Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s 2021 visitation was 35% higher than the 10-year average

For the first time ever, Cape Hatteras National Seashore broke a long-standing visitation record and welcomed over three million visitors.

America’s first national seashore hosted 3,206,056 visits in 2021, which was more than 20% higher than 2020 and over 35% higher than the ten-year visitation average (2011-2020).

Campsites reserved at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s four campgrounds in 2021 also saw a 58% increase over reservations in 2020.

The three Outer Banks National Parks – Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and Wright Brothers National Memorial – combined to host nearly four million visits in 2021.

At Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on Roanoke Island, 293,609 visits were hosted in 2021. Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills hosted 482,192 visits, the highest amount in over ten years.

“While it has been challenging to accommodate 600,000 more visits than just two years ago, the staff at these three parks are committed to not only maintaining the same visitor experiences as before but improving upon them as much as possible.” said David Hallac, superintendent, National Parks of Eastern North Carolina. “For example, thanks to hard work and innovation over the past year, many visitors this year will enjoy the new Bonner Bridge Pier for the first time, and a new text alert service launched late last year now helps visitors plan their trips and stay connected with their national parks in Dare and Hyde counties.”

The public can sign up to receive information on all three parks by texting NPSOBX to 333111. Subscribers to the text alert service can easily unsubscribe by texting STOP to 333111. Standard text message and data rates may apply.

Visitors interested in receiving off-road vehicle updates can also now sign up for text alerts by texting CAHAORV to 333111.