Outer Banks Scenic Byway
Exploring Barrier Islands and Maritime Culture

Departure: The Journey Begins: Sweeping Natural Terrain, North Carolina
Destination: Harkers Island, North Carolina
Time to allow: 2 days

Explore wild barrier islands where sand, wind and water shape life. Lighthouses, life-saving stations, and 21 coastal villages are responses to this world. This byway tour emphasizes the Outer Banks maritime culture built on knowledge of weather, water and wildlife.

The trip is best enjoyed March through May and September through November. Byway travelers should allow two days, preferably three, for the entire route. Weather rules along the byway and may cause travel disruptions. Planning ahead ensures sites and accommodations are open. A reservation is required for the Ocracoke-Cedar Island toll ferry.

Day 1

  • Start: The Journey Begins: Sweeping Natural Terrain

    A verdant marsh passage in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore slips by historic Bodie Island Lighthouse. The majestic Herbert C. Bonner Bridge rises above a turbulent Oregon Inlet and affords a long view down Hatteras Island. A drive through windswept Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge introduces visitors to the natural world that created a heritage alive today. An optional stop at the Pea Island Visitor Center allows travelers to stretch their legs, enjoy the small exhibit and gift shop there, and observe waterfowl from a boardwalk.

  • Stop 1: Heritage Alive at Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historic Site and District: Traditional Settlement Pattern

    From previous stop: same location
    Directions:

    This itinerary begins with a scenic drive which ends at this site.
    Suggested time at this stop: 1 hour

    Chicamacomico was built because of dangerous Wimble Shoals, an eroded cape that today draws surfing enthusiasts. The sheltering soundside of the island provided a natural harbor that was improved over time. The site saw service from 1874 through 1954.

    Heroic deeds are celebrated by Outer Banks families descended from the surfmen who manned life-saving stations. Chicamacomico is home to one of the greatest rescues in early Coast Guard history, the 1918 rescue of 42 crew members of the British tanker Mirlo. Six men involved in that rescue received many awards, including the Gold Lifesaving Medal. Each August family members participate in a campfire to remember the event and share their pride with visitors. Summertime beach apparatus drills demonstrated by a team from the U.S. Coast Guard are a highlight for many visitors.

    Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station anchors a small historic district, National Register-eligible. The district illustrates village settlement around life-saving stations. Historic homes, a harbor with one of the few remaining small commercial fish houses and the village school house, now a community gathering place, are easily viewed on a short walk. The first of nine Civil War markers nearby is a reminder of wartime strife drawn time and again to the strategically located Outer Banks.

  • Stop 2: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse: A National Treasure

    From previous stop: 45 minutes / 24.6 mi (39.4 km)
    Directions:

    Turn left out of the Chicamacomico parking lot back onto NC-12. Proceed south 23.4 miles. In Buxton, watch for the NPS entrance sign to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and turn left into the Lighthouse historic district. Proceed 1.2 miles to the parking lot for the light station and the visitor center. Note: Google Maps does not recognize the reconfiguration of roads in this area since the Lighthouse was moved in 1999.
    Suggested time at this stop: 2 hours

    The 1870 Cape Hatteras Light, international icon of seafaring troubles, warns mariners of hazardous Diamond Shoals and the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

    Climb 269 cast iron steps to see the cape and its roiling shoals, to view a narrow barrier island, to look at the fertile fishing grounds of Pamlico Sound and to be amazed at Buxton Woods, a rare maritime forest. All these vistas are part of living along the Outer Banks Scenic Byway. Tickets for specific times must be purchased for the lighthouse climb.

    Around the famed lighthouse are historic living quarters for lighthouse keepers. At the visitor center, National Park Service rangers give frequent lectures on natural and cultural topics.

    The Lighthouse district has additional points of interest. Hatteras Islanders properly buried two British World War II sailors, who died defending this vulnerable and undefended coastline. A Memorial Service is held each May at the British Cemetery.

    Hatteras Islanders and visitors also flock to the Lighthouse beach for world-class surfing. A seasonal life-guarded beach attracts beach-goers. Thrilling surf fishing draws many to Cape Point. A nature trail leads visitors through the rare Buxton Woods maritime forest and sedges (wetlands).

    The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is generally open for climbing from the third Friday in April through Columbus Day (early October). The Cape Point Campground is generally open Memorial Day through Labor Day.

