Wright Brothers Monument

At the crest of Kill Devil Hill, a granite pylon roughly 60 feet tall marks the spot where Wilbur and Orville Wright spent years running glider tests before they ever built an engine. Dedicated in 1932, the Wright Brothers Monument is the centerpiece of Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, and it deserves treatment as its own stop rather than a quick photo on the way to the flight line markers below. The hill itself was the brothers' proving ground for controlled gliding from 1900 through 1902; the actual powered flight on December 17, 1903 happened on the flatter ground beneath the hill, which makes the monument as much a marker of preparation as of the achievement itself. From the monument's base, the view opens out over the flats where the Wright Flyer first left the ground and across the memorial grounds toward town.

• Sits atop Kill Devil Hill within the Wright Brothers National Memorial grounds
• Reached by a walking path up from the visitor center
• Granite pylon dedicated in 1932, roughly 60 feet tall
• Open daily, 9am to 5pm