North Carolina
North Carolina Coastal Plain
Dare

Outer Banks

The Outer Banks are a chain of long but narrow barrier islands that lie off the . Portions of Currituck, Dare and Hyde counties make up the Outer Banks.
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Photo: Pierre cb, Public domain.
Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.

Essential Destinations

Top destinations include Kitty Hawk and Manteo.

Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.
, located on the Outer Banks of , consists of a thriving village that has been around for generations, a newer beach community of residential cottages, and a maritime forest called Woods which features a wide variety of plant and animal life.

Photo: Morgan Riley, CC BY 3.0.
is a town in the Outer Banks of . Much of the fun in visiting , as with most of the Outer Banks, is visiting during the summer.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.
is a colorfully-named town on the coast of . It is part of the Outer Banks, and is best known for its association with the Wright Brothers' historic flights in the first airplane in 1903.

Destinations to Discover

Explore places such as Nags Head and Ocracoke.

Photo: James Willamor, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a city on the Outer Banks. Legend has it that the names comes from when pirates used to put a lantern around a horse's neck and walk along the beach.

Photo: Sedna10387, Public domain.
Island is one of the barrier islands of the Outer Banks of . The 16 mi of unspoiled beaches and salty ocean breezes offer great opportunities for solitude, serenity, and peace of mind.

Photo: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0.
is a town in the Outer Banks of . From the beautiful oceanfront to the sound, has been the best kept secret on the Outer Banks since 1947.

Photo: Townofduck, Public domain.
is a town in , United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 746. is the northernmost incorporated town in Dare County and the Outer Banks' newest town, incorporated on May 1, 2002.

Photo: Vbofficial, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in , , United States, on the Outer Banks island of , at its extreme southwestern tip.

Photo: ryaninc, CC BY 2.0.
is an unincorporated community located in township, , , United States, along the northern Outer Banks.

Photo: Packer1028, CC0.
Beach or is an unincorporated community in in the extreme northeastern corner of , United States. The community, begun in the 1960s, is found on Currituck Banks, north of , and can be accessed only by boat or by four-wheel drive vehicle.

Outer Banks

Latitude of center
35.5669° or 35° 34′ 1″ north
Longitude of center
-75.4688° or 75° 28′ 8″ west
Population
57,800
Elevation
3 feet (1 metre)
Open­Street­Map ID
node 357813099
Open­Street­Map feature
place=­island
Geo­Names ID
4483663
Wiki­data ID
Q1517373
This page is based on OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikivoyage.
We’d love your help improving our open data sources. Thank you for contributing.

Satellite Map

Discover Outer Banks from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
© Stadia Maps, Airbus DS, CNES, PlanetObserver, and Copernicus

In Other Languages

From Arabic to Ukrainian—“Outer Banks” goes by many names.
  • Arabic: “أوتر بانكس”
  • Catalan: “Outer Banks”
  • Cebuano: “Outer Banks”
  • Chinese: “外滩群岛”
  • Chinese: “外灘群島”
  • Dutch: “Outer Banks”
  • French: “Outer Banks”
  • German: “Outer Banks”
  • Hebrew: “אאוטר בנקס”
  • Hungarian: “Outer Banks”
  • Italian: “Outer Banks”
  • Japanese: “OBX”
  • Japanese: “アウターバンクス”
  • Korean: “OBX”
  • Korean: “아우터 뱅크스”
  • Korean: “아우터뱅크스”
  • Lithuanian: “Išorinės Seklumos”
  • Polish: “Outer Banks”
  • Portuguese: “Outer Banks”
  • Russian: “Внешние отмели”
  • Spanish: “Bancos Externos”
  • Spanish: “Outer Banks”
  • Turkish: “Outer Banks”
  • Ukrainian: “Зовнішні мілини”

North Carolina Coastal Plain: Must-Visit Destinations

Delve into Fayetteville, Wilmington, Greenville, and Goldsboro.

Explore These Curated Destinations

Discover places selected for their distinct character and enduring appeal.
About Mapcarta. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors and available under the Open Database License". Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “Outer Banks”. Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.