Before you head onto the sands, though, you’ll need to obtain a beach-driving permit online. You can bring your own four-wheel-drive vehicle or rent one from a local business that outfits cars specifically for beach driving. The Outer Banks are one of the few spots on the East Coast that allow driving on the beach. A fun way to explore the collections is through the museum’s scavenger hunt. This small, free museum features exhibits on the maritime history of the Outer Banks, displaying artifacts rescued from pirate ships as well as World War II-era German submarines. There are well over 2,000 shipwrecks off the coast of North Carolina, and the Hatteras Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum honors their memory. Hatteras Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum Before visiting, you may want to check its website to see if the John White Butterfly Center is hosting workshops (seed saving, floral arrangement) that day.

You can spend several hours strolling along the paths that traverse this 10-acre sculpture garden. Located within the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on Roanoke Island, the Elizabethan Gardens inspires delight in every season, whether you’re basking in the aroma of winter jasmine in January or admiring the profusion of hydrangeas in June.

Climb up the East Coast’s highest sand dune in Jockey’s Ridge State Park to watch the sunset from its apex. As part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the Outer Banks offers 75 miles of protected Atlantic coastline, with plenty of trails for hikers and bikers. Many people come to the Outer Banks simply to lounge on the beach, but there are plenty of opportunities for exploring the wilderness in a more active way. The Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk preserves the spot where Orville and Wilbur Wright succeeded at sending up the first powered flight in 1903. Nags Head, founded in the 19th century, boasts galleries as well as great fishing spots from its wooden piers. Nearby Buxton is known for great surfing and windsurfing, as well as America's tallest brick lighthouse, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Hatteras, for example, traces its seafaring heritage in the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. The Outer Banks, a popular vacation spot off of the coast of North Carolina, isn’t just made up of many barrier islands but many charming towns, each with a distinctive personality.

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