Jockey’s Ridge and The Wright Brothers Memorial
During my stay in The Outer Banks of North Carolina I took some time to visit 2 of the more popular attractions, Jockey’s Ridge State Park and The Wright Brothers National Memorial. Both stops were well worth the time. Here’s how it went.
Jockey’s Ridge State Park
Jockey's Ridge State Park is home to the Atlantic coast’s tallest living sand dune system. The park also marks the eastern end of the Mountains-to-Sea State Trail. I was there in the off season which meant there were no crowds, and I had most of the park to myself which was amazing.
Within the park there is a beautiful trail through the dunes that allows you to explore without harming the dunes. Walking through the soft sand is an incredible workout but well worth the effort. While out exploring the dunes, I saw groups of people flying kites utilizing the incredible winds. In addition to the trail through the dunes, Jockey’s Ridge State Park is the Eastern end of North Carolina’s Moutain-to-Sea Trail. You can follow the path that marks the end of the trail.
Wright Brothers National Memorial
Next up, I headed to the Wright Brothers National Memorial. If you are a National Parks Annual Pass holder like me, then your admission to the memorial is included in your annual membership. The grounds of the memorial are incredibly beautiful and include the Visitor’s Center, Flight Path Memorial, and Kill Devil Hill Memorial. In the Visitor’s Center I enjoyed viewing the full scale model of the Wright Flyer along with all of the other exhibits chronicling the timeline to flight. Outside the Visitor Center building was the powered flights path with a Memorial to The First Successful Flight. This path allows you to walk the distances that each of the first 3 powered flights flew and physically absorb the distance of each of these flights.
After exploring the Visitor’s center and Flight Path area, I took a walk over to the Memorial on Kill Devil Hill. The walk is a bit lengthy, so if your mobility is limited there is alternate parking next to the memorial. The Kill Devil Hill Memorial was dedicated in 1932 and sits atop the site where many of the Wright Brothers glider tests originated from. The view from the top of Memorial is beautiful with a 360 degree view of the ocean and surrounding landscape.
Both of these stops were well worth the time to explore. I’m sure in the busy season the stops may take longer with bigger crowds, but during the off season I was able to easily see both in one day. You can find more information about Jockey’s Ridge State Park here and The Wright Brothers Memorial here.
Happy Travels!
Heather
