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National Seashore · North Carolina

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Cape Hatteras National Seashore is run by the National Park Service.

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Cape Hatteras National Seashore in pictures

Illustrative photos, not current conditions
A beach landscape with the black and white spiraled lighthouse in the background
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Photo: NPS Photo · public domain · resized

What the National Park Service says

“The sound of ocean waves, the starry night sky, or the calm of the salt marshes, you can experience it all.”
Visit official site ↗

When to go

When to go, as the official page puts it
  • Season“the majority of nesting occurring from May through September”

Before you go

Check before you go: Bodie Island Visitor Center closed since a January 2025 fire; the Bodie Island Lighthouse is open for climbing.

MoreBodie Island Visitor Center: The building is closed due to a January 2025 structure fire, but rangers are on site to assist visitors, and the lighthouse is open for climbing.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the map

With the places listed under Around Cape Hatteras National Seashore
  • Pin color, each place's season now or next:
  • Fall
  • Winter

Other places to visit

Places on this map (5)
Map: approximate positions; state lines US Census.

Around Cape Hatteras National Seashore

In season first, then nearest; straight-line miles
  • A big flock of swans on the lake, many taking off in splashes, golden reeds behind

    Mattamuskeet Refuge

    Tundra swans, geese and ducks in North Carolina

    43 mi away

    Usual peak: November through February

  • Shrubby pocosin wetland with pine trees

    Pocosin Lakes Refuge

    Tundra swans and snow geese in North Carolina

    56 mi away

    Season: November to February

  • Many white swans and a few dark ducks on calm water in front of tan reeds and low trees

    Back Bay Refuge

    Tundra swans and winter ducks in Virginia

    62 mi away

    Season: During the winter months

  • Great Dismal Swamp Refuge

    Fall color in Virginia

    74 mi away

    Usual peak: Late October

Other places to visit: Fort Monroe National Monument 92 mi · Cape Lookout National Seashore 95 mi

How we know

Every fact on this page, from these pages