Accessible Experiences in Our OBX National Parks

By Outer Banks Forever on Dec. 20, 2022

The national parks of the Outer Banks safeguard many of the places, histories and landscapes that make this area meaningful. Their preserved stories have influenced the local community, the nation and the wider world. From the Carolina Algonquian peoples, the first English settlers and the Freedmen’s Colony to the first African American lifesaving service, the Wright brothers’ first heavier-than-air, controlled, powered flight and more, the Outer Banks national parks work to help every visitor connect with these stories in accessible, engaging ways.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore — Established 1953

Celebrated for a shoreline that is both beautiful and constantly changing, America’s first national seashore draws millions of people each year. Many come back again and again to experience the unspoiled character of these barrier islands and build memories over a lifetime. Across its 70-mile expanse of beach, marshes, sand dunes and woodlands, visitors can hike, watch wildlife, swim, fish, take photos, boat, surf, fly kites, climb lighthouses and enjoy other activities.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Accessibility Info

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site — Established 1941

The disappearance of the first attempted English settlement in the New World is still a mystery. At the park, visitors can view the reconstructed earthen fort, discover more about Roanoke Island’s first inhabitants, the Carolina Algonquian peoples, and visit the First Light of Freedom Monument, which recognizes the freedom seekers who found safety on Roanoke Island during and after the Civil War and formed the Freedmen’s Colony.

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site Accessibility Info

Wright Brothers National Memorial — Established 1927

The first national memorial developed on the Outer Banks honors the creativity, perseverance and bravery of Orville and Wilbur Wright, brothers from Dayton, Ohio. Their inventive thinking, paired with hands-on knowledge gained in their bicycle shop in their home state, led to the first successful heavier-than-air, controlled, powered flight over the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on Dec.17, 1903. Guests at the national memorial can tour reproductions of the 1903 camp buildings, view a replica of the 1903 flyer and spend time in the newly remodeled visitor center.

Wright Brothers National Memorial Accessibility Info

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Accessibility

Kayak Launch at Oregon Inlet Fishing Center

In August 2021, the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center Kayak Launch opened for public use as the first maintained, mobility-friendly kayak launch at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Updates at the launch include a new space for loading and unloading, a mobility access mat, more accessible and kayak trailer parking, routine removal of rubble and debris and educational signs.

The National Park Service offers these safety reminders for kayaking:

• Avoid kayaking during inclement weather.
• Learn about local hazards and weather before going out, and take steps to prevent collisions.
• Pamlico Sound can be a pleasant kayaking destination, but strong winds, currents and waves can quickly make conditions frightening. Stay alert to shifting tides and sound conditions.
• Kayaking here calls for preparation and close attention. Pamlico Sound and Oregon Inlet are important routes for fishing boats, so stay aware of vessels and keep watching their wakes. Note: Fishing boats usually return for the day between 4 and 5 p.m.
• Carry key safety items, including personal floatation devices, whistles and communication devices.
• Wear clothing suited for water immersion and understand the risk of hypothermia.
• Tell a family member or friend where you plan to go.
• Choose a route that matches your ability, since distances and depths may be misleading.

Online Lighthouse Experiences

Two Cape Hatteras National Seashore lighthouses can be experienced from anywhere in the world. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse webcam offers a live-feed view from the top, and visitors can also explore a virtual tour of the lighthouse or watch or listen to Ranger Alisa leading a guided tour. For the Bodie Island Lighthouse, a CurrentTV video features Ranger Mark climbing the stairs of this 150-year-old sentinel.

Facilities

• Bathhouses: Ramps and accessible bathrooms are available at the bathhouses at Coquina Beach, Frisco and Ocracoke Beach Accesses, as well as at the Salvo and Haulover Sound Accesses.
• Beach Accesses: A number of beach access ramps along the Seashore include boardwalks that help visitors reach the beach. For details about which boardwalks are accessible, guests should stop by a visitor center. Special-permitted ORVs (Off Road Vehicles) may be used to transport mobility-impaired individuals to a predetermined location in a village-front beach area that is not otherwise open to ORV (Off Road Vehicle) use. Contact the park for more information about this mobility-impaired transport permit.
• Beach Wheelchairs: One beach wheelchair can be borrowed at the Cape Hatteras Light Station. Visitors may stop at the visitor center to check it out, with the phone number and address of the borrower required. Beach wheelchairs are also available on Bodie, Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands and may be checked out daily for free. Visitors can ask about them at any Seashore visitor center.
• Hunting Blinds: The Bodie Island Marsh Blind is a wildlife-viewing platform open for use by all visitors. It stays open through the middle of November, with a few exceptions in October. From December through March, the platform becomes an accessible hunt blind for hunters with limited mobility. The blind gives visitors a way to take in the quiet marshes of the Outer Banks and observe the distinctive plants and animals that live in the ecosystem. Hunters with limited mobility must send reservation requests to capehatterashunt@nps.gov.
• Parking: Accessible parking is available at every visitor center and swimming beach location.
• Restrooms: Accessible restrooms are provided at all three visitor center locations, with many accessible outhouses throughout the Seashore, including places such as the Buxton Woods picnic area and swimming beaches.
• Service Animals: Service dogs are welcome within all park facilities where visitors are allowed. All service dogs must stay within the control of their owner. A service dog means any dog that is trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or other mental disability.
• Trails: At Bodie Island Lighthouse, the pond trail is a boardwalk route ending at a viewing platform overlooking nearby marsh and ponds. A ramp at the end of the boardwalk provides access to the platform.

