Nags Head

First in Vacation

Nags Head is considered by many to be the first vacation spot on the Outer Banks. More than a century ago, families from nearby farms and plantations built small cottages along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Nags Head as a way to escape the oppressive summer heat of the more inland counties. Nags Heads runs from the boundary with the town of Kill Devil Hills to the north all the way to the boundary of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The beaches in the national seashore are some of the most secluded and private along the entire coast of the Outer Banks and are easily accessible from nearby parking lots.

 Nags Head has the only inlet to the ocean on the Outer Banks. For that reason, several marinas catering to offshore fishing boats are located in and around Nags Head.  

Nags Head is also home to the largest active sand dune in the nation, Jockey’s Ridge. Jockey’s Ridge is contained in a state park open daily except for Christmas Day.

Nags Head has an active and lively visual arts scene. This is centered on an area called Gallery Row. The shops of Gallery Row feature local, regional, and internationally known artists, with some specializing in older and antique art while others are more modern and contemporary. Nags Head has a similar road layout with the bypass road and beach road noted earlier in the section on Kitty Hawk.

For hiking, there are trails located at Nags Head Woods Preserve. In this preserve are eight different trails of various lengths and difficulty ratings. Nags Head has many public beaches with nearby public parking making it an easy town to visit the beach.