There are many child and family-oriented things to do in Hatteras. The island is one of North Carolina’s most family-friendly beaches. Families can explore nature to their heart’s content and enjoy plenty of attractions and activities as well. The thing many families love about Hatteras Island is that it’s a throwback to a simpler time, making this a great place to teach children about simple pleasures and the quiet life.
Featured for Your Visit
Child & Family Oriented in Hatteras
58848 Hatteras Landing, Hatteras Landing, Hatteras
39432 N.C. Highway 12, Island Shops, Avon
24502 N.C. Highway 12, Waves Village, Rodanthe
794 Sunset Boulevard, TimBuck II Shopping Village, Corolla
819 Ocean Trail, Monterey Plaza, Corolla
1216 Duck Road, Wee Winks Square, Duck
3933 S. Croatan Highway, The Bypass, MP 12.5, Jockey's Ridge Crossing, Nags Head
307 Queen Elizabeth Avenue, Manteo
7517 S. Virginia Dare Trail, Whalebone Watersports Center, Nags Head
Kitty Hawk Kites has been teaching the world to fly since 1974. With 10 retail locations from Corolla to Ocracoke, Kitty Hawk Kites boasts an impressive selection of kites, flags and spinners, toys, apparel, gifts and games on the Outer Banks. Kitty Hawk Kites specializes in kites, from the single-lines for kids to high-tech stunt varieties. The stores also sell fun outdoor goodies such as flags, toys, boomerangs and games. You’ll find a wide selection of Outer Banks gear, beach sportswear and footwear from Crocs, Chaco, Hey Dude, Southern Fried and Life is Good apparel, t-shirts, sweatshirts, outdoor clothing, sunglasses and more. Kitty Hawk Kites also offers a number of adventure activities including hang gliding, kayak and SUP tours, lessons and rentals, parasailing, Jet Skis, dolphin tours, wild horse tours, historic tours and much more. The brand-new Whalebone Watersports Center on the Nags Head Causeway offers kayak fishing, Jet Skis, pontoon boat rentals and more. At Kitty Hawk Kites' Waves Village Watersports in Rodanthe, you can learn kiteboarding; buy and rent kiteboarding gear; rent a kayak, surfboard or standup paddleboard or climb the adventure tower/ropes course. Kitty Hawk Kites Hang Gliding School at Jockey's Ridge in Nags Head offers private lessons, beginner lessons, advanced lessons and training packages for hang gliding, as well as retail merchandise and sand boards available for rent.
Kitty Hawk Kites has been teaching the world to fly since 1974. With 10 retail locations from Corolla to Ocracoke, Kitty Hawk Kites boasts an impressive selection of kites, flags and spinners, toys, apparel, gifts and games on the Outer Banks. Kitty Hawk Kites specializes in kites, from the single-lines for kids to high-tech stunt varieties. The stores also sell fun outdoor goodies such as...read more
Kitty Hawk Kites has been teaching the world to fly since 1974. With 10 retail...read more
Child & Family Oriented in Hatteras
23645 N.C. Highway 12, Rodanthe
The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station is the nation’s largest and most complete existing example of the life-saving stations that were built along the Atlantic coast in the late 19th century to attend to shipwrecks and to rescue survivors. The 1874 Station was the first operational U.S. Life-Saving Service station built in North Carolina, serving until 1954. Chicamacomico has been partially restored, thanks to numerous volunteers who formed a nonprofit organization to save it, and it is now a fine museum and historic site; all structures are original buildings.
On a visit here you’ll see the 1874 Station, the 1911 Station, two cookhouses, water tanks and a cistern, a stable, a tractor shed, the smaller boathouse and a village home built in 1907. In the museum, you’ll learn about the U.S. Life-Saving Service Station and some of the rescues that occurred here. Artifacts, uniforms, rescue equipment, displays, video presentations and self-guided tours help complete your knowledge of place and history. These stations have many stories to tell. Life-Saving crews at Chicamacomico performed many daring rescues, including one of the greatest rescues of WWI, that of the British tanker Mirlo in 1918. When the Mirlo was sunk by the German submarine U-117, Chicamacomico’s crew rescued 42 of 51 British sailors. The gift shop is full of unique nautical items and works by local craftspeople plus books and old-fashioned toys.
