Featured Outer Banks Towns: Hatteras Island

Find Peace and Tranquility
Hatteras Island is the most remote location on the islands of the Outer Banks. It's a beautiful fishing town brimming with history and nature.

The islands that make up the seashore have been home to Native Americans, farmers, watermen, enslaved people, lighthouse keepers, surfmen, and many others who continue to shape the heritage of the area. The people have witnessed events that include hurricanes, the death of Blackbeard the pirate, Civil War battles, the construction of the grand lighthouses, the birth of the USCG in the lifesaving stations, and hundreds of shipwrecks.

What to Do and Where to Go?
We've put together our Top 10 List of must see and dos when on Hatteras Island.

Omelets, muffins, French toast, breakfast platters, hand-tossed traditional pizzas, calzones, subs, salads, wraps, appetizers, Italian dinners. Beer and wine. Open Easter to late October. Celebrating over 25 years.

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Watermen's Bar & Grill serves delicious, freshly prepared food, plus the best coffee, beers and mixed drinks on the Outer Banks. Don't miss Watermen's exclusive RUM BAR with rums and rum drinks from around the world. Daily food and drink specials, live music on the waterfront stage, incredible kiteboarding action and breathtaking sunsets over the Pamlico Sound are only a few reasons why Watermen’s Bar & Grill is a “must see” on your next Cape Hatteras vacation!

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This small shop and eatery features a wealth of goodies to explore, from one of the largest beer and wine selections on northern Hatteras Island to a collection of gourmet sandwiches, burgers, and other fresh fare to go, making it a one-stop shop for visitors with exceptional taste. Waves Market & Deli has an extensive menu for to-go food, which includes a large assortment of hot and cold sandwiches, burritos, burgers, and vegetarian options.

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Pangea Tavern is a fun family owned and operated restaurant on the Koru Village Kampus. At Pangea Tavern, they bring all of the elements together. They invite you to taste their artfully created international and local cuisine in a lively and eclectic atmosphere. Their amazing staff is excited to serve you and your group with friendly southern hospitality and warm smiles.

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Saddle up to a huge burger or a hearty sandwich with a visit to Hatteras Island’s Bros Sandwich Shack. Located in the central town of Avon, this casual burger joint has a polished atmosphere and plenty of filling fare to satisfy any burger or sandwich craving.

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Buxton Munch has been rockin’ Hatteras Island lunches since 1999. They serve big portions of good eats at great prices. The fish tacos, shrimp tacos and crab cakes are stand outs, and there are also gourmet salads, munchies, quesadillas, wraps, sandwiches, subs, Angus burgers, seafood and excellent vegetarian fare. They serve coffee, sweet and unsweet tea, beer, wine and hard sodas.

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Bakery goods, famous Apple Uglies and double-dip donuts. Organic coffee. Piping hot sandwiches on homemade Italian bread. Cash only.

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Tavern on 12 is a great year-round stop for lunch and dinner or drinks and apps. They serve delicious tavern fare like salads, burgers, sandwiches, steamed local seafood, fish tacos, entrees and wood-fired pizza, including a few vegetarian options. Be sure to try their signature hushpuppies with tomato jam and their Pimento Mac and Cheese, and always ask about the daily specials. The bar serves cold beer, wine and cocktails. Outside seating is available, and they offer live music on summer nights.

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Enjoy the breathtaking views. Hatteras yields world class sunsets and inimitable photo opportunities consistently. Experience dining, drinks and occasional live music on the deck while breathing the salt air and savoring the views. Hatteras Sol Waterside Grill knows good food. Serving housemade creations and sourcing fresh, local ingredients whenever possible, Chef Chris Setzer doesn't disappoint. Come discover a broad spectrum of dishes to sate any palate.