  • Stop 3: Ocean, Sound, and a Once (and Future?) Inlet

    From previous stop: 25 minutes / 8.9 mi (14.2 km)
    Directions:

    From the Cape Hatteras Visitor Center parking lot, turn right and head east on Lighthouse Rd. Around 0.3 miles the road will curve to the left and become Forest Rd. Continue 0.9 miles to the stop sign at NC-12. Turn left at NC-12 and proceed 7.7 miles to Frisco Beach on the left (changing/comfort station here) or 8.5 miles to Sandy Bay Soundside access point on the right. Optional: use the beach to walk from one to the other.
    Suggested time at this stop: 1 hour 30 minutes

    Outer Bankers live at the beach and on the sounds. Visitors can enjoy the Atlantic Ocean at Frisco Day Use Area with a convenient comfort station and the soundside beach at Sandy Bay. Older villagers remember childhood pleasures playing on the sound. This stop between Frisco and Hatteras villages gives visitors a chance to explore both beach and sound in one location and see the narrow width of the barrier island.

    Geological studies of the Outer Banks have pinpointed areas that have opened and closed repeatedly over 12,000 years. This is one of the points in the island chain most vulnerable to inlet formation. The steep dune beside the road beyond the Sandy Bay parking area marks the location where Hurricane Isabel separated Hatteras Village from the rest of Hatteras Island in 2003.

  • Stop 4: Hatteras: A Welcoming Barrier Island Village

    From previous stop: 7 minutes / 3.2 mi (5.1 km)
    Directions:

    From the Frisco Beach parking area, turn left (west) on NC-12 and proceed approximately 3.2 miles to a choice of various parking areas associated with the harbor.
    Suggested time at this stop: 2 hours

    Hatteras Village is welcoming. On a late afternoon stroll along Hatteras Harbor, visitors witness a parade of deep-sea fishing boats back from a day’s Gulf Stream adventure. Mates flop the day’s catch along the dock for all to see. In 1937, Captain Ernal Foster started the sports fishing industry using the Albatross I, a boat built in Down East’s Marshallberg. That historic boat, captained by Ernie Foster, Capt. Ernal’s son, is still in use and docked midway along the Harbor.

    The Fall Day at the Docks is a hallmark cultural event celebrating watermen.

    In the center of Hatteras Village, visit the NPS-restored 1902 Weather Bureau (the Hatteras Welcome Center) and the recently renovated Hatteras Library and Community Center. Evidencing community determination, a half-century of fish fries built the village’s close-by medical center, library and volunteer fire department.

  • Stop 5: Hatteras: A Barrier Island Village Filled with Cultural Tales to Share

    From previous stop: 4 minutes / 1.8 mi (2.9 km)
    Directions:

    From the Hatteras Village center or harbor, head west on NC-12 approximately 1.8 miles to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. Take the left-hand fork when nearing the ferry terminal area and stacking lanes.
    Suggested time at this stop: 1 hour

    To envelop visitors in village culture, Hatteras villagers have prepared a walking/driving tour of historic homes and places.

    The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum tells the nation’s maritime history through shipwrecks. The dramatic one-story building resembles a shipwreck. Hatteras villagers and the museum board raised over $7 million to build and almost complete the now state-owned museum. Two Civil War markers are located in the museum’s parking area.

  • Stop 6: NC Ferries, Hatteras Inlet and Pamlico Sound: A Maritime Culture Continues

    From previous stop: 2 minutes / 0.1 mi (0.2 km)
    Directions:

    If the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum is part of the traveler’s exploration of Hatteras Village, the traveler needs only to navigate from there to the terminal, in view of the museum.

    Otherwise, to travel from the center of Hatteras Village from the Welcome Center, the Burrus Red & White Supermarket, or the harbor to the ferry terminal, head west on NC-12 approximately 1.8 miles. Take the right-hand fork when nearing the ferry terminal area and stacking lanes.
    Suggested time at this stop: 45 minutes

    Ferries crossing to Ocracoke take vehicles and passengers past tidal flats. Watch other ferries bustling back to Hatteras, and fishing boats heading out to sea or returning. Feel the surge of water power at the inlet itself. Gulls chasing the ferry will cry for handouts from folks standing on deck during the 40-minute, free ferry trip. The trip to Ocracoke is likely to be a late crossing - possibly the sun will be lighting the horizon of Pamlico Sound at this point in this itinerary.

  • Stop 7: Historic, Natural Ocracoke Island

    From previous stop: 30 minutes / 12.5 mi (20.0 km)
    Directions:

    From the Ocracoke Island terminal for the Hatteras Inlet ferry, proceed on NC-12 to reach the village entrance.
    Suggested time at this stop: 45 minutes

    Isolated Ocracoke Island presents 12.5 byway miles through the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and delivers visitors to a historic, Preserve America community. Wild ponies roamed until 1957 when road traffic made a corral necessary. Visitors to Springer’s Point Reserve can view the cove where the notorious pirate Blackbeard was killed in a bloody battle in 1718.

  • End: Historic, Storied Ocracoke Village

    From previous stop: 4 minutes / 1.3 mi (2.1 km)
    Directions:

    From the village entrance, proceed to the other end of the village where there is public parking.

