The three National Park Service sites on the Outer Banks combined to host a record number with nearly 4 million visits last year.
In addition, according to figures announced Thursday, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore surpassed the 3 million mark for the first time last year with 3.2 million visits. The total was more than 20% higher than 2020 and 35% higher than the 10-year visitation average from 2011 to 2020. Reservations at the National Seashore’s four campgrounds increased by 58% over reservations in 2020.
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At the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, 482,192 visits were logged, the most in more than 10 years, and at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on Roanoke Island, there were 293,609 visits.
“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.” National Parks of Eastern North Carolina Superintendent David Hallac said in a statement. “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.”
