Must See National Park Sites in the Outer Banks
The Outer banks (OBX) of North Carolina is a great place to vacation during the summer, but also includes several must see National Park Sites. We have visited several times and love this area. Dive in with us as we go through these awesome sites!
Table of Contents
List of National Park Sites in the Outer Banks
There are four National Park units in the area of the Outer banks, they can be seen on the same visit, depending on how much time you have. You can easily see three of them during a weekend.
The Cape Lookout site was several hours to the south, which can be difficult to see on a short visit. It is a great excursion if you have the time!
| # | Park Unit Name | Location |
| 1 | Wright Brothers National Memorial | Kill Devil Hills, NC |
| 2 | Fort Raleigh National Historic Site | Manteo, NC |
| 3 | Cape Hatteras National Seashore | Various |
| 4 | Cape Lookout National Seashore | Cape Lookout, NC |
List of Lighthouses at the Outbanks
| # | Park Unit Name | Location |
| 1 | Currituck Lighthouse | Corolla, NC |
| 2 | Bodie Island Lighthouse | Nags Head, NC |
| 3 | Cape Hatteras Lighthouse | Buxton, NC |
| 4 | Ocracoke Lighthouse | Ocracoke, NC |
| 5 | Cape Lookout Lighthouse | Cape Lookout, NC |
Map of Sites
Wright Brother National Memorial
Driving only a small amount of time in the state of North Carolina, you will be hard pressed not to know that the Wright Brothers had their ‘First Flight’ in North Carolina. The standard license plate is an image of the flight, so it is all over the place!
Visiting the actual site and getting a sense of what actually occurred there was really impressive. What they accomplished was world shattering and certainly a triumph for the pair of bicycle mechanics!
Climbing the memorial to Orville and Wilbur was pretty neat and well worth the effort as the payoff is an amazing view of the ocean and the park itself. The kids gravitated toward the life size statue/model of the plane, which also had a cheering audience as well (ha)!
At the time of our visit the visitor center was also going under renovations, so we were mainly outside except for a small bookstore in a portable building.
Our First Stamp
At our first visit to one of these sites we bought our first blue National Park Passport Book on a trip to the Wright Brothers National Memorial Visitor Center.
This small investment allowed us to get our first ink stamp and record our visit. These were our first stamps, and we did not know what we were getting into. While I would not catch the ‘bug’ to visit all the NPS sites until later, this was still a special visit.
Jockey’s Ridge State Park
Just south of the Wright Brother National Monument, you will find Jockey’s Ridge state park. While note technically a NPS site, this is a must see. While not much to ‘do’, being able to climb massive sand dunes and get an awesome view of the area in the middle of Nags Head is pretty neat. This area was nearly lost to development, but local heroes convinced the politicians to save the area for future generations.
Roaming Monk Tip: While in the area make sure to stop into Tortugas’ Lie, an awesome seafood restaurant in Nags Head! They do not take reservations, but they turn tables pretty quick!
Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Bodie Lighthouse
Cape Hatteras is very long, and not only encompasses the northern island, but also south to Ocracoke Island as well. We visited Bodie lighthouse, which is just south of Manteo and the seashore. You can also drive further south to see the lighthouse at Cape Hatteras and across the water to Ocracoke.
If you have time for the ferry ride, it is a great visit, as the Ocracoke lighthouse is very unique compared to Cape Hatteras Light house and Bodie. An additional plus is the lack of development and has much fewer people than in Nags Head/Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills.
The Bodie Lighthouse is set back from the main street and has plenty of parking and land around the area. A lovely trail also takes you through wetlands and affords a different view of the lighthouse while sharing the unique wildlife and environment of the seashore. We were able to see blue crabs in the water from the boardwalk and plenty of birds.
Timed tickets are available for you to walk up the lighthouse and catch a view from the top.
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
Just across the bridge to Manteo, the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is very close by the other units. The site holds the first known English settlement in the ‘New World’.
The earthen works from the settlements are still visible and you can take a hike through them. You can even set a very unique pose for a picture, just like my son performed. Not really sure what he is doing but he was clearly enjoying himself.
Overall, any visit to the Outer banks during the summer (and before hurricane season!) is a lot of fun. Beach time, and enjoying the water is always nice. Adding in visits to these must-see National Park Sites in the Outer banks of North Carolina expands on the experience and we will no doubt continue to do so into the future. Next step is Cape Lookout National Seashore!
