Hatteras, North Carolina

Hatteras village sits at the southern tip of Hatteras Island, where NC-12 ends at the Hatteras Inlet ferry docks. It's the last stop on the island chain reachable by road, and its fortunes have always been tied to the inlet just offshore: an 1846 hurricane tore open Hatteras Inlet a few miles from the village, and the deep new channel drew maritime traffic away from Ocracoke Inlet to the south, letting Hatteras grow into a real port. The village got its first post office in 1858.

Gateway to Ocracoke

A fleet of state-run ferries, most named after historic local villages like "Chicamacomico" and "Kinnakeet," runs a free, roughly 60-minute crossing from Hatteras to Ocracoke Island around the clock, year-round — the only way to continue south along the Outer Banks without a lengthy detour around the sound.

A Fisherman's Village

Hatteras' proximity to the inlet gives boats here a quick run out to the Gulf Stream, and the village supports one of the largest charter fishing fleets on the East Coast, with captains running both inshore trips for red drum, trout, and flounder and offshore trips after tuna, mahi-mahi, and marlin. The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum near the ferry docks tells the story of the many shipwrecks strewn along this stretch of coast.