The Outer Banks is a lengthy and almost continuous chain of barrier islands that flank much of the North Carolina coast. These islands are essentially low sand dunes with long sandy beaches on the eastern side and salt marshes and lagoons to the west. They help shield the coast from Atlantic squalls and hurricanes.

Six hundred vessels have foundered on the southern shores of the Outer Banks, which are known as “the Graveyard of the Atlantic.” The wrecks are now an attraction for scuba divers.

Thinly populated until a network of roads, bridges, and ferries was developed, the islands are now popular vacation destinations. No public transportation is available but Hwy 12, which tends to be packed in summer, follows the beach along most of the island chain.

At the northern end of Outer Banks are the rapidly developing—and now overlapping—beach resort towns of Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, and Kitty Hawk. It was at Kill Devil Hills, on December 17, 1903, that the Wright brothers changed the world when they successfully completed an 852-foot, 57-second motorized flight in the 605-pound Flyer. The site of the launch is now marked by the Wright Brothers National Memorial (a white granite monolith atop a hill adjacent to US-158) and a visitor center. Further south, at Nags Head, is Jockey’s Ridge. At 138 feet, it is the tallest sand dune in the eastern United States and an excellent site for kite-flying and hang-gliding.

At Nags Head it is possible to head west along US-64/264 across a bridge to Roanoke Island and onto the mainland. It was on Roanoke Island that the earliest attempts at English settlement in the United States were made.

Unfortunately the colonists disappeared without a trace by 1590. Three miles north of Manteo (the main town on Roanoke Island) is Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, a partial reconstruction of the original colony’s earthen fort. From June to August there are performances at the beachside amphitheater of The Lost Colony, which is the longest-running outdoor drama in the United States. Adjacent to the fort are some Elizabethan gardens.

In Manteo harbor there is a fullsize 69-foot re-creation of a sixteenth- century sailing vessel, the Elizabeth II, which evokes the realities of early transatlantic voyages. Three miles north of Manteo is the North Carolina Aquarium, which has a 180,000- gallon ocean tank with a variety of reef fishes.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore extends south for 75 miles from Nags Head through Hatteras to Ocracoke Island. At the northern end of Hatteras Island is the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, which has a visitor center, walking trails, and observation platforms to view the extensive birdlife. At the elbow of Hatteras Island is Cape Hatteras, which has North America’s tallest lighthouse—208 feet. In summer visitors can climb the 268 steps of the 1870 lighthouse for outstanding island views; a visitor center and museum feature historical displays. South at Frisco is a Native American museum.

At the southern end of the island is Hatteras, which has a popular fishing pier and a car ferry across to beautiful Ocracoke Island, where Hwy 12 follows the largely secluded 15-mile beach southward. The island’s former isolation made it a useful hideout for Blackbeard, the pirate who terrorized the coast from 1717 until local planters killed him during an offshore battle in 1718.

The stocky Ocracoke Lighthouse (1823) is the oldest operating lighthouse in the state. Toll ferries depart from Cedar Island and Swanquarter for the crowded village of Ocracoke, at the southern end of the island.

South of Ocracoke Island is Cape Lookout National Seashore, which extends 55 miles southward along three remote and uninhabited sand islands to Shackleford Banks. Wild horses have roamed here for centuries. At the northern tip, and only accessible by foot, are the picturesque ruins of deserted Portsmouth Village. Access to the northern end is via ferry from Ocracoke or Atlantic. At the southern end is the Cape Lookout Lighthouse, accessible via ferry from Harker’s Island.

To the west of Cape Lookout is the island of Bogue Banks. At its eastern tip is Fort Macon, which is the state’s most popular state park.

Its central feature is a masonry fort built between 1826 and 1834, which was to guard Beaufort Inlet. In 1862, 11 hours of Union bombardment led to a Confederate surrender. Further south is unspoiled Bear Island, which is home to the outstanding Hammocks Beach State Park.