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Hatteras! A magic word with many meanings.
To most people Hatteras means a remote and secluded island.

To others it means fishing, the very best fishing anywhere, from the surf or from a charter boat out in the warm Gulf Stream waters. To most people who know Hatteras Island, it means warm and wonderful vacations, family time, sun and sand, and more than 60 miles of ocean beach protected forever as the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

One of the most surprising facts about Hatteras Island is that 80 percent of the island is preserved for you, and withheld from the possibility of man-made developments, by the National Park Service. Even the beach in front of your oceanfront cottage is part of the protected National Seashore. Most of the wildlife area and the marshlands of the soundside are protected as well.

When you approach Hatteras Island from the north, over the big sweeping bridge across Oregon Inlet, you'll drive almost 25 miles through a wildlife refuge before you see the first signs of civilization. This is a haven for almost 300 different species of birds and a resting place for migratory waterfowl. Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge consists of more than 33,000 acres of water, marshland and ocean beach.

In the wildlife refuge you'll find ducks of all kinds, snow geese, Canadian geese and whistling swans. As you examine the marsh closely, you'll spot ospreys, great and little blue herons, loons and hawks as well as the gulls, terns and many other species of shorebirds that feed off the marshland and shore.

Moving south from the refuge you'll come to the tri-villages of Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo. These were originally an Indian village, called Chicamacomico until 1874, when the first post office was established and the first Life Saving Station was built here. It has been restored and has turned to use as a museum of Life Saving Service history, relics, and equipment, and is well worth visiting. The tri-villages also have an oceanfront fishing pier.

Further south, you'll discover Avon. It has a shopping center, several restaurants, and the island's most famous ocean fishing pier. The village of Avon, until 1883, was called Kinnakeet.

Now, on to Hatteras' Cape and Diamond Shoals! Hatteras Light, recently moved for its own preservation, has been the "Guardian of the Atlantic", since 1870. The light is 208 feet tall, the tallest in North America, and 268 steps must be climbed to reach its 250,000-candlepower beacon. Its light can be seen easily from 20 miles away and has been seen from 50 miles distant. Off this cape are the treacherous Diamond Shoals, dreaded for centuries by mariners from the world over. Their location marks the junction of the warm Gulf Stream flowing from the south and the colder waters of the north. Many a captain has lost his ship, his crew, and his life on these turbulent shoals. Today, these shoals are marked by an unmanned automated light tower, located offshore on the shoal. A Museum of the Sea is here at the site of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. Operated by the National Park Service, it will give you a good idea of why this part of the country is often called "The Graveyard of the Atlantic".

Buxton and Frisco are villages near the Cape. In Buxton, much of which is densely wooded, you'll find tall pines and semitropical vegetation, indications of our closeness to the warm tropical waters from the south. Near Frisco, stands the last of the island's three fishing piers. Frisco is also the home of Hatteras Island's only golf course.

A few miles further on, close to the very tip of Hatteras Island, is the village of Hatteras, one of the largest communities on the island. This is the commercial and sports-fishing center. A large fleet of charter boats operates from the village docks to take you to the nearby Gulf Stream waters for exciting deep sea fishing for the famous blue marlin, white marlin, dolphin, sailfish, wahoo, tuna and others.

When you've traveled this far south on Hatteras Island you'll find, at the very tip, a free ferry boat ride waiting for you and your family. It's the ferry to the unusual little island of Ocracoke! Ocracoke is where Blackbeard, the infamous pirate, buried some of his golden plunder and where, for him, Alas! He was finally captured in 1718. Take a day to see Ocracoke and to see the remaining wild ponies, which have lived on this island as long as man can remember, doubtless cast ashore from a shipwreck so long ago that history fails to trace their origin. TOP

Our mild climate will surprise you!
The extremely warm waters of the Gulf Stream swing around Cape Hatteras from the South and bring warm weather to Hatteras Island most of the year. The Gulf Stream currents are only 12 miles off our coast, and the result is daily temperatures like these averages for a 30-year period:

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Ferry Schedules

Hatteras Inlet Free Ferry
Crossing time approx. 40 minutes
Capacity: 30 Cars

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Cedar Island - Ocracoke Toll Ferry
Crossing time approx. 2 1/4 hours
Capacity: 50 Cars

Reservations Recommended
For departures from Cedar Island call:(800) 856-0343
For departures from Ocracoke call: (800) 345-1665

Ocracoke - Swan Quarter Toll Ferry
Crossing time approx. 2 1/2 hours
Capacity: 28 Cars

Reservations Recommended
For departures from Swan Quarter call:
(252) 926-1111
For departures from Ocracoke call: (252) 928-3841

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Fishing Schedule