Cape Hatteras National Seashore is a 72-mile stretch of the Outer Banks from Nags Head to Ocracoke Island. The waters off these barrier islands, once marauded by Black Beard the Pirate now serve as an outdoor adventure paradise where the fun is powered by the sun, sea, and wind. Surfers, surf casters, body surfers, wind surfers, kite boarders, hang glider pilots, all migrate to the Outer Banks like waterfowl along the eastern flyway. The seashore boasts miles of white beaches for the beachcomber, sunbather, and wader. Further inland, hikers can explore nature trails that meander through sand dunes, marshes, and woodlands.

If you've been to the seashore before, you might notice that they moved the 205-foot Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. In 1999, the nation's tallest brick lighthouse (208 feet) was moved 2,900 feet along metal rails in an astonishing feat of civil engineering. The black and white tower, built in 1870, was moved to prevent it from falling into the Atlantic.

Although Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci set foot on the seashore as early as the 16th Century, it wasn't until 1953 that Cape Hatteras became the nation's first National Seashore.

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