Cape Hatteras National Seashore extends from Bodie Island, south of Nags Head to the southern most part of Hatteras Island. stretching over 70 miles. The park was the the country’s first national seashore. Authorized in 1937 and established in 1953, it has a total area of 47 square miles, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Pamlico Sound to the west. Together with Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on the northern portion of Hatteras Island, the national seashore constitutes a continuous stretch of beaches, salt marshes, sand dunes, and woodlands. Hundreds of species of aquatic birds nest or stop here on their annual migrations.
Not included within the park boundries, but the individual incorporated towns of, Hatteras, Buxton, Avon, Salvo, Waves, and Rodanthe lie within the Cape Hatteras National Seashore boundries.