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This classic deli at Stowe on 12 on the north end of Hatteras village offers sandwiches, paninis, wraps, hummus, house-made soups, salads, baked goods and homemade desserts. Be sure to check out the specials board, which offers exciting sandwich creations every day. Standouts are the Cobb Salad, the Sweet Home Avocado (chicken, cheddar, bacon, tomato and homemade avocado ranch sauce in a wrap pressed hot on the grill) and the Onion Tended Consequences (turkey, bacon, avocado mayo and caramelized balsamic jam). Everything on the menu is fresh, filling and delicious, and a kids' menu is available. They serve beer and wine too.

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Visit this small island town and view the lighthouse, browse the unique shops, visit the British Cemetery, and dine at the various restaurants. Renting a golf cart is a great and fun way to get around.

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If you love lighthouses, a stay on Hatteras Island is a must! There are three historic lighthouses for you to explore:

Bodie Island Lighthouse
Ocracoke Island Lighthouse
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

With its two stations and five outbuildings, Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station (pronounced chi-ka-ma-COM-i-co) is the most complete site of all remaining life-saving stations in North Carolina and one of the most complete sites in the nation. This site and museum is located on Hatteras Island in the village of Rodanthe on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

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The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum is a maritime museum that focuses on the maritime history and shipwrecks of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum offers programming year-round for people of all ages. Daily offerings include a family and youth-friendly scavenger hunt that has visitors searching for objects throughout the Museum and receiving a special surprise for their efforts. The Museum also introduces a new exhibit annually that features a guide families can follow to enhance their experience.

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The museum contains a nationally recognized collection of Native American artifacts, exhibits and natural history displays. Galleries filled with native art include information on Native Americans across the United States, as well as artifacts from the first inhabitants of Hatteras Island. Designated as a North Carolina Environmental Education Center and a Historic Albemarle Tour site, the museum also includes several acres of nature trails winding through a lush maritime forest.

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Cape Hatteras National Seashore is the nation’s first national seashore and was established in 1937 to preserve significant segments of unspoiled barrier islands along North Carolina’s stretch of the Atlantic Coast. Explore this park by hiking or partaking in various water activities such as swimming, kayaking, kiteboarding, or windsurfing.

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Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1938 to provide nesting, resting, and wintering habitat for migratory birds, including the greater snow geese and other migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors, and neotropical migrants; to provide habitat and protection for endangered and threatened species, such as loggerhead sea turtles; and to provide opportunities for public enjoyment of wildlife and wildlands resources. The refuge is located on the north end of Hatteras Island, a coastal barrier island and part of a chain of islands known as the Outer Banks, and includes beach, dunes, brackish ponds, and marshes. The bird list for Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge boasts over 370 species.

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Their horseback rides are done on the southern most part of Hatteras Island, on one of the most pristine beaches on the Outer Banks. Look north on a clear day and you'll see the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. South across the Hatteras Inlet lies Ocrakoke Island. To the west you'll see the Pamlico Sound. They are the only horseback ride in the United States, where you can view the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, the Atlantic Ocean, Hatteras Inlet, Ocrakoke Island and the Pamlico Sound.

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Buxton Woods is a roughly 1,000-acre component of the NC Coastal Reserve System. The reserve is located on Hatteras Island and is bordered on virtually all sides by the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The site is distinctive as it is part of one of the largest tracts of maritime forest remaining on the Carolina coastline, and it’s also famed for its unique landscape. Towering sand dune ridges that are thousands of years old are interspersed with swamps and freshwater marshes, shrub thickets, and dense woods - which are all just a few miles or even a few hundred yards from the ocean. Hiking is a popular activity in Buxton Woods, particularly in the fall, winter, and early spring months when the mosquitos have disappeared, and the temperatures are cool and comfortable. Buxton Woods offers a number of rustic and sometimes secretive hiking trails that can accommodate all levels of hikers, from beginners to advanced adventurers.

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Located in Hatteras Village, the Hatteras Island Ocean Center is the place to get in tune with the history and ecology of Hatteras Island. There you will find exhibits, experience the wetlands and coastal forest, attend programs and events, and have access to the ocean.

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