Just about everything on Hatteras Island is nature and outdoor-oriented. The natural beauty of the island just beckons people outside, and almost everything on the island is an accessory to the outdoorsy lifestyle. If you want to find things to do in Hatteras nature, you’ll have opportunities at every turn.
Featured for Your Visit
Nature & Outdoor 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
Nature & Outdoor 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
Nature & Outdoor Oriented in Hatteras
57698 N.C. Highway 12, Hatteras village
In the heart of Hatteras village, Slash Creek Outfitters strives to make your Hatteras vacation the best one yet. This is the place to rent a four-person or six-person golf cart for tooling around the village, bikes of all sizes (kids and adults), kayaks for exploring the Slash Creek or the Pamlico Sound, beach chairs for relaxing and more! All of their vacation rental items, including beach gear and even beach wheelchairs, can be booked online. Have your rental items delivered to your beach house (for free) or stop by to pick them up and grab a vacation keepsake in their specialty curated, ever-expanding retail shop. Slash Creek Outfitters also offers the ever-popular sunset kayak and eco-tours.
In the heart of Hatteras village, Slash Creek Outfitters strives to make your Hatteras vacation the best one yet. This is the place to rent a four-person or six-person golf cart for tooling around the village, bikes of all sizes (kids and adults), kayaks for exploring the Slash Creek or the Pamlico Sound, beach chairs for relaxing and more! All of their vacation rental items, including...read more
In the heart of Hatteras village, Slash Creek Outfitters strives to make your Hatteras vacation...read more
Nature & Outdoor Oriented in Hatteras
Stretching about 600 feet into the Atlantic Ocean, Avon Fishing Pier opened its doors in 1963 and was the final pier to be built on Hatteras Island. It’s now part of the Koru Village campus of activities. With its excellent fishing, unbeatable surf and breathtaking scenery, Avon Pier remains one of Cape Hatteras' most frequented locations. Each year thousands of families come to the pier to...read more
Nature & Outdoor Oriented in Hatteras
This playground in Avon provides a castle-style climbing area and shaded picnic tables. read more
Nature & Outdoor Oriented in Hatteras
Bermuda Triangle OBX is a certified dive center on Hatteras Island, as close as you can get to the wrecks of the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Their scuba shop, located inside Frank and Fran's Tackle Shop, offers gear for sale as well as scuba gear rentals. Their specialty is scuba certifications and refresher courses, including open water certifications, rescue diver certifications, kayak diving certification and...read more
Nature & Outdoor 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
Nature & Outdoor 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
Nature & Outdoor 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
Nature & Outdoor 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
Nature & Outdoor Oriented in Hatteras
If you’ve ever dreamed of galloping along a pristine Hatteras shoreline on the back of a magnificent horse, check out Equine Adventures. Equine Adventures offers two-hour guided horseback tours through the scenic trails of the N.C. Coastal Reserve and maritime forest to the beaches of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. All levels of riders are accommodated, but children younger than 10 are not accepted. Rides...read more
Nature & Outdoor Oriented in Hatteras
The Native American history of Hatteras Island and the Native American culture of our nation are preserved at this must-see museum in Frisco. The building, with one section dating back to 1880, is much larger than it appears from the outside and includes a nationally recognized collection of artifacts, exhibits and natural history displays. Galleries filled with native art, pottery, weavings, baskets, weaponry, jewelry, stone work and...read more
Nature & Outdoor Oriented in Hatteras
At the end of N.C. Highway 12 just past the ferry docks, Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum attracts attention with its composite of ship shapes, porthole windows and curved timbers. One of three North Carolina Maritime Museums operated by the North Carolina Division of Natural and Cultural Resources, the museum focuses on the maritime history and culture of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The Outer Banks’ stretch of sea is...read more
