City: Nags Head, NC

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (252) 441-7132

Address: US 158, MP 12

Insider Pick:

Description: The East Coast’s tallest sand dune and one of the Outer Banks’ most phenomenal natural attractions, Jockey’s Ridge has long been a favorite stop for tourists. In the early 1970s bulldozers began flattening the surrounding dunes to make way for a housing subdivision. A Nags Head woman, Carolista Baum, singlehandedly stopped the destruction and formed a committee that saved Jockey’s Ridge. State officials made the sand hill a protected park in 1975, but the dunes are unruly. Since then the steepest side of the hill has shifted more than 1,500 feet to the southwest. Jockey’s Ridge is also getting shorter. At the turn of the 20th century, the highest mound was estimated at 140 feet. In 1971 it was about 110 feet tall.Today the 1.5-mile-long, 420-acre-plus dune—which varies from 90 feet to 110 feet in height—is open to the public year-round until sunset. It’s a popular spot for hang gliders, summer hikers, small children who like to roll down the steep slopes, and teenagers who delight in sandboarding or flinging and flipping themselves down the sandy hills. Sandboarding is allowed only from Oct 1 through Mar 31. More than one million people visit Jockey’s Ridge each year. Park headquarters is near the northern end of a parking lot off the west side of US 158. You’ll notice an entrance sign at MP 12, Carolista Drive, in Nags Head. A visitor center, museum, and gift shop are near park headquarters. The free museum features photo displays of the history and recreation at the dune and a diorama of the animals that inhabit the area. Information panels of plants and animals and an auditorium where slide shows and videos are shown are also at the facility. Maps available from the park ranger indicate walking areas. Two trails—the Soundside Nature Trail, a very easy 45-minute walk, and Tracks in the Sand, a 1.5-mile trek—are open to hikers looking for a change of scenery. Jockey’s Ridge State Park offers natural history programs throughout the summer, including stargazing and wildlife discovery evening hikes and early-morning bird watching and natural history discovery adventures. Fantastic educational programs for kids are also offered, but rangers warn that they fill up fast, and many require advance registration. Call for program schedules. Sheltered picnic areas are available for lunches.It’s a long hike to the top of the ridge. Bring shoes or boots. Don’t try it barefoot in summer; you’ll burn your feet. Also, some lower areas around the dune are covered with broken glass. At the top of Jockey’s Ridge, you can see both ocean and sound. Cottages along the beach look like tiny huts from a miniature train set. Kite-flying and hang-gliding enthusiasts catch the breezes that flow around the steep summit, shifting the sand in all directions. If your mobility is impaired, a 360-foot boardwalk affords wheelchairs and baby strollers a slightly sloping incline onto a wooden platform overlooking the center of the dune. For the visually impaired, audio guides are available at the park office. Park rangers can also provide a ride on a four-wheeler to the top of the dune if you call 24 hours in advance. The park opens at 8 a.m. every day except Christmas. Closing time depends on the season: Nov through Feb, 6 p.m.; Mar and Oct, 7 p.m.; Apr, May, and Sept, 8 p.m.; and June through Aug, 9 p.m. This is sunset-watching central, especially in the summer months, when hundreds of people may climb the dunes to watch the sun sink into Roanoke Sound. A soundside access is on the southwest side of Jockey’s Ridge. This also provides access to a great beach on the gentle sound waters.