Dare County is the N.C. coast’s favorite tourism destination

Dare County is an oddity among North Carolina’s 100 counties. It includes an 80-mile-long stretch of North Carolina’s famous Northern Outer Banks, extending from Hatteras Island up to Duck. The road connecting the two villages is N.C. Route 12.

 

The seat of Dare County government is Manteo on Roanoke Island, and the county also includes a chunk of the mainland that is practically surrounded by the Alligator River, Albemarle Sound and Croatan Sound. The mainland section is served by two major highways – U.S. Route 64 and U.S. Route 264.

Manteo welcomes you!

 

The unincorporated village of Manns Harbor on the mainland is home to the North Carolina Ferry Division shipyard on Spencer Creek, which maintains the 21 vessels currently used on the state’s seven ferry routes. North Carolina’s ferry system is the second largest in the nation, trailing only Washington state. 

About 37,875 people live in Dare County, making it the third largest among the eight counties that make up the North Carolina Senate District 1. (Carteret and Pasquotank are larger.) 

Dare County takes its name from Virginia Dare, the first child born to English colonists at Roanoke Island in 1587. No one knows exactly what happened to the expedition that was sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh. The mystery of the “Lost Colony” is waiting to be solved. 

More than a century ago, artist Maria Louise Lander of Salem, Mass., donated a sculpture of Virginia Dare. Lander envisioned Virginia Dare as a beautiful princess within a blended society of native Croatoans and the lost colonists. 

The statue is the centerpiece of the lovely Elizabethan Gardens at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. Nearby is Waterside Theater, home of “The Lost Colony,” a symphonic drama performed nightly under the stars during the summer season. Tiered seating can accommodate an audience of approximately 1,600 people.

Dare County is jam-packed with historic and natural attractions. Dare County ranks fourth among the state’s counties in travel and tourism revenues, generating more than $1.293 billion annually. (The top three are Mecklenburg, Buncombe and Wake.) 

Manteo is home to the North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke Island, while the Aquarium’s Jennette’s Pier facility is at Nags Head. The concrete fishing pier extends 1,000 feet out into the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Within the Cape Hatteras National Seashore are two majestic lighthouses – at Hatteras and Bodie Island. In between, are the charmingly quaint and rustic fishing communities of Frisco, Buxton, Avon, Salvo, Waves and Rodanthe. 

At Kill Devil Hills, the National Park Service maintains the Wright Brothers National Memorial, honoring the first successful airplane flight, conducted nearly 120 years ago by Wilbur and Orville Wright in 1903. 

A 60-foot granite monument dedicated in 1932, is perched atop Big Kill Devil Hill – the primary location of the brothers’ glider experiments.

 

Jockey’s Ridge State Park at Nags Head is home to the tallest living sand dune system on the Atlantic coast and provides an ideal location for flying kites and watching sunsets. Hang gliding is a hallmark activity at the park, and a private concessionaire offers lessons. Visitors can also explore wetland habitats and go swimming, paddling, kiteboarding and windsurfing on the Roanoke Sound. 

Many legends surround the origin of the name Jockey’s Ridge. The most popular is that the name of the giant dune is based upon the early inhabitants’ practice of lassoing wild ponies and racing them on the flat surface at the base of the dune. The steep sides of the ridge served as a grandstand for spectators.

 We’ll stay over in Dare County for one more column.