Cape HatterasBuxton, Outer Banks, NC

Visibility is an estimate — wind, rain, tide & water alerts.

Getting in

Shore access, walk in off the sand

Best conditions

One of the seashore's five lifeguarded beaches, staffed Memorial Day through Labor Day. Professional surfers gather here for an annual tournament, at what the NPS describes as the birthplace of professional surfing on the East Coast.

Getting through the gate

No entrance fee for the beach. Driving on the sand needs an NPS off-road vehicle permit sold online through Recreation.gov, $50 for ten consecutive days or $120 for a year; visitor centers and local tackle shops hand out the self-certification card that goes with it.

Protection

Part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, run by the National Park Service, which closes sections of beach for shorebird nesting and asks anyone who encounters a nesting sea turtle to keep 30 feet back and stay quiet, through the May to October nesting season.

On site

lifeguard on duty

Watch for

Strong rip currents can make swimming dangerous here; the NPS points swimmers to the daily NOAA rip current forecast and to the lifeguarded beach, No lifeguards outside the Memorial Day to Labor Day season, The NPS advises against swimming near inlets and around piers and surfers

Checked 2026-08-24. Sources: National Park Service, Cape Hatteras National Seashore: fees, National Park Service, Cape Hatteras National Seashore: off-road vehicle permits, National Park Service, Cape Hatteras National Seashore: beach and water safety, National Park Service, Cape Hatteras National Seashore: surfing, National Park Service, Cape Hatteras National Seashore: birds, National Park Service, Cape Hatteras National Seashore: sea turtles.