Kitty Hawk Reserve

Most of the traffic moving along the Beach Road corridor is headed for sand and surf, so Kitty Hawk Reserve stays quiet by comparison. Set back from US-158 on Bob Perry Road, this stretch of protected maritime forest and soundside wetland is managed under North Carolina's Coastal Reserve program, part of an effort to keep one of the last intact maritime forests on this end of the Outer Banks standing rather than paved over.

What's Protected

• Maritime forest canopy of live oak, loblolly pine, and holly, once far more common along this stretch of the northern beach towns
• Marsh and shoreline habitat along Kitty Hawk Bay on the sound side of the island
• Wildlife — deer, songbirds, and other species — that has largely retreated from the more built-up parts of Kitty Hawk

This is preserved land, not a commercial attraction — no gift shop, no crowds to fight. Think of it as the other side of the Outer Banks: what the maritime forest looked like before the beach towns grew up around it, just a short detour off the main corridor for anyone who wants a quieter version of this trip.