With 2,298,288 visitors recorded in the first nine months of 2024, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CHNS) is on track to have another busy year. Per statistics from the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, CHNS recorded the following monthly totals for 2024: January – 77,193 February – 79,256 March – 154,935 April – 197,239 May – 267,243 June – 404,323 [...] Seashore News |  Full Article

Stripped of its iconic black-and-white stripes, and encased in a tower of scaffolding, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is nearly unrecognizable. On the grounds bordering the tower, there are piles of intricate metal pieces that need to be repaired or replaced, including the top level landings and railings. The outer landscape is a patchwork of semi-finished [...] Seashore News |  Full Article

An advisory against swimming was posted today at a sound-side site in Dare County, where state officials found bacteria levels in the water that exceed the state’s and Environmental Protection Agency’s recreational water quality standards. The advisory is for the Salvo Day Use Area on the sound across from ramp #23 in Salvo along the [...] Seashore News |  Full Article

Following the recent collapses of three unoccupied houses on G A Kohler Court in Rodanthe, Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) employees and a contractor have worked together to clean approximately 20 miles of beach. Status of beach closures and safety precautions For public safety, the beach is closed from G A Kohler Court through Sea [...] Seashore News |  Full Article

The Cape Hatteras National Seashore CHNS) has temporarily closed the beach from G A Kohler Court in Rodanthe to Wimble Shores North Court in Waves after a Rodanthe home collapsed on Tuesday afternoon, September 24. This is the third unoccupied home to collapse in the immediate area since Friday morning, September 20. The temporary closure also [...] Seashore News |  Full Article

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the following press release on Friday, September 20, which provides an update on the ongoing work to remediate petroleum contamination at Buxton Beach.  The company contracted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, arrived today at the former Buxton Naval Facility, a Formerly Used Defense Sites [...] Seashore News |  Full Article

The Cape Hatteras National Seashore issued the following press release on Monday afternoon, Sept. 16 The Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) urges travelers to avoid the north end of Ocracoke Island around the hours of this evening’s high tide, due to a combination of a higher-than-average high tide and high surf advisory. Travelers should also [...] Seashore News |  Full Article

Night driving restrictions will be lifted at several designated ORV ramps starting at 9 p.m. Sunday, September 15. To find out which ramps will no longer have night driving restrictions, and which ramps will still have opening and closing times due to sea turtle nests, visit http://go.nps.gov/beachaccess during the afternoon of September 15. After sea turtle nests hatch, additional ramps [...] Seashore News |  Full Article

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management recently awarded more than $2.8 million to fourteen local governments to improve public access to coastal beaches and waters, which includes a $114,010 award for new construction of restroom and shower facilities at the Old Lighthouse Beach in Buxton. While there is currently a closure in [...] Seashore News |  Full Article

The Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) expanded the size of a previously closed beach area by approximately 0.25 miles on Thursday morning, Sept. 5, in Buxton, North Carolina. The precautionary expansion, implemented in consultation with the Dare County Department of Health and Human Services, closes the beach from the southern end of the location of [...] Seashore News |  Full Article

UPDATE: The Buxton Beach closure has been expanded by 0.25 miles as of Thursday morning, September 5 Over the last 24-36 hours, several feet of sand have been washed away from an area of beach in front of the Buxton Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) at Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore). Soil and groundwater that [...] Seashore News |  Full Article

The black-and-white diagonal stripes that make the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse an iconic landmark are disappearing – at least for now. Roughly eight months into an extensive restoration project, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse already looks like a different structure, with a tower of scaffolding and a new temporary lens lighting up the night. However, this next [...] Seashore News |  Full Article