The historic breeches buoy demonstration is held every Thursday at 2 p.m. from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The 100th anniversary of the Mirlo rescue was commemorated on August 16, 2018, with a centennial event.
Check their website for special program information, admission fees and hours of operation and to see what is happening on any given day. Chicamacomico is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit raising all of its own funds; it has no federal, state or other budget.
The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station is the nation’s largest and most complete existing example of the life-saving stations that were built along the Atlantic coast in the late 19th century to attend to shipwrecks and to rescue survivors. The 1874 Station was the first operational U.S. Life-Saving Service station built in North Carolina, serving until 1954. Chicamacomico has been partially restored, thanks to numerous volunteers who...read more
The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station is the nation’s largest and most complete existing example of the...read more
Child & Family Oriented in Hatteras
58848 Hatteras Landing, Hatteras Landing, Hatteras
39432 N.C. Highway 12, Island Shops, Avon
24502 N.C. Highway 12, Waves Village, Rodanthe
794 Sunset Boulevard, TimBuck II Shopping Village, Corolla
819 Ocean Trail, Monterey Plaza, Corolla
1216 Duck Road, Wee Winks Square, Duck
3933 S. Croatan Highway, The Bypass, MP 12.5, Jockey's Ridge Crossing, Nags Head
307 Queen Elizabeth Avenue, Manteo
7517 S. Virginia Dare Trail, Whalebone Watersports Center, Nags Head
Kitty Hawk Kites has been teaching the world to fly since 1974. With 10 retail locations from Corolla to Ocracoke, Kitty Hawk Kites boasts an impressive selection of kites, flags and spinners, toys, apparel, gifts and games on the Outer Banks. Kitty Hawk Kites specializes in kites, from the single-lines for kids to high-tech stunt varieties. The stores also sell fun outdoor goodies such as flags, toys, boomerangs and games. You’ll find a wide selection of Outer Banks gear, beach sportswear and footwear from Crocs, Chaco, Hey Dude, Southern Fried and Life is Good apparel, t-shirts, sweatshirts, outdoor clothing, sunglasses and more. Kitty Hawk Kites also offers a number of adventure activities including hang gliding, kayak and SUP tours, lessons and rentals, parasailing, Jet Skis, dolphin tours, wild horse tours, historic tours and much more. The brand-new Whalebone Watersports Center on the Nags Head Causeway offers kayak fishing, Jet Skis, pontoon boat rentals and more. At Kitty Hawk Kites' Waves Village Watersports in Rodanthe, you can learn kiteboarding; buy and rent kiteboarding gear; rent a kayak, surfboard or standup paddleboard or climb the adventure tower/ropes course. Kitty Hawk Kites Hang Gliding School at Jockey's Ridge in Nags Head offers private lessons, beginner lessons, advanced lessons and training packages for hang gliding, as well as retail merchandise and sand boards available for rent.
Kitty Hawk Kites has been teaching the world to fly since 1974. With 10 retail locations from Corolla to Ocracoke, Kitty Hawk Kites boasts an impressive selection of kites, flags and spinners, toys, apparel, gifts and games on the Outer Banks. Kitty Hawk Kites specializes in kites, from the single-lines for kids to high-tech stunt varieties. The stores also sell fun outdoor goodies such as...read more
Kitty Hawk Kites has been teaching the world to fly since 1974. With 10 retail...read more
8770 Oregon Inlet Road, off N.C. Highway 12, Nags Head
It's all about making fishing memories at this legendary Outer Banks marina. A fleet of 48 boats offers a variety of fishing excursions at Oregon Inlet Fishing Center year round (weather permitting). Nearshore, inshore vessels offer half-day or full-day trips, while the headboat offers a choice of morning or afternoon inlet/sound fishing. Offshore vessels travel to the Gulf Stream, where anglers enjoy a full day on the water. Make-up charters are available if you don't have a full party. Anglers go for a variety of species, depending on the season, including billfish, tuna, mahi mahi, wahoo, Spanish mackerel, flounder, drum, bluefish, cobia and more. Anglers aboard charters do not need to purchase fishing licenses, and all tackle and bait are provided. The newest boat at Oregon Inlet Fishing Center is The Safari, a dolphin watching inlet/sound tour offering cruises daily! Even if you're not fishing or going out on the water, watching the boats come in with their catches is fine entertainment. Come to the docks between 3 and 5 p.m. and you'll see the day's catches being unloaded. Be sure to check out the world-record blue marlin replica mount (caught in 1974) displayed in an outdoor case, and take a photo of your group in front of a record-setting 805-pound bluefin tuna replica mount caught in 2011.