    Note: Time to travel here from the previous stop will be significantly longer on busy summer days.

    Visitors experience firsthand a village that evolved organically, in response to natural conditions.

    A pedestrian’s delight, Ocracoke centers on a large scenic harbor, Silver Lake, once called Cockle Creek. Many narrow and winding lanes remain unpaved sandy paths. Picket fences and old trees covered in lichens line village lanes. Deeply shaded Howard Street, just off the byway and paved only with oyster shells, is a favored walking route from the harbor to Ocracoke Lighthouse. Wanderers from the parking area by the National Park Service’s visitor center and the ferry docks should include the Community Square and the Ocracoke Seafood Company, the island’s fish house cooperative, among stops.

    The United Methodist Church includes a reminder of World War II. An altar cross is carved from wood salvaged from a ship torpedoed offshore in 1942. An Ocracoker was the vessel’s engineer. A British Cemetery similarly honors four British seamen whose British armed trawler was lost at sea while defending American shores off the Outer Banks.

    Plan to spend the night here and resume your travels after a night's rest at one of several fine local hostelries.

Totals for Day 1

Total Distance Traveled: 52.4 miles / 83.8 km
Total Travel Time: 1 hour 57 minutes
Total Stopping Time: 9 hours

Day 2

  • Stop 1: Ocracoke Museum & David Williams House

    From previous stop: 1 minute
    Directions:

    The David Williams House is highly visible and is within walking distance from the public parking at the end of the village near the National Seashore’s visitor center.
    Suggested time at this stop: 1 hour

    A handsome “four-square” residence, circa 1900, this building was owned by Ocracoke’s first Chief of the U. S. Coast Guard and moved by the Ocracoke Preservation Society to this prominent location beside the harbor, ferry docks, and the National Seashore visitor center with the help of the National Park Service. Part house museum and part exhibit space, the building illustrates island life in a variety of ways.

    Just visible behind the traditional picket fence is the rounded top of an above-ground cement cistern, a rare survivor illustrating what once was the only source of water for village residents.

    Behind the building is the 1934 fishing vessel Blanche, awaiting restoration beneath its outdoor shelter.

    The deep front porch still cools folks who like to visit there, today drawn to the Society’s highly popular summer “front porch talks” given by village residents.

  • Stop 2: NC Ferries, Hatteras Inlet and Pamlico Sound: A Maritime Culture Continues

    From previous stop: 2 minutes / 0.2 mi (0.3 km)
    Directions:

    From the public parking near the National Seashore’s visitor center, turn right (away from the ferry docks) into the stacking lanes. Fees are collected in a small booth before the horseshoe turn brings the route around to face the ferry docks.
    Suggested time at this stop: 2 hours 15 minutes

    A majestic 1935 Coast Guard Station, now a North Carolina teachers’ institute, presides over Ocracoke’s harbor. Perhaps the sight of bottlenose dolphins or brown pelicans will grace this crossing of the Pamlico Sound on the Cedar Island ferry. On the 2 hour and 15 minute toll ferry, experience the vast sound, splendid sunsets, and, on a clear day, see Portsmouth Island. Duck blinds and pound net stakes thickly populate the shallow sound. The more leisurely trip across Pamlico Sound past Ocracoke Inlet and Portsmouth Island to Cedar Island may offer time for a chat with one of the ferry workers, many of whom are native “bankers.”

  • Stop 3: Cedar Island: A Waterman’s Paradise

    From previous stop: 15 minutes / 5.4 mi (8.6 km)
    Directions:

    Disembark from the ferry and drive to the west side of the Monroe Gaskill Bridge on NC-12.
    Suggested time at this stop: 1 hour

    Hunt and fish on Cedar Island. The village includes a restaurant (try the fried oysters), motel, beach, campground, and horseback riding.

    The byway here traverses a six-mile causeway through one of the East Coast’s largest marshes and connects Cedar Island to the mainland. Down East’s fringe of splendid marshes dictated village locations. The marshes shelter shellfish, crabs, finfish, raptors and waterfowl, and make the waters here among North Carolina’s cleanest.

    It is possible to turn off the causeway safely just beyond the Monroe Gaskill Bridge beside the boat ramp and pause to enjoy and photograph the marsh and passing birds or workboats.

