Cape Hatteras Beach - Hatteras Island, North Carolina

Address:Hatteras Island, North Carolina

Often called the playground of the Outer Banks, Hatteras Island Beach is all about fun in the sun for folks of all ages. Hatteras Island Beach boasts wide beaches dotted with naked dunes and vast natural marshlands. Best of all, it has a real island retreat feeling you can't help but feel relaxed in. Laid-back Hatteras Island Beach is brimming with lots of great recreation opportunities for visitors, which include everything from exploring nature and camping out in the open air, to fishing, hiking, and windsurfing. In fact, Hatteras Island is renowned as one of the best surfing spots on the East Coast. This is obvious when the waves are good from the number of cars lined up along the highway, where the surfers park before heading over the dunes to the breaks.

Hatteras is also a great kite-boarding destination, and is well-known as one of the top places in the world for this sport. Want to give it a shot, but not sure of yourself? Never fear! There are outfitters on the Island who offer lessons and camps for novices. Even should none of these activities excite you, there are still plenty of more outdoor activities on Hatteras Island, including paddling, beach walking, bird watching and, again, plenty of fishing. Nature lovers will have plenty of wildlife to observe here. One of the Seashore's stated missions is to preserve the natural habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, sea turtles, marine mammals, and other wildlife.

One of the most unique things you can do here at Hatteras is climbing the black-and-white spiral-striped lighthouse, which is one of the most famous lighthouses in the nation. Even if you don't want to climb the 208 feet to the top (where you can take in an awesome view of the sea meeting the land and the Outer Banks landscape), you're welcome to check out the accompanying museum and just enjoy a look at the lighthouse. Finally, no beach trip is complete without restaurants, shops, and hotels, and naturally, Hatteras Island has got plenty of those as well.