What is so special about the Outer Banks?

We are blessed to call the beautiful Outer Banks home

It’s hard to believe that not everyone knows about the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Some have heard the term recently due to a popular TV series with the same title, but it’s not filmed here and is a drama about the daily lives of teenagers. 

For those of us who made the Outer Banks home, we can sing her praises all day long as she is so unique, there is no place like this sandbar we call home. But some have asked, “it’s just a beach right? Why is it so special?” Well we can explain… starting with her natural beauty, beaches, history, and culture, but add to that her remote location, lighthouses, fresh local seafood, abundance of wildlife, temperate weather and you’ll soon see what we mean.

LIGHTHOUSES

Bodie Island Lighthouse on the Outer Banks

The tallest brick lighthouse in the USA is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. She towers over the coast at 210 feet. She keeps watch over one of the most hazardous sections of the Atlantic, also know as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Offshore Cape Hatteras (you may have seen it on the news when Shelly Island was formed a couple years ago and then disappeared just as quick), the Gulf Stream intersects the Virginia Drift, and a branch of the Labrador Current which comes down from Canada (think about the movie Finding Nemo). From there it pushes ships onto bars (sandbars), like the infamous 12 miles of Diamond Shoals.

This is especially interesting as Cape Hatteras Lighthouse itself had to be moved due to the shifting seashore. This lighthouse was built in 1799 and the first light was powered by whale oil back in 1803. The original brick lighthouse blended into the background, thus the swirling black and white stripes. You can climb Cape Hatteras Lighthouse seasonally, 257 steps each way, which is equal to climbing a 12-story building.

“In 1999, after years of study and debate, the Cape Hatteras Light Station was moved to its present location. The lighthouse was moved 2,900 feet in 23 days and now lies 1,500 feet from the seashore, its original distance from the sea.” See the full history here.

Other Outer Banks lighthouses include: Bodie Island Lighthouse (pronounced “body” and also on the Hatteras National Seashore just south of Nags Head near Oregon Inlet – also climbable and is 156 feet tall), Currituck Beach Lighthouse (guardian of the Northern beaches in Corolla, and climbable at 162 feet tall), Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse (40 yards over the Roanoke Sound in Manteo), and at just 65′ the popular little beacon Ocracoke Island Lighthouse (you’ll need to catch a ferry to see her).

BEACHES

We have 100 miles of amazing beaches that we can enjoy year-round

There are over 100 miles of beaches on the Outer Banks. Starting with Carova Beach which is an unincorporated community in Currituck County in the extreme NE corner of North Carolina and a 4×4 only beach. It can be accessed only by boat or 4×4 vehicle, so the more than 1000 residents take the low tide route from Corolla to reach their homes.

Then head on down through Corolla, Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, and on South to the Hatteras National Seashore to: Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton and Frisco. From Frisco you can hop on a ferry to a place some have called “The pearl of the Outer Banks” which is Ocracoke Island.

PUBLIC LANDS

Protective dunes on Highway 12, Pea Island on the Hatteras National Seashore

Unlike some areas of the country where the beaches are all private, we can drive on ours, and through ours, and have great access points along the way.

One of the most scenic stretches of beach we encounter along the road would be the Hatteras National Seashore, it starts just south of Nags Head and goes all the way down to Cape Hatteras. This tranquil single coastal two-lane highway 12 allows you to cross over the infamous Oregon Inlet and new Marc Basnight Bridge from Bodie Island to the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Then continues down the thin stretch of sandbar between the Atlantic Ocean and sounds (this is where the Roanoke Sound, and the Croatan Sound meet the Pamlico Sound. As you drive, you will be surrounded by sand dunes, sea grasses and wildlife, and you can stop at any of the beach accesses along this route, or villages for meals, groceries, or water recreation.

CULTURE

Standup paddle boarding on the Pamlico Sound at sunset

The Outer Banks is a laid back place, where the locals enjoy a plethora of outdoor activities and a healthy lifestyle. There is a season for everything, and in and out of season there is always something fun and entertaining to do. Residents love fishing, surfing, shelling, plus kite boarding, boating, paddling, crabbing, fitness, volunteering, cheering and participating. We have those creative souls like the craftsmen and artisans amongst us, authors, actors, photographers, musicians, and at the heart of it all is a common love for these barrier islands we call home. 

This small close-knit community is made up of all walks of life, where everyone is your neighbor. If calamity comes, individuals bond together and it’s always neighbor helping neighbor.

SEAFOOD

Locally caught seafood like these delicious fried shrimp at Blue Water Grill, Manteo

It doesn’t get better than locally caught or harvested fresh North Carolina seafood. We have the best there is right here. The Outer Banks is home to the NatGeo show Wicked Tuna Outer Banks because we have incredible fishing grounds, which access to the warm gulf stream waters.

Seafood by the Season

• Crab: Apr-Oct.
• Drum: Apr-May, Sept.
• Cobia: May-Jul. Soft Shell Crab: April, May, Jun.
• Clams: All year-round
• Flounder: Jan, Feb, March. Again Oct, Nov, Dec.
• Grouper: Mar-Dec.
• Dolphin (Mahi Mahi): May-Oct.
• Oysters: Oct-Feb.
• Shrimp: Jun-Nov. (Fall shrimp is “Greentails” season!)
• Tuna: Year-round

See this Fin Calendar from Charter Boat Fin Planner.

WILDLIFE

A playful wild horse herd in Carova/Corolla area of the Outer Banks

Wild horses roam the beaches, the largest black bears in the lower 49 enjoy grazing the soy and corn fields in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge as well as endangered red wolves. Pea Island NWR is home to some of the most amazing migratory waterfowl and is known as a “Birders Paradise.” Seabirds are enjoyed by visitors galore along the sandy ebbing tide. And on rare occasion a manatee visits Colington Island, Kitty Hawk or Wanchese Harbor, plus wintering seals like the harp and harbor seal stop off to rest on our shores.

There is no shortage of wild on the Outer Banks. You can see Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins from the beach, or take a dolphin tour for some almost guaranteed sighting of these fantastic creatures in the sounds or inlets. Sea Turtles come home to nest on Outer Banks beaches, and there is a sea turtle group N.E.S.T who patrol the beach on quads looking for turtle nests, or injured turtles. The sea turtles found here are: Loggerhead, Kemp’s Ridley, Hawksbill, Leatherback, and Green turtles. Plus, terrestrial turtles found in shallow water like terrapin, sliders, stinkpots, and snapping turtles etc.

The salt marshes and maritime forests are lively with otters, raccoons, opossums, snakes, rabbits, foxes, deer, nutria, and even the rare alligator.

OWN A PIECE OF THE OBX

Find your place in the sun… on the beautiful Outer Banks of North Carolina

If you love the Outer Banks and would like to buy or build a vacation or year-round home here, just give us a call or click the link below for more information. Most of us started our journey vacationing here and then decided we wanted to make this sandbar our forever home. SAGA Realty & Construction builds stunning beach homes, investment properties and year-round residences and we can build your dream home on your site or ours!

Are you ready to build your story at the beach? Just give us a call at 252.301.3090.