Since the first English settlers established the colony of Roanoke, visitors have been getting lost in the beauty and serenity of North Carolina. With the mysterious disappearance of the inhabitants of Roanoke Island and the frequent obliteration of ships, the area north of Cape Fear River, today North Carolina, was considered dangerous; its Anglican inhabitants, suspect.
Today, the danger of North Carolina is that visitors may not want to leave their vacation retreat. And while the whereabouts of the original inhabitants of Roanoke Island, now part of the Outer Banks, remain perplexingly unknown, both locals and visitors find the mystery more intriguing than frightening. In fact, an outdoor play about the history of the island, “The Lost Colony,” has been playing since 1937. Today Roanoke Island is even home to the Outer Banks Welcome Center.
Generally speaking, life in the OBX, as residents call it, is focused on simplicity. Vacationers tend to opt for wooden-framed houses and villas rather than much-amenitied hotels and resorts.
Getting Around the Outer Banks
This chain of islands is separated into three main areas—the North Beaches, Roanoke Island and Hatteras Island—that offer 130 miles of windswept coastline and dozens of towns with bed & breakfasts, hotels, private cottages and campgrounds. The area has managed to ditch its former—alas, well-deserved—designation as the “graveyard of the Atlantic.” That’s fortunate for the Wright Brothers, who finally managed to get their joint project off the ground here at Kitty Hawk. Some of that old black magic still lingers in names like Kill Devil Hills, the largest town in the Outer Banks with a population of close to 6,000.
The Outer Banks has four full seasons. It also tends to be windy throughout the year (perfect for trying to get obstinate flying machines airborne) and is therefore a windsurfer’s paradise. In fact, it’s the primary destination for windsurfing on the East Coast, and the preponderance of shipwrecks in its past also makes it an ideal spot for diving. All of the typical seaside water sports are available here, and there’s also horseback riding, tennis and the ever-important golf.
Attractions in the Outer Banks
But the Outer Banks are mainly about reveling in the natural surroundings. Birding is especially good here (Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge alone boats a minimum of 200 species of birds), and the country’s first national seashore (Cape Hatteras), the East Coast’s highest sand dune (at Jockey’s Ridge State Park), one of the oldest functioning lighthouses in the United States (Ocracoke Lighthouse, built in 1868) and, at 208 feet, the country’s tallest brick beacon, the “Big Barber Pole” at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, are just a few of the attractions.
And while John White understandably had no desire to stay on Roanoke Island once he returned to find his countrymen vanished, he’s probably the last visitor to the Outer Banks who’s ever felt that way.
Sara Churchville - I’m a freelance writer and editor and sort-of recent transplant to Park Slope, Brooklyn (2 years and counting). My interests ...
