The Outher Banks

Riding the wind, soaring high above the clouds like a bird has been a dream
of mankind since people could put their dreams to paper. The Outer Banks
has become that place where people harness the wind to experience ultimate
freedom. Thanks to the Wright Brothers in the years 1900-1903, the OBX inherited a
legacy of both soaring and powered flight. There are many ways you can fulfill that
desire as part of your vacation and become part of the story that is still being written
about the barrier islands of North Carolina.
Back when Orville and Wilbur came here to test their flying machines, Kitty Hawk was
the “big” town and the one from where the brothers did most of their correspondence
with the outside world. The town of Kill Devil Hills, a few miles down the road where
Wright Brothers National Memorial is today and where the actual first flight took place,
didn’t exist on the map as a community. That’s why neighboring Kitty Hawk gets most
of the history book credit as the place where the powered flights happened first. Both
towns have some wonderful history and monuments to explore, like the Monument
to a Century of Flight at the Aycock Brown Welcome Center. Pilots love to make a trip
here to see where modern air travel began.
If you want to experience the incomparable grand scheme of nature at work, you must
see the OBX by air. There are a few air tour services available by plane or helicopter.
For thrill seekers with a “less is more” approach, try your hand at hang gliding from
Jockey’s Ridge State Park, the tallest sand dunes on the East Coast. The whole place is
a giant time capsule to what a lot of the OBX looked like in the days of the Wrights.
They launched from dunes just like it, at what is now the national park of their
namesake. If you really want to go back to basics, then there’s no better
place to see mankind’s inspiration for flight. Birdwatching is an art form on the
Outer Banks. Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge is more than a dozen miles
of pristine coastal bird sanctuary, with the nearby Cape Hatteras National
Seashore equally as accessible for nature lovers.
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