A Guide to Protected Outer Banks Landscapes

By Nancy Hann
Oct. 14, 2022

As development continues to push toward wild places, protecting nature and wildlife from human pressure grows more urgent. Coastal ecosystems help sustain the planet’s life cycles, and they also support fishing, eco-tourism, and meaningful travel. Fortunately, visitors can still have a restorative Outer Banks getaway while respecting and helping safeguard the environment.

North Carolina’s Outer Banks barrier islands include over 300 square miles (777 sq. kilometers) of uninhabited conservation land reserved for the care, management, and, in some cases, restoration of designated fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats. Within Dare County, visitors can explore two national wildlife refuges, the first national seashore in America, an ecological preserve, and a distinctive state park. These protected places give travelers remarkable opportunities to see wild landscapes, learn from them, explore responsibly, and support preservation for today and future generations.

Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

Spanning 237 square miles (615 sq km), this expansive refuge is among the standout wildlife-watching locations in both the Outer Banks and the country.

The refuge supports a program to bring the endangered Red Wolf back into the wild. It is also the northernmost habitat for the American Alligator. Visitors may also be surprised to learn that the highest concentration of Black Bears in the country and the largest of that species are in the refuge.

A smart first stop is the Coastal NC National Wildlife Refuges Gateway Visitor Center [100 Conservation Way, Manteo, NC 27954]. The center interprets eleven national wildlife refuges and one national fish hatchery in Eastern North Carolina. Inside, visitors can experience interactive displays, audio-visual programming, virtual airplane rides, and virtual field trips connected to the different sites.

Independent activities include walking nature trails, paddling Milltail Creek by kayak or canoe, geocaching, wandering undeveloped beaches, and practicing nature photography. Along Murphy Peterson Wildlife Drive, visitors can watch for black bear, alligators, white-tail deer, turtles, raccoons, and many kinds of birds and reptiles from inside their vehicle.

From May to October, scheduled programs and guided experiences are typically offered, including canoe outings, van tours, open-air tram tours, and more.

Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge

Across the Sound from Alligator River sits Pea Island NWR. This narrow island refuge covers 9+ square miles (24 sq km) and protects habitat for more than 365 species of migratory birds that stop in OBX while traveling farther south or remain for the winter. It is one of North Carolina’s best-known birding areas and a premier place in the state for rare or unusual sightings of shorebirds, waterfowl, raptors, and many other birds.

Among the most fascinating seasonal guests on the Outer Banks and North Carolina coast are Loggerhead turtles. At times, other sea turtles such as Leatherbacks, Green Sea turtles, or Kemp’s Ridley turtles also come ashore to nest. Their eggs stay beneath the warm sand for 60 to 100 days before the hatchlings emerge and naturally move toward the ocean.

Wildlife watching is a favorite activity at the Pea Island Visitor Center (14500 NC Highway 12, Rodanthe, NC 27968) and along the refuge’s two wildlife trails. Fishing is permitted in both the ocean and the sound at Pea Island. Visitors can also enjoy camping, hiking, swimming, nature observation, photography, fishing, and stargazing within the refuge.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

The 44 square miles (115 sq km) of America’s first designated National Seashore are well known as sea turtle nesting grounds. The protected landscape is also home to white-tail deer, harbor seals, and a wide variety of birds. Reptiles seen at Cape Hatteras include lizards, snakes, alligators, and land turtles.

Lighthouse lovers should make time for Cape Hatteras Light Station, where the tallest brick lighthouse in the U.S. and possibly the world displays its recognizable black-and-white spiral exterior. Bodie Island Light Station, identified by its black-and-white horizontal stripes, stands just north of Pea Island NWR.

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site - 1401 National Park Dr, Manteo, NC 27954

Fort Raleigh protects land for a different reason: its historical importance under the care of the National Park Service. At the Lindsay Warren Visitor Center, exhibits explore the Indigenous people who originally lived on Roanoke Island and the first English settlers who arrived in the New World in 1585. Summer visitors to Fort Raleigh may want to attend the outdoor production at the Waterside Theatre and experience the story of the Lost Colony.

African Americans are also central to Roanoke Island’s history. The island served as a stop along the Underground Railroad for enslaved people escaping slavery. During the Civil War, Black Americans also found refuge from punishment, enslavement, and death, and after the war, the Freedmen’s Colony provided education and training.

Several trails on the site help visitors understand how nature and human history have been connected there over time.

Elizabethan Gardens - 1411 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC 27954

Inside the boundaries of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, visitors will find 10 acres (4 hectare) of elegant botanical gardens. In the same way untouched natural preserves offer relief from daily busyness, this cultivated waterfront green space brings calm through the colors, forms, and fragrances of camellias, hydrangeas, roses, tulips, and other flowers. The garden was first imagined as a representation of what early English settlers might have planted, and over time it became a blend of formal English garden design and more relaxed, naturalistic areas.

While exploring the garden’s different spaces, visitors can look for graceful statuary, enjoy the scent of the Fragrance Walk, and pause beneath the shade of the Ancient Live Oak trees, some of which are believed to have been living in 1585 when English colonists first reached the island.

Jockey's Ridge State Park – 300 W. Carolista Drive, Nags Head, NC 27959

Jockey's Ridge State Park contains 420 acres (1.7 sq km) of sand, sunlight, wind, and coastal views, and it includes the tallest and largest natural sand dune system in the Eastern United states. Visitors who enjoy sand-based adventure can follow the boardwalk to an observation deck with views of the higher dunes. From that point, the park offers hiking on nature trails, dune sledding, kite flying, and hang glider watching. Shaded picnic areas make it worth bringing lunch.

Note: the park recently announced that the Visitor Center will be closed from May 24, 2021, to April 2022 for renovations. The park and restrooms are still open and Ranger-led programs will continue.

Visitors with limited mobility can reserve assistance if they need help crossing the sand. Park visitors with disabilities may schedule a ride in an all-terrain vehicle driven by staff from the Visitor Center up to the tallest dunes. In addition to the ride itself, the top offers memorable views of the Atlantic Ocean and the Roanoke Sound.

Properly certified hang gliders may register with the park office before taking flight from the dunes. For beginners, Jockey's Ridge State Park is also a place to learn. Kitty Hawk Kites provides dune hang gliding lessons on site throughout the year.

Wright Brothers National Memorial - 1000 N Croatan Hwy, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948

Wind also helped make Wright Brothers National Memorial famous. This Outer Banks historic location marks the place where Ohio brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright completed the first successful powered airplane flights on December 17, 1903. They selected the site because the winds were steady and the sandy landing area was forgiving.

This protected historic landscape shows how two self-taught engineers reshaped the world through experimentation, innovation, persistence, determination, and teamwork.

Beach days and ocean swimming may be the first images that come to mind when thinking about the Outer Banks, but these remarkable protected places also deserve attention. Visiting them is a meaningful way to learn about the planet and help children understand why preserving and protecting wildlife and the natural world matters.

Author

Nancy Hann is a traveler, creator, adventurer, and founder of the travel and lifestyle blog Traveling with Purpose, soon to be Life and a Compass. She lives in Chesapeake, Virginia with her favorite travel and life partner and looks forward to many more adventures ahead. Nancy enjoys writing about discoveries, nature, food, creativity, history, homemaking, and reflections on life. She has visited 17 countries and has completed half of her bucket-list goal of seeing all of America’s National Parks. She has also learned that no matter how much time she spends in a destination, it never feels like enough. Her adventures and tips can be found on her blog, along with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

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