Coast

Warmed by the nearby Gulf Stream, the North Carolina Coast is a sunny place filled with pristine beaches and the powerful grandeur of the ocean, giant sand dunes (highest along the East Coast), and wetlands filled with an abundance of wildlife and plants. The defining characteristic of the area is the Outer Banks, a chain of fragile barrier islands with 130 miles of unspoiled coastline surrounded by 900 square miles of water.

The historic Northern Region boasts Edenton as one of the
state's oldest towns; Roanoke Island, the site of the first English settlement in the New World; Kitty Hawk, where the Wright brothers made their famous first flight; Nags Head, home to the largest hang gliding school in the country and Cape Hatteras, the first National Seashore.

The exciting Central Region from the growing Greenville-Pitt County metropolis in the west, home to the East Carolina University, to the Crystal Coast in the east, home base of the world's largest Gulf Stream fishing fleet.
Historic Beaufort, restored to its 18th century state, across the Neuse to quiet, unspoiled Oriental and the sheltered shores of Pamlico County and, just up the road, New Bern, rich in colonial heritage and home to the Tryon Palace and its Gardens.

The balmy Southern Region, centered around Wilmington, North Carolina's largest port city and home to the Battleship USS North Carolina, holds on tightly to its rich historic heritage. Wilmington's waterfront, the Cape Fear River leads to neighboring beaches and quaint, picturesque, port towns like Southport and Calabash.

The common thread throughout these regions is the water. It provides North Carolina with a unique coastal belt - the sheltered sounds, bays, rivers and creeks separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a string of narrow barrier islands creating a locality that is rapidly becoming one of the most popular vacation areas in the country.