Because the coastal waters off the North Carolina coast are so difficult to navigate, seven lighthouses constructed up and down the coast help mariners travel safely. These are Currituck, Bodie, Cape Hatteras, Okracoke, Cape Lookout, Bald Head, and Oak Island lighthouses. The most famous of these is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
The eastern seaboard of the US is a major flyway for migratory birds traveling back and forth between the northern latitudes and the tropics and the Outer Banks is a wonderful place to see nature.
Cape Lookout is the most remote part of the Outer Banks accessible only by boat but well worth the trip. No improved roads, camping on the beach, and not easy to get to makes this a special getaway. It is considered the best area along the eastern and gulf seaboard for shelling due to the topography of the islands and the lack of tourists. The beaches are covered with literally millions of shells of all sizes.
For those interested in the history of flight, the Wright Brothers Memorial is located in Kitty Hawk in the northern part of the Outer Banks.
Cape Lookout National Seashore
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
The Outer Banks are narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina. They begin in southeastern corner of Virginia Beach, Virginia and extend for 200 miles covering half the northern North Carolina coastline. The islands separate the Pamlico Sound, Albemarle Sound, and Currituck Sound from the Atlantic Ocean.
These Islands are home to two national seashores, Cape Hattteras, located on the eastern most section of the barier Islands and our nation's first, and Cape Lookout encompasing the two most southern islands of the Outer Banks.The islands are also home to several wildlife refuges including the Pea Island NWR.
The seas off the Outer Banks coast have been nicknamed the Graveyard of the Atlantic due to the treacherous waters, tides, and shoals and the large number of shipwrecks that have occurred there.