Road Trip Outer Banks NC – Kitty Hawk, Cape Hatteras, Ocracoke

Norfolk Ocracoke
180
km
4h
drive
Summer
season

The Itinerary

The Outer Banks, a long chain of barrier islands in North Carolina, are nicknamed the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" for swallowing more than 5,000 ships since the 16th century. Today they are one of the most beautiful East Coast drives — NC-12 runs 200 km through islands connected by bridges and ferries.

Kitty Hawk is aviation's birthplace: here on December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers made the first controlled powered flight in history. Wright Brothers National Memorial preserves the exact site. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (64 m, 1870), America's tallest brick lighthouse with its famous black-and-white spiral, can be climbed — 257 steps.

Ocracoke Island, reached by free ferry, was Blackbeard the Pirate's former base — his ghost is said to still haunt the inlets. Wild beaches, wild Banker ponies, Cape Lookout kite-surfing, dolphin watching at Nags Head. Avoid hurricane season (August-October).

Points of Interest

  • ✦
    Wright Brothers Memorial
    Site of the 1903 first powered flight, Kitty Hawk.
  • ✦
    Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
    America's tallest brick lighthouse, 64 m, spiral pattern.
  • ✦
    Ocracoke Island
    Blackbeard's former base, free ferry, wild ponies.
  • ✦
    Jockey's Ridge
    Tallest natural dune on the US East Coast.
Practical info
  • Departure Norfolk
  • Destination Ocracoke
  • Distance 180 km
  • Duration 4h
  • Category Medium (100–250 km)
  • Best season Summer
Themes
beach Lighthouse history aviation north-carolina islands pirate road-trip

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