Boardwalk Beach Access

Boardwalk Beach Access is a pedestrian crossover linking the road in Avon to the open sand of Cape Hatteras National Seashore. As the name suggests, a boardwalk carries foot traffic over the dune line here rather than a sand ramp for vehicles — it's a walk-in access, not an ORV entry point, so no beach driving permit is needed to use it. That kind of dune-crossing boardwalk is a standard, low-impact way to get people to the beach without cutting through the vegetation that holds the frontal dune together.

Avon is one of the strung-out villages along NC-12, the single road connecting Hatteras Island's communities, and this access opens onto the same wide, exposed beach that runs the length of the island within the National Seashore. Conditions here can shift fast with weather, and NC-12 itself is prone to overwash and temporary closures during storms, so it's worth checking current conditions before a visit — particularly in hurricane season, roughly August through October.