The Sun

Outer Banks

Wilbur & Orville Wright Memorial

Forget Kitty Hawk. The Wright Brothers’ first successful flights happened on Dec. 17, 1903, from atop a sand dune in Kill Devil Hills. The site is commemorated with a 60-foot monument, plaques marking the takeoff and landing spots, and a visitors center exhibiting reproductions of the 1903 flier. Milepost 7.5 on U.S. Highway 158, Kill Devil Hills, 252-473-2111, nps.gov/wrbr/ (Outer Banks Visitors Bureau / Handout photo)

by Stephanie Citron

Beaches

outerbanks.org/outerbanks-find-a-beach

Essentially, North Carolina’s Outer Banks (OBX) is a sandbar — windswept barrier islands with an ever-changing landscape due to variable tidal surges and wind currents. Northern beaches Corolla, Duck, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head front charming, activity-filled towns, while Avon, Rodanthe, Hatteras Island and Ocracoke are positively serene.

Historic lighthouses

1401 National Park Drive, Buxton, and 8210 Bodie Island Lighthouse Road, Nags Head. nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/lighthouseclimbs.htm

Older kids love the Full Moon tour to the top of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the tallest in North America, “It’s like climbing a 12-story building,” says the National Park Service’s Mary Doll. Slightly simpler is Nags Head’s 214-step Bodie Island Lighthouse.

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site

1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, 252-473-2111, nps.gov/fora/index.htm

Budding archaeologists and history buffs may be baffled to discover that before Jamestown and Plymouth, America’s first English colony began here, in 1585. Then it vanished, a mystery still unsolved today. Maybe you can solve it; come study the artifacts, interactive exhibits and maps, on display for the first time.

The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama

1409 National Park Drove, Manteo, 252-473-2127, thelostcolony.org

The action-packed, symphonic story about the disappearance of America’s first English settlers is presented nightly on stages surrounding audience members. Notes CEO Bill Coleman: “We have a six-time Tony Award-winning costume director, and sets come from illustrations created by a descendant of one of the settlers.”

Outer Banks Scenic Byway

Highway 12 from Kill Devil Hills to Ocracoke, outerbanksbyway.com

A 142-mile drive-of-a-lifetime, this takes scenery-lovers through coastal landscapes hosting towering sand dunes, wild horses, historic lighthouses, two ferry rides and indigenous bird, marine and plant life. Coastal villages are populated by “Hoi-Toiders,” (High Tiders, in their dialect), and cafes serving fresh seafood prepared with longstanding regional recipes.

North Carolina Maritime Museum

Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, 59200 Museum Drive, Hatteras; Beaufort Maritime Museum, 315 Front St., Beaufort; Southport Maritime Museum, 204 E. Moore St., Southport, ncmaritimemuseums.com

“Shipwrecks, pirates, boat building, war and archaeology … it takes three museums to depict OBX culture,” says Maritime Museum’s David Cartier. Hatteras’ Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum explores maritime carnage under the sea, Beaufort’s Maritime Museum exhibits the culture of coastal life, and Southport’s Museum is about the evolution of Cape Fear.

Jockey Point State Park

Carolista Drive, Nags Head, 252-441-7132, jockeysridgestatepark.com/info.html

Home to the highest sand dunes on the East Coast, Jockey Point draws outdoorsy types to dune trek, sandboard and hang-glide. Don’t miss some of the native wildlife: the six-lined racerunner (the fastest lizard in North America), the hognose snake, luna moths and a host of indigenous and migrating birds.

Wright Brothers National Memorial

Milepost 7.5 on U.S. Highway 158, Kill Devil Hills, 252-473-2111, nps.gov/wrbr/

Forget Kitty Hawk. The Wright Brothers’ first successful flights happened on Dec. 17, 1903, from atop a sand dune in Kill Devil Hills. The site is commemorated with a 60-foot monument, plaques marking the takeoff and landing spots, and a visitors center exhibiting reproductions of the 1903 flier.

Kitty Hawk Kites

Locations throughout OBX. Flagship store: 3925 S. Croatan Highway, Nags Head, 252-449-2210, kittyhawk.com

Cowabunga, extreme adventure-mongers! This outfit is renowned as one of the world’s premiere hang-gliding schools. “There’s nothing like gliding off a dune in a reproduction 1902 Wright Brothers Glider,” says KHK’s Jeff Schwartzenberg, “Or spend a week at our kite-boarding resort.” They also teach parasailing, surfing, paddleboarding and waterskiing.

Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historic Site and Museum

23645 N.C. Highway 12, Rodanthe, 252-987-1552, chicamacomico.net

A museum honoring the rescue workers of Hatteras Island’s life-saving stations, dedicated to saving vessels in distress. Exhibits include rescue vehicles and equipment, the original 1874 station and a viewing tower, accessible to those willing to brave the vertical climb on a wall-mounted ladder.

Copyright © 2016, The Baltimore Sun

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Copyright @ 2016, The Baltimore Sun