Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Buxton · 1401 National Park Dr, Manteo, NC 27954

Location Details

Visual Character

“Wild Atlantic barrier island: lighthouse, rolling dunes, migrating shorebird habitat. Churning sea, windswept grasses, and historic maritime character. The graveyard of the Atlantic just offshore.”

About this location

Cape Hatteras National Seashore stretches across the Outer Banks of North Carolina — 70 miles of wild Atlantic barrier island with no permanent development within its boundaries. The landscape alternates between wide sandy beaches, rolling dunes, maritime shrub thickets, and shallow Pamlico Sound shoreline. The iconic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, America's tallest brick lighthouse at 198 feet, rises from the beach as a natural cinematic anchor. The area's history as the Graveyard of the Atlantic adds dark, maritime drama. Year-round surf and wind create kinetic energy in every outdoor shot. Seasonal shorebird nesting closures (March through August) restrict ORV access to portions of the beach. NPS commercial filming permit required; contact the seashore's permit office. The Outer Banks' remote feel — with Atlantic on one side and sound on the other — is difficult to replicate anywhere else on the East Coast.

Where you'll be