The 1870 Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the Graveyard of the Atlantic, and the free 60-minute ferry to Ocracoke.
An Outer Banks village on Hatteras Island, the southernmost barrier island in Dare County — the 1870 Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States, moved 2,900 feet inland in 1999 by the National Park Service when erosion threatened the foundation) climbs 198 feet above Buxton 12 miles north, the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum at Hatteras Landing chronicles the 5,000-plus shipwrecks at Diamond Shoals where the Labrador Current meets the Gulf Stream, the free North Carolina Ferry Division 60-minute Hatteras-Ocracoke crossing runs hourly from the village dock to Ocracoke's Silver Lake harbor, the 70-mile Cape Hatteras National Seashore protects barrier-island beach from Whalebone Junction at Whalebone Hill down to Ocracoke Inlet, and the Avon Pier, Cape Point, and Frisco Pier draw the surf-fishing-and-kiteboarding regulars from April through October.
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse climb, the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, the free Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry, the Avon Pier and Cape Point fishing, and the Buxton Woods Coastal Reserve trail network.
The 1870 black-and-white spiral lighthouse 12 miles north in Buxton — 198 feet of brick, the tallest lighthouse in the United States, relocated 2,900 feet inland in 1999 by the National Park Service in a 23-day move that became the largest building relocation in U.S. history. The 257-step tower climb runs $10 and is open mid-April through Columbus Day; the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Visitor Center museum is free year-round.
At Hatteras Landing — the National Park Service maritime museum on the 5,000-plus Outer Banks shipwrecks, with artifacts from the 1718 Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge wreck, the U.S.S. Monitor (Civil War ironclad sunk off Diamond Shoals in 1862), and the German U-boats sunk in WWII off the Outer Banks coast. Free admission; the rainy-day Hatteras pivot every rental guest puts on the calendar.
Free 60-minute North Carolina Ferry Division crossing from the village dock at the south end of Hwy 12 to Ocracoke's Silver Lake harbor — runs hourly 5 AM to midnight from May through September, every two hours October through April. No reservation required; arrive 30 minutes early in summer for the car ferry. Foot-passenger crossings run year-round.
The southernmost tip of Hatteras Island below the lighthouse — Cape Point's surf-fishing beach, the Diamond Shoals 4WD beach access (Ramp 44, $50 annual permit), and the Cape Point Campground for the weekend regulars. The fall red-drum and king-mackerel runs (September through November) are the East Coast's premier surf-fishing window; the spring bluefish blitz (April–May) is the second peak.
The Avon Pier in Avon village (10 miles north, $14 day-pass) and the historic Frisco Pier (closed 2017, foundation pylons remain as a fishing-and-photography landmark) — the East Coast's most-cited surf-fishing destinations for Spanish mackerel, false albacore, and the autumn red-drum citation runs. Avon Pier rents tackle and bait; the Frisco Pier ruins remain as the Outer Banks photographer's sunrise pivot.
The 1,000-acre maritime forest behind Cape Hatteras Lighthouse — the largest remaining maritime forest on the Outer Banks, with the Open Ponds Trail (4-mile loop through live-oak and yaupon-holly stands), the Lookout Loop with the elevated boardwalk through the dune ridge, and the year-round migratory-bird hotspot for the Cape Hatteras hawk-watch. Free; dawn to dusk; the alternative-to-the-beach hike when the wind's up.
The Avon-to-Frisco Pamlico Sound stretch — Real Watersports, Kitty Hawk Kites, and Hatteras Watersports run kiteboarding, windsurfing, and kitesurfing lessons ($150–$250 for a 2-hour intro). The shallow Pamlico Sound waters and reliable 12–25 mph southwest summer winds make this stretch one of the top three U.S. kiteboarding destinations. April through October peak; the Triple-S Invitational mid-June.
On Hwy 12 in Frisco — the small private museum on the Algonquian and Croatan tribes who lived on Hatteras Island before John White's 1587 Lost Colony, with one of the largest private Native American artifact collections on the East Coast. Adult admission $7; the cited rainy-day cultural-history pivot from the Lighthouse / Graveyard double-feature.
Hatteras is the Outer Banks at its truest — the 198-foot lighthouse, the wreck-fishing on Diamond Shoals, the free hour-long ferry that drops you in Ocracoke harbor. The villages of Avon, Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras run a 30-mile strand where the Atlantic and the Pamlico Sound are never more than a mile apart.
Ocracoke Island via the free ferry, the Bodie Island Lighthouse 50 miles north, Roanoke Island and the Lost Colony in Manteo, and the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills.
60-minute free ferry south from the village dock — 16 miles of National Seashore beach with no rental properties (lodging concentrated in Ocracoke Village at the south end), the 1823 Ocracoke Lighthouse (the second-oldest active U.S. lighthouse), Springer's Point Nature Preserve where Blackbeard hid in 1718, and the wild ponies on the Pony Pen pasture. The day-trip everyone takes from a Hatteras base.
50 miles north on Hwy 12 in Nags Head — the 1872 black-and-white-banded lighthouse on the Bodie Island marsh, with the 214-step climb (open April through Columbus Day, $10), the visitor center museum, and the half-mile Bodie Island Lighthouse Trail boardwalk through the marsh. The OBX three-lighthouse trio with Cape Hatteras and Currituck.
30 miles north on Hwy 12 below Oregon Inlet — a 5,800-acre coastal refuge with the North Pond Wildlife Trail (1.2-mile loop), the South Pond observation platforms, and 365 documented bird species including snow geese, tundra swans, and migrating peregrine falcons. Free; dawn-to-dusk; the OBX birding pivot.
