From the mainland, U.S. 158 crosses Albemarle Soundto the OuterBanks. Several miles down, the road passes through KillDevil Hills, where you’ll find the Wright BrothersNationalMemorial (+1 252 441 7430. Adm. fee), site of thefirst mechanically driven flight in 1903. A few miles beyond,theJockey’s Ridge State Park (+1 252 441 7132) boaststhe East Coast’s highest dune (130 feet [91.5 meters]); prevailing windsacross the dune attract hang gliders. From Jockey’s Ridge, turn east on one of the numerous side roads that connect U.S. 158 with Rte. 12, which hugs the coastline.Rte. 12 plows south past the beach houses of Nags Head to Whalebone Junction, where an Information Center has maps and brochures on Cape Hatteras National Seashore (+1 252 473 2111).After crossing the grassy marshlands of Bodie(pronounced Body) Island for about 6 miles, you reach the dunes near Coquina Beach, and, just beyond, the 1872Bodie Island Lighthouse (Visitor Center +1 252 441 5711. Mem. Day-Columbus Day).
Beyond Bodie, you cross Oregon Inlet and have a sweeping vista of the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound. On the far side of the bridge lies the 5,915-acre [2393.7-hectare] Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Located on the Atlantic flyway, it attracts more than a million migratory birds in spring and fall. It’s also one of the northernmost nesting grounds for threatened loggerhead turtles.
Here, the route is flanked by salt flats stretching into Pamlico Sound and man-made barrier dunes edging the Atlantic, stabilized bybeach grasses and sea oats. Continuing south, you pass North Pond, site of a 5-mile [8-kilometer] interpretive trail and the new Pea Island NationalWildlife Visitor Center (+1 252 987 2394. Daily April-Nov., Thurs.-Sun. rest of year). For the next 2 miles [3.2 kilo meters] or so, a wall of sandbags replaces seaside dunes flattened by a storm in 1991. Coastal processes—waves, winds, tides, currents, storms—are pushingthe islands ever westward, constantly challenging attempts to maintain permanent structures.
On Hatteras Island, you’ll pass historicChicamacomico Coast Guard Station (+1 252 987 2401. Tues., Thurs., Sat. May-Oct. and by appointment). Built in 1874 as a U.S.Life Saving Service Station, it’s now a museum displaying maritime rescue equipment and early Coast Guard memorabilia.
For the next 20 miles [32.2 kilometers] the road passes through the beach communities of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, and Avon. Pockets of coastal forest once dotted this area, but in the 1800s the trees were felled to build clipper ships. There are fine views of Pamlico Sound along this stretch.Covering more than 1,800 square miles [2896.8 square kilometers], Pamlico ranks as the largest soundon the EastCoast, and the steady winds here draw hundreds ofwindsurfers.