  • Stop 4: A Drive through Down East and Its Unique Cultural Landscape

    From previous stop: 1 hour 30 minutes / 48 mi (76.8 km)
    Directions:
    • From the Monroe Gaskill Bridge, proceed 4.5 mi. to a left turn at NC-1387/Old Cedar Island Rd, then proceed 3.2 mi. into the village of Atlantic.
    • Turn right at NC-1378/Shell Rd/US-70 and proceed 0.6 mi.
    • Turn left on NC-1380/School Dr/US-70 and proceed 0.2 mi. to a stop sign.
    • Turn left at Seashore Dr/US-70, and proceed 0.5 mi to the end of the road at Atlantic harbor. (Note: a drawbridge once crossed the harbor at this location and the road can sometimes still appear as a crossing in various older maps.)
    • Make a U-turn and follow Seashore Dr/US-70 5.1 mi through the village of Sea Level to its junction with the conclusion of NC-12.
    • Continue 14.3 miles on US-70 through Stacy, Davis and Williston to Smyrna.
    • In Smyrna, leave US-70 and continue straight (no stop) on Marshallberg Rd/NC-1347.
    • Follow 3.1 miles to the end of the road at Marshallberg’s park (view of Cape Lookout Lighthouse).
    • U-turn and head north on Marshallberg Rd/NC-1347. Proceed 0.7 mi.
    • Turn left at NC-1346/Star Church Rd and proceed 1.1 mi.
    • Turn left at Gloucester Rd/ NC-1343/Pigott Rd and proceed 1.5 mi. into the village of Gloucester.
    • Follow NC-1343/Piggott Rd. around a sharp right turn (north) and proceed 0.6 mi.
    • Turn left at NC-1335/Straits Rd and proceed 0.7 mi. to slight left to stay on NC-1335/Straits Rd. Proceed a further 0.3 mi. to a stop sign. (Note: NC-1335 continues left by a different name.)
    • Turn left on Harkers Island Rd/NC-1335 and proceed through the village of Straits 6.1 mi to the easternmost point of Harkers Island and the Cape Lookout National Seashore Visitor Center parking lot.
    Suggested time at this stop: 2 hours

    Enjoy many views of the waters that shaped, divided and linked the 13 communities. Villages center on their churches and country stores; small shops and a nursery sell homemade or handmade items. Village harbors offer views of traditional boats, many hand-built in back yards from native juniper and live oak. Harkers Island boats of all sizes can easily be identified by their unique flared hulls. Their design is a powerful example of humans’ response to nature.

  • Stop 5: Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center: Keeping Traditions and Memories Alive

    From previous stop: 1 minute
    Directions:

    The driving tour ends at this location.
    Suggested time at this stop: 2 hours

    A visit to the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center reveals details of the rich, less-visible culture that continues to shape and link Down East’s thirteen villages. Outdoors, the Jean Dale, a 1941 Harkers Island boat, awaits restoration. Indoors, village-designed exhibits offer visitors the chance to enjoy privately owned artifacts, memorabilia, models and photos, lovingly cared-for and carefully explained. A gift and book shop sells decoys and other local artworks.

    Nature trails centered on an ecologically rich freshwater pond are available. Willow Pond Nature Trail (.8 mi) and Soundside Loop Trail (0.3 mi) are found on the side-by-side properties of the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center and the Cape Lookout National Seashore Harkers Island visitor center. The pond attracts many migratory birds; the loop trail adds beautiful views of Core Sound.

  • Stop 6: Cape Lookout National Seashore-Harkers Island Visitor Center

    From previous stop: 1 minute / 0.08 mi (0.1 km)
    Directions:

    Continue southeast on Harkers Island Road. The visitor center is near the end of the road.
    Suggested time at this stop: 30 minutes

    The Harkers Island Visitor Center pays tribute to local maritime history, culture, and animal life. An award-winning, 26-minute film introduces audiences to the Cape Lookout ecosystem through aerial and underwater photography. Exhibits tell the story of the seashore’s wild horses, historic villages, and natural resources. Friendly park staffers and volunteers are there to elaborate on exhibits and make your visit memorable.

  • End: Harkers Island

    From previous stop: 13 minutes / 4.9 mi (7.8 km)
    Directions:

    Turn right (west) on Harkers Island Rd/SR-1335 to return back up the island. The Straits boat ramp is 4.9 miles on the left, after crossing the Straits bridge.

    Long-isolated, Harkers Island still maintains a unique cultural landscape, dominated by fishing, fishing vessels and homes of fishing families. “Shrimp burgers” are a local favorite.

    As the sun sets on your last day of the two-day tour, venture outside to witness an exciting array of evening colors and maritime activity. Look for birds wading in the waters for their evening meal, a fisherman casting a bait net or workboats returning to Harkers Island Harbor. Settle down at a picnic table and watch as the sunlight first intensifies, then softens and gently disappears into a moonlit Outer Banks evening sky.

Totals for Day 2

Total Distance Traveled: 58.58 miles / 93.7 km
Total Travel Time: 2 hours 3 minutes
Total Stopping Time: 8 hours 45 minutes