North Carolina - Outer Banks

Outer Banks

States: North Carolina

Off the coasts of Virginia and (for most of the distance) North Carolina lies in a 175 mi. chain of long narrow islands extending from Back Bay, Virginia, in the north to Cape Lookout, North Carolina, in the south. These Outer Banks offer, at any rate in the southern two-thirds, an expanse of almost completely unspoiled natural scenery with interesting plants and bird life; the northern third, however, has been ravaged by the development of the holiday trade and is now a hotchpotch of hotels, motels, holiday homes, restaurants and shopping centres. The Outer Banks can be reached from the north on U.S. 158 or in the south by ferry from Cedar Island or Swan Quarter to Ocracoke (advance reservation necessary during the season).