance to the summit by all-terrain vehicle. These rides require advance reservations. Interpretive tapes explaining the boardwalk views are also available for visitors with visual impairments.

When visitors are not climbing the dune or exploring the estuarine area, they can go hang gliding, hike one of the park’s two self-guided nature trails, fly kites, sandboard, or picnic at one of eight picnic shelters, each with two tables and a grill. In late summer, fall and winter, warblers, sparrows, flycatchers and other bird species may be seen in the park’s shrub thickets. In winter, Jockey’s Ridge hosts many kinds of waterfowl.

Many guests also visit the exhibit hall inside the park’s visitor center to better understand the natural, cultural and historical background of Jockey’s Ridge and the Outer Banks. Exhibits explain what dunes are made of, how they form, and the forces that shape them. Visitors can study storms and their effects on the park dunes and the Outer Banks, as well as explore the role of plants and animals in the park today and in the past. Featured exhibits include a diorama showing nighttime dune wildlife after the park closes, a computer program for researching weather at Jockey’s Ridge, and matching games that pair tracks with the animals that made them and dune names with locations around the country. Rangers also lead scheduled educational and interpretive programs about the park.

Jockey’s Ridge State Park hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from November through February; 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. from March through October; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in April, May and September; and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. from June through August. The exhibit hall in the visitor center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the summer. Admission to the park and the exhibit hall is free. For more information, call the park at (252) 441-7132 or visit www.ncsparks.net/coe/coe.html.

Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

Just west of Manteo, N.C., along U.S. Highway 64/264, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge covers 152,000 acres. Established in 1984, the refuge supports at least 200 species of birds, including prothonotary warblers, prairie warblers, Swainson’s warblers, worm-eating warblers, red-eyed vireos, wood ducks and barred owls. Endangered and threatened species found there include the American alligator, peregrine falcon, American bald eagle and red-cockaded woodpecker. The refuge is also home to one of the largest remaining concentrations of black bears along the mid-Atlantic coast.

As part of its endangered species work, the refuge joined a five-year effort to restore a self-sustaining red wolf population after the species had disappeared from the wild. Captive breeding kept red wolves alive while an appropriate reintroduction area was identified. Because of Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, red wolves now live freely in Eastern North Carolina.

Although the refuge is remote, it offers adventure for outdoor visitors willing to explore. Birders, photographers and nature lovers find it compelling, though not always easy to navigate. Public roads may be used on foot or by vehicle, but wet weather can make them impassable. Hunting and fishing draw visitors, along with hiking, kayaking and birding. The refuge also offers hiking trails, wildlife trails, canoe and kayak trails, and a handicapped accessible fishing dock.

Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge is open daily during daylight hours. Admission is free, though guided canoe tours require a nominal fee. For more information, call the Refuge at (252) 473-1131, or visit http://www.fws.gov/alligatorriver/.

Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve

Visitors looking for an experience beyond walking the beach can explore Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve, a 1,092-acre forest in Kill Devil Hills, N.C., protected by the Nature Conservancy. The preserve is considered one of the best remaining examples of a mid-Atlantic maritime forest with deciduous hardwoods. Its pine and hardwood forest includes trees up to 500 years old, along with a broad system of dunes, interdune ponds and wetlands.

The preserve provides important nesting habitat for more than 50 species of birds, including green heron, wood duck, red-shouldered hawk, clapper rail, ruby-throated hummingbird, pileated woodpecker, prothonotary warbler and summer tanager. Freshwater ponds contain turtles and salamanders and support varied aquatic plants, including the rare water violet. On the preserve’s western side, an extensive marsh system along Roanoke Sound shelters abundant wildlife such as river otter, muskrat, egrets, herons, and many species of migratory waterfowl.

At the preserve, guests can hike self-guided trails, join kayak tours, go bird watching, and stop by the visitor center and gift shop. Congress designated the preserve as a National Natural Landmark in 1974.

Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday through Friday and on Saturday during the summer. Admission is free, but donations are requested, and visitors are asked to register at the visitor center. For details about the Preserve and its programs, call (252) 441-2525 or visit www.nature.org/northcarolina.

Elizabethan Gardens

For a more formal outdoor outing, visitors can head to Elizabethan Gardens on the grounds of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site at the north end of Roanoke Island near Manteo, N.C. The gardens serve as a living memorial to Queen Elizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh’s lost colonists, honoring the 117 men, women and children who disappeared during the first English efforts to colonize the New World from 1585 to 1587. The site appeals to history enthusiasts for its setting, to horticulturists for its wide variety of plantings, and to nature lovers for its wildflowers and native shrubs and trees.

This carefully recreated early English garden offers beauty in every season. Around the middle of April, azaleas, dogwoods, rhododendrons, vines, herbs, bulbs and spring annuals bloom heavily. In the middle of July, gardenias, roses, magnolias, crape myrtle, lilies, hydrangeas and summer annuals reach their peak. Autumn features vivid summer bedding plants, hibiscus, chrysanthemums and impatiens, while camellias appear from late fall through winter until March. The Gardens also include a pink rose bush from Queen Elizabeth’s rose garden at Windsor Castle, sent in recognition of the U.S. celebration of its Bicentennial.

Priceless antique statues appear throughout the gardens. The gatehouse, created in the style of a 16th-century orangery, contains antiques, paintings and period furnishings. Curving paths lead visitors toward the woodland and wildlife garden, where colorful Monarch butterflies can be seen, and toward the 16th-century gazebo overlooking Roanoke Sound.

The 10.5-acre grounds were planned and built by two of the nation’s foremost landscape architects, M. Umberto Innocenti and Richard Webel. The Garden Club of North Carolina Inc. created the gardens in 1951, and the first spade of dirt was turned on the Coronation Day of Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953.

Elizabethan Gardens hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. December – February; 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. in the spring and fall; and 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. during the summer. Admission is $8 for adults, $8.00 for seniors age 62 and older, $5 for children age 6 to 17 and free for children age 5 and younger. For more details, call the Gardens at (252) 473-3234. The Holiday program WinterLights hours are 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the late fall/early winter evenings.

Author

Aaron Tuell develops and contributes to award-winning projects in public relations, social media and travel customer outreach. His experience spans national media outlets, celebrity projects, social media strategy and oversight, commercial broadcast and web video production, marketing photography, publicity and promotion, and work with and as news media.

Manager of Public Relations
Outer Banks Visitors Bureau
252-473-2138 office
877-629-4386 toll free
tuell@outerbanks.org