You can fuel up your boat here and also purchase food and drinks for your trip at the recently renovated and freshly updated on-site marina store, which carries a wide selection of fishing and boating gear, hardware, sunglasses, apparel and footwear, souvenirs and camping supplies. Check out their online store too. An air pump for inflating your tires, a public boat ramp (courtesy of National Park Service), clean restrooms and ample parking are also available. The boat ramp offers five launching lanes, courtesy docks and about 75 parking spaces for vehicles with trailers. You'll find it 8 miles south of Whalebone Junction in Nags Head.
It's all about making fishing memories at this legendary Outer Banks marina. A fleet of 48 boats offers a variety of fishing excursions at Oregon Inlet Fishing Center year round (weather permitting). Nearshore, inshore vessels offer half-day or full-day trips, while the headboat offers a choice of morning or afternoon inlet/sound fishing. Offshore vessels travel to the Gulf Stream, where anglers enjoy a full day on...read more
It's all about making fishing memories at this legendary Outer Banks marina. A fleet of...read more
Child & Family Oriented in Hatteras
This playground in Avon provides a castle-style climbing area and shaded picnic tables. read more
Child & Family Oriented in Hatteras
Hatteras Village is the offshore fishing capital of the Outer Banks. Big-game marlin fishing began here in the 1930s. To see a blue marlin (one that's been mounted and preserved), go over to the Hatteras Village Library and Community Center. On the outside wall, encased in a glass box, is a world-record, 810-pound blue marlin that was caught on June 11, 1962, off Hatteras Island....read more
Child & Family Oriented in Hatteras
Near the lighthouse on the National Park Service grounds is a 3/4-mile trail through the maritime forest of Buxton Woods. From N.C. Highway 12, turn onto Lighthouse Road and continue around the curve to the right past the lighthouse. The trailhead is on the right at the picnic area. A pine needle-covered path leads back into the forest. Along the way there are informational signs...read more
Child & Family Oriented in Hatteras
Buxton Woods is one of the largest remaining maritime forests in the Southeast. It consists of pine- and oak-covered dune ridges interspersed with maritime swamp forest and unique marshy wetlands known locally as sedges. It’s a very rare global ecosystem, and most visitors don’t even realize it exists. The North Carolina Coastal Reserve, a program of the N.C. Division of Coastal Management, maintains more than 1,000...read more
Child & Family Oriented in Hatteras
If one thing represents all of Hatteras Island, it has to be the famous black-and-white, spiral-striped Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The lighthouse has become the icon of the island, representing the hopeful, stalwart, survivalist attitude that is so pervasive among the people of Hatteras. This is one of the most famous lighthouses in the nation, especially since it survived a controversial, precarious move in 1999. The...read more
Child & Family Oriented in Nags Head
The first national seashore in the country, Cape Hatteras National Seashore stretches more than 70 miles along parts of three islands: Bodie Island (just south of Nags Head), Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. It is a place for recreation, immersion in nature and inspiration for humans as well as a safe haven for a variety of wildlife. The beautiful barrier island environment is a place...read more
Child & Family Oriented in Hatteras
Hatteras Island's first escape room is new in the village of Frisco. The owners say their escape room is more than a challenge. They begin stories, and it's up to you to finish them using your intelligence, team cooperation, creativity and problem-solving skills. One of the stories/challenges is based on the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. This is a great activity for ages 5 and older, and...read more
Child & Family Oriented in Hatteras
The Dare County-run Fessenden Center has a fitness center, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, a playground, a skate park and tennis courts. Tennis courts are available on a first-come, first-served basis during daylight hours. The Fessenden Center's concrete skate park is a gem for local skaters; it's open from sun up to sundown, and protective gear is required. The center offers fitness classes five days a week,...read more
Child & Family Oriented in Hatteras
For a day of good fun, head 6 miles south of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse to this Frisco recreational facility. The mini-golf course has 18 holes in a natural setting with waterfalls and fish ponds. There are two go-kart tracks, a fast track and a family track. Go-kart drivers must be 58 inches tall, but little kids can ride with a parent for free. Bumper cars...read more
