The Outer Banks is rich with history! A coastline scattered with numerous shipwrecks, the mystery of wild Spanish Mustang that roam the shorelines of Carova to the North, and to the South Roanoke Island where the first English child was born in the New World and the first colony in America vanished, leaving little clues behind.
Centuries of discovery and perseverance leave tales of piracy, the invention of modern aviation, and legends of perished sailors, passengers, civil war soldiers, and pirates, who are said to haunt shorelines, lighthouses, and other venues throughout the area. If you want to learn more about the history of the Outer Banks, here are some options that are sure to keep our inner historians entertained and intrigued.
- The Lost Colony Roanoke Island Festival Park - get a history lesson while experiencing this award-winning outdoor theatrical immersive production that is unlike any other!
- Adventure Museum on Roanoke Island - discover 400 years of Outer Banks history in the interactive Roanoke Adventure Museum.
- Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum - further south in Hatteras this maritime museum is undergoing renovations and is set to reopen in late 2023.
- Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station - on your way to Hatteras, stop by and learn about the members of the US Life Saving Services who risked their lives to rescue travelers in peril along the North Carolina coastline.
- Elizabethan Gardens - a joyous experience for all who love nature and history. Open year-round one can come experience this living memorial to Queen Elizabeth I and built upon the grounds where the lost colonists lived centuries ago.
- Corolla Whalehead Club - in the northern area of the Outer Banks, visitors can imagine a time when wealthy hunters and conservationists retreated to the seclusion of the Outer Banks.
- Wild Colonial Spanish Mustang - venture into Carova Beach where the only access to the area is either by boat, or the beach. Several Wild Horse tours can take you on an unforgettable journey along the shore and over the dunes into the 4x4 area where horses can be found grazing along sandy unpaved roads and properties of adventurous homeowners who strive to keep the area hospitable to the animals and true natives of the land they inhabit. Learn about the herds, where they came from, and the extensive efforts made to keep them safe and flourishing.
- Wright Brother's National Memorial - visit the site where two brothers from Ohio made history when they chose to test their new powered aircraft invention on a tall sand dune named Kill Devil Hill in the area of Kitty Hawk.
- Jockey's Ridge State Park - when traveling southward, the tallest living sand dune on the Atlantic coast can't be missed boasting over 400 acres of natural wonder. There are several ways to enjoy the park, a popular spot for kite flying, hang gliding, hiking, picnics, and sunset watching! Saved back in 1973 by a brave woman who prevented the dunes from becoming a building site for condominiums. The park is now protected as one of the North Carolina State Parks.
- Lighthouses - visit all five lighthouses from Corolla down to Ocracoke Island and learn the tales of each unique structure, and their history, including how one was relocated and another rebuilt after its destruction during the Civil War.