The full-service marina at the village ferry dock — 70 slip wet-and-dry storage, the Marina Restaurant for the post-fishing dinner, charter-boat operations including Albatross Fleet (the original 1937 OBX charter fleet), and the Hatteras Landing Outfitters for tackle and bait. Half-day inshore charters $700–$900; full-day Gulf Stream offshore $1,400–$1,900 split among 4–6 anglers.
Adjacent to the lighthouse base in Buxton — the National Park Service visitor center for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, with the Eastern National Bookstore (best maritime-history selection on the OBX), the Outer Banks junior-ranger program, and the relocation-of-the-lighthouse interpretive exhibit. Free admission.
60 miles north in Manteo — the 1587 Lost Colony archaeological site at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, the Roanoke Island Festival Park living-history complex, the Elizabethan Gardens, and Paul Green's outdoor drama "The Lost Colony" running June–August in the Waterside Theatre (the longest-running outdoor drama in the U.S., since 1937). Adult drama tickets $30; $25 for the festival park.
75 miles north in Kill Devil Hills — the National Park Service site of the December 17, 1903 first powered flight, with the 60-foot granite Wright Brothers Memorial atop Big Kill Devil Hill, the visitor center museum with replica 1903 Flyer, the four-flight markers on the actual flight path, and the First Flight Airport for current pilots. Adult admission $10.
30 miles north on Hwy 12 in Rodanthe — the 1874 U.S. Life-Saving Service station, the most-complete LSS site on the East Coast, with the original 1874 station, 1911 station, cookhouse, and watchtower. The Wednesday and Thursday surf-rescue reenactment in summer at 2 PM is a 90-year-old OBX tradition. Adult admission $10.
Springer's Point Nature Preserve in Ocracoke Village — Blackbeard's hideout where he was killed in November 1718 in a fight with Lt. Robert Maynard, with the interpretive panels on the Queen Anne's Revenge and the OBX pirate era. Free; the Hatteras-pirate-history sidebar that pairs with the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum.
On Old Lighthouse Road in Buxton — the OBX's most-cited independent bookstore, with a curated maritime-history-and-coastal-fiction section, the local-author shelf for OBX writers, and the cited rainy-day-week-of-rain pivot. Cash and card; closed Tuesdays.
20 miles north on Hwy 12 in Waves — the largest kite-and-surfboard retailer on the East Coast, with the lesson school, the rental fleet, and the on-site Watermen's Bar & Grill for the post-session beer-and-fish-taco lineup. The pre-trip kiteboarding-curious browse for the Pamlico Sound day.
The Sandbar & Grille at Hatteras Landing for dockside seafood, the Buxton Munch Co. for the local breakfast-and-burrito, Diamond Shoals for the Cape Point fish-fry, and Sonny's of Hatteras for the morning ferry-line breakfast.
12 miles north on Old Lighthouse Road in Buxton — the soundfront inn's Café Pamlico restaurant, the chef-driven Outer Banks-meets-Lowcountry kitchen, the curated NC-and-VA wine list, and the sunset deck for the most-cited Pamlico Sound sunset on Hatteras Island. Reservations strongly recommended for summer.
On Hwy 12 in Hatteras Village — the 1957 Outer Banks fine-dining anchor, the Hatteras prime rib, the locally-fished pan-seared red drum, and the wine-and-spirits cellar that draws Triangle restaurant scouts. Reservations a week ahead Friday and Saturday in summer; the Hatteras-week special-occasion default.
At Hatteras Landing Marina at the south end — the dockside seafood-and-burgers spot, the post-charter beer-and-fish-taco anchor, and the boardwalk pier for the kids. Cash and card; Friday-night fish-fry and Sunday-brunch shrimp-and-grits run sold-out by noon in summer.
12 miles north on Hwy 12 in Buxton near Cape Point — the 1968 Hatteras Island family seafood institution, the Cape Point fish-fry platter, and the locally-loved hush puppies. Cash and card; the cited Hatteras Island kid-table default.
The locally-loved Hwy 12 raw bar in Buxton — Pamlico Sound oysters on the half-shell, the steamed-shrimp platter, and the cited beer-and-football Sunday with the OBX bar locals. Cash and card; opens at noon.
On Old Lighthouse Road in Buxton — the Hatteras Island breakfast-and-burrito-and-coffee anchor, the cited maple-bacon breakfast burrito, and the Stumptown coffee pour. Opens at 6:30 AM; the cited local-fishing-trip morning fuel.
On Hwy 12 in Hatteras Village near the ferry dock — the 1971 family diner with the morning-ferry-line breakfast, the country-fried-steak special, and the locally-iconic Sonny's Hatteras hat. Cash and card; opens at 5 AM for the early-ferry crowd.
75 miles north in Kitty Hawk — the cited Outer Banks Polynesian-tiki kitchen, the Tahitian shrimp curry, and the post-Wright-Brothers full-day pivot for the Hatteras family-trip tradition. Reservations on weekends.
60-minute ferry south on Ocracoke Island — the 1991 Hwy 12 Ocracoke roadhouse, 30+ taps, the all-you-can-eat shrimp Tuesday, and the locally-iconic Ocracoke-week-finale dinner for the Hatteras-base trip. Cash and card; opens at 11 AM.
Best season, the Norfolk vs. Raleigh airport question, the Hatteras Village-Frisco-Buxton-Avon village choice, the rental-car decision, and what a Hatteras week actually costs.
Every property in our Hatteras collection is hand-checked, hand-photographed, and backed by twenty-four-hour concierge support. The guide is the warm-up. The home is the trip.
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