National Park Service News Release

National Park Service Outer Banks Group Superintendent, Michael B. Murray has announced that the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse will open to the public for climbing from April 20, 2007 through Columbus Day, October 8, 2007.

The April 20 opening, the third Friday in April, is a change from previous years of openin

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Nags Head has been shown by early maps as a promontory of land characterized by high sand dunes that were visible from miles out at sea. The towns name of “Nags Head” is said to be founded by a land of pirates that lured ships ashore in stormy weather. Others say that English explorers carried the name across the sea as a reminder of a similar location on the English coast, and high point on the Isles of Scilly, the last sight of old England that earliers explorers were to see on their voyage to the New World. Nobody really knows for sure, but legend has it that early 18th century bandits known as Bankers realized how profitable piracy was for sea scoundrels such as Blackbeard thus for developing their own army of land based pirates. These new breed of pirates wer known in that area as Mules or Nags. They would walk the beach line at night with lanterns tied around their necks luring off shore skippers in closer to shore causing them to run aground, allowing the Bankers to take over and rob their vessels.

Nags Head actually became whats in known for today, a Plush Resort Area in the early 1830’s. Though highly developed now, Jockey’s Ridge is the last are of the giant moving sand dunes that stood tall over the beaches of Nags Head. You will now find a variety of restaurants, rental properties, shops and other activities of entertainment.

Attractions provided by wikipedia
Located in Nags Head is the largest sand dune on the East Coast, Jockey’s Ridge. The sand dune has migrated over the years from wind and erosion, and has buried a miniature golf course along the way. A castle is still visible and is a major landmark. There is also a buried hotel. The area surrounding Jockey’s Ridge is good for biking, or hiking. Jockey’s Ridge has been popular with Hang-gliders since the advent of the sport, as well as kite flyers and sand gliders. The Ridge includes an informative museum with exhibits on sand, weather, and area animals. The creatures outside are numerous and includes bird species, foxes, mice, squirels, occasional deer and friendly wild rabbits. One of the most exciting features of the Ridge is its capriciousness. Annual visitors find that lagoons can spring up, the sand can shift making for a fresh experience every time. From the top of the Ridge, the ocean as well as the sound can be seen. Jockey’s Ridge has a sound beach on the Roanoke Sound side that visitors can swim in.

As in any other beach town, the ocean and shoreline are the major attractions, providing beaches for swimming, sunbathing, and a variety of water sports. A series of historic cottages overlook the beach in sections. There are three piers, Nags Head Pier, Jeanette’s Pier, and Outer Banks Pier which are popular for fishing. To the south, is Coquina Beach, an unpopulated area that has huge, natural and clean beaches with its famous inhabitants, the coquina clam, which vary from purple to pink, and are the size of a pinky nail. Coquina Beach also holds the remnants of the Laura Barnes shipwreck, which perished in the beginning of the twentieth century. This remains are out in the open and visible.

Nags Head also has a wide variety of restaurants, most of which overlook the sound rather than the ocean.

Nags Head is often a starting base for exploring the surrounding beaches and towns. Bodie Island Lighthouse, to the south, has horizontal black and white stripes. Further south, the symbolic and charming Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is donned with black and white stripes in a diagonal “candy cane stripe” pattern and is the tallest of the lighthouses in the area. Several years ago, the whole lighthouse was moved to delay erosion. The northernly Currituck Beach Lighthouse is left in a natural state of exposed brick and is located near the scenic Whalehead Club and a romantic bridge. A huge achievement to the world, the Wright Brother’s first flight is located in Kitty Hawk, which in reality is in Kill Devil Hills. There are large monuments for each brother, model gliders, replica huts used for storing their supplies, and a center that explains the science and the history of flying in depth, with special centennial exhibits.

 Graveyard of the Atlantic is a name given to the treacherous waters in the Atlantic Ocean along the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the Virginia coastline south of the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay at Cape Henry. In this area of the ocean, the cold waters of the Labrador Current, which originates around the coast of Norway, collide with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.

The hazards of severe weather, strong currents, and navigational challenges combined to cause the loss of thousands of ships and an unknown number of human lives. More than 2,000 ships have sunk in these waters since people began keeping records in 1526.

Among the better known shipwrecks was the USS Monitor, a participant in the famous Battle of Hampton Roads during the American Civil War. The Monitor foundered and sank on December 31, 1862 off Cape Hatteras. Survivors of a much earlier shipwreck created the lost town of Wash Woods, Virginia using lumber which washed ashore. However, the extreme weather eventually claimed the town as well. This info was provided by wikipedia

Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the furthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America, making it a key point for navigation along the eastern seaboard. So many ships have been lost around it that the area is known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” . The nearby shoals are known as Diamond Shoals.

The cape is actually a bend in Hatteras Island, one of the long thin barrier islands that make up the Outer Banks. The first lighthouse at the cape was built in 1803; it was replaced by the current Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in 1870, which at 193 ft is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States.

In 1999, as the receding shoreline had came dangerously close to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the lighthouse was lifted and moved inland over a distance of 2900 feet. Its distance from the seashore is now 1500 feet, about the same as when it was originally built. Most of the 1400 ft of beach lost since the relocation of the lighthouse was due to Hurricane Isabel in 2003.

Oceanographically, it is of interest because it is a point of confluence for two opposing currents: the warm Gulf Stream moving north, and a cold Virginian current moving south. Somewhat analogous to Point Conception in Southern California, this on-the-edge placement leads to unusually diverse biological assemblages. Many species’ ranges have either a southern or northern terminus at the cape.

Cape Hatteras is also infamous for being frequently struck by hurricanes that move up the East Coast of the United States. The strike of Hurricane Isabel in 2003 was particularly devastating for the area. Isabel devastated the entire Outer Banks and also split the two small towns of Frisco and Hatteras in half. NC 12, which provides a direct route from Nags Head to Hatteras Island, was broken in half by the hurricane. This nearly demolished the small villages of Cape Hatteras. Students had to use a ferry to get to school for almost a year. Reconstruction of the area began in 2005.
this info on Cape Hatteras has been provided by wikipedia

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is not only the most Famous lighthouse in North Carolina, but it’s the tallest  lighthouse in the nation. From roughly 20 miles out to sea, the beacon from the lighthouse can be seen and has served as a warning and guide for sailors for more then 100 years. Shallow sandbars extend some 14 miles out into the ocean off of Cape Hatteras which has given the coast line the nickname Graveyard of the Atlantic.

The lighthouse is open to the public starting in early April and closes mid-October. The 268 steps to the top pays off with an Unbelievable view of the seashore both north and south as well as the sound and ocean as far as the eyes can see. Once back on the ground, you can enjoy the building structures that once held served as the quarters for the keepers of the lighthouse. One restored building serves as the visitor center and museum thanks to the  U.S. Park Service. It is open Year Round, minus Christmas Day.

All first time visitors will now get to see the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in its new location. In 1999, high water tides began to threaten the structure and round the clock crews came in to physically lift and move the lighthouse.