North Carolina Outer Banks
The Outer Banks is steeped in history, dating back 420 years to our 16th century Elizabethan roots as the site of England’s first attempt at colonizing the New World from 1585 to 1587.
Key Places to Visit
- Bodie Island Lighthouse – Visit the 150-foot high horizontally-striped lighthouse as it is one of the Outer Banks famous landmarks
- Cape Hatteras Lighthouse - the tallest brick lighthouse (208 feet) on the American coast
- Cedar Island Ferry: Ocracoke- an inlet ferry carrying visitors on a 2 1/4 hour ride to the historic village of Ocracoke
- Roanoke Island Festival Park- Elizabeth II representative of a 16th-century sailing vessel
- Fort Macon – a restored fort, built in 1836, originally used to defend the harbor
- Jockey's Ridge - the highest sand dunes on the east coast often used for hang gliding
- Wright Brothers Memorial - site of the first powered airplane flight
- Fort Raleigh- where Sir Walter Raleigh's explorers and colonists established a settlement in 1585
- North Carolina Aquariums - Visit Pine Knoll Shores, Manteo, and Fort Fisher
- Carolina Ocean Studies - The sea's wonders are revealed when participants go fishing, crabbing, claming and exploring remote beaches.
Sample Itinerary
Outer Banks Link and Information
- The Outer Banks of North Carolina