Educational Resources

• App and Audio Tour: The National Park Service mobile app, offered as a free download in the iOS App Store and Google Play Store, provides current information about all 423 national parks in a single, easy-to-use app. People visiting the Outer Banks are encouraged to download it before they travel. The app includes an audio tour for the Seashore that covers the major highlights of each area of the park and helps visitors learn about its rich history and natural resources.
• Braille Brochures: Braille versions of the park brochure may be borrowed from the information desks at all Seashore visitor centers, or downloaded from the park website.
• Photo Book: A Bodie Island Lighthouse photo book is available to view for visitors who come to the lighthouse in person.
• Tactile Map: At Bodie Island Lighthouse, visitors can use a tactile map of the light station and grounds. The tactile map allows visitors with low vision and/or total blindness to access information which improves spatial awareness, enabling them to engage with the Bodie Island Lighthouse and surrounding grounds more independently.

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site Accessibility

Facilities

• Parking: Accessible parking spaces are located near the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site visitor center.
• Trails: The Freedom Trail is a 1.25-mile dirt path covered in pine needles that passes through maritime forest and ends with views of the Croatan Sound on the park’s western edge. Its endpoint is near the former location of the Freedmen's Colony and Civil War forts. Visitors can either return along the same trail or take the bike path beside Highway 64 to make a 2.5-miles loop back to the visitor center. The Thomas Hariot Trail is a 0.3-mile dirt loop with moderate slopes and many tree roots, leading through the island’s maritime forest to the sandy shoreline of Albemarle Sound. Educational signs explain how the Carolina Algonquian peoples gathered food and resources the English considered valuable on Roanoke Island. The paved route between the visitor center, the reconstructed earthen fort and Waterside Theater is accessible.
• Restrooms: Accessible restrooms are provided at the visitor center.
• Service Animals: Service dogs are welcome within all park facilities where visitors are allowed. All service dogs must stay within the control of their owner. A service dog means any dog that is trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or other mental disability.
• Visitor Center: The park’s visitor center is accessible to every visitor.
• Waterside Theatre: Accessible seating is available at the Waterside Theatre.
• Wheelchairs: During operational hours, a wheelchair can be used at the park’s visitor center.

Educational Resources

• App and Audio Tour: The National Park Service mobile app, available as a free download in the iOS App Store and Google Play Store, offers up-to-date information about all 423 national parks in one easy-to-use app. Visitors heading to the Outer Banks are encouraged to download it in advance. The app includes an audio tour for Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, describing the park’s major highlights and offering a way to learn about its rich history and cultural resources. Assisted listening and audio description devices are also available in the visitor center so visitors can experience the exhibit spaces. These devices may be borrowed at the visitor center desk.
• Braille Brochures: Visitors may ask a park ranger or volunteer at the front desk to borrow a Braille version of the park brochure, or download it from the park’s website.
• Educational Films: A closed-captioned version of the film Roanoke: The Lost Colony is available on a portable tablet, which can be borrowed from the visitor center desk.
• Ranger Programs: Ranger-led activities are accessible.

Wright Brothers National Memorial Accessibility

Educational Resources

• App and Audio Tour: The National Park Service mobile app, available for free in the iOS App Store and Google Play Store, gives visitors current information about all 423 national parks through one easy-to-use app. Outer Banks visitors are encouraged to download the app before arriving. A new audio tour for Wright Brothers National Memorial is included, describing all exhibits in the park and helping visitors learn about its history.
• Assisted Listening and Audio Description Devices: Assisted listening and audio description devices are available in the visitor center for visitors who want to experience the exhibit spaces. They can be borrowed at the visitor center desk. Wright Brothers National Memorial was awarded the Achievement in Audio Description award in the Visual Art/Museums/Visitor Centers/Organization category by the American Council of the Blind for its audio description programs.
• Braille Resources: A tactile map of the park, with locations written in Braille, is located where visitors first enter the visitor center. The visitor center desk has a limited supply of Braille brochures, which are also available to download from the park’s website.
• Tactile Map and Exhibits: A flat tactile map showing the building’s layout is mounted on the wall to the left of the main entrance door. In the visitor center’s Flight Room, visitors can find raised drawings of the Wright brothers’ early gliders and a tactile model, built to scale, of the 1903 Wright Flyer.

Facilities

• Parking: Accessible parking spots are located near the visitor center.
• Paths: An accessible concrete path connects the visitor center with the First Flight Boulder and the base of Kill Devil Hill. The route to the top of Kill Devil Hill is paved, though the grade becomes very steep close to the summit.
• Restrooms: Accessible bathrooms are available.
• Service Animals: Service dogs are welcome within all park facilities where visitors are allowed. All service dogs must stay within the control of their owner. A service dog means any dog that is trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or other mental disability.
• Visitor Center: A ramp at the front of the building provides accessible entry to the visitor center.
• Wheelchairs: Wheelchairs may be borrowed from the visitor center’s front desk on a first come, first served basis.

About Outer Banks Forever

Outer Banks Forever is the official nonprofit partner of the three national parks of the Outer Banks: Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and Wright Brothers National Memorial. The organization helps protect and enhance these special places.

With support, Outer Banks Forever works to make sure future generations can continue learning, growing and making memories in the Outer Banks through history, conservation and the celebration of innovation.

About the National Park Service

More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 423 national parks and partner with communities throughout the country to preserve local history and support recreational opportunities close to home. More information is available at www.nps.gov.