These are the true Outer Banks. Remote. Isolated. Unspoiled. To the west are the broad, blue waters of Pamlico Sound. To the east, the vast Atlantic, a restless, moody neighbor. Overhead, the full dome of the sky, sprinkled at night with more stars than you ever thought possible. For hundreds of years, explorers and settlers have traveled the length of the island chain, leaving their mark among the live oaks and cedars and their footprints on sandy beaches and early roads. Today, more modern adventurers look to Hatteras and Ocracoke for an escape from the hustle and bustle of more developed beachfronts, and they find it.

Hatteras and Ocracoke are special places. They are sand dunes and sea oats and laughing gulls dancing on ocean breezes. They are the infamous Graveyard of the Atlantic, the final resting place of hundreds of ships and thousands of sailors, and the 75-mile-long Cape Hatteras National Seashore Ð our country’s first national seashore recreation area. They are historic villages and quiet little coves tucked away in the salt marshes where the only sound is the wind and the gentle splashing of waves on the shore.

This is the land of lighthouses and shipwrecks and life-saving crews. It’s the land of Blackbeard the Pirate and Spanish marauders and fierce military action during the Civil War and World War II. It’s a place where the history is one of heroes and hurricanes and hardship told by people whose families have lived here for generations. It’s the land of the Gulf Stream, flowing just over the eastern horizon, bringing warm water and a tropical flavor to the islands’ beaches that consistently ranks them among the best in the country. It’s a shady porch or a secluded section of beach or a hidden path under the live oak trees.

Here you can see more pelicans and porpoises in a day than you do people. Ibis and egrets and herons are as common as pigeons in the city. It’s a place where you can do as much as you want or nothing at all. Where schedules are set by the tides and the weather. Where going fishing, or surfing, or swimming is still considered a reasonable excuse for being at least a little bit late, and just about everybody finds time to make it to the beach.

There’s plenty to do in the seven villages on the two islands, from shopping and sightseeing to dining out or relaxing at one of the local pubs after a stressful day of napping in the sun. Book an off-shore or in-shore fishing trip aboard one of the local charter boats or test your angling skill in the surf. Explore Pea Island Wildlife Refuge or the Buxton Woods Maritime Forest or the Hammock Hills Hiking Trail on Ocracoke. Visit one of the three lighthouses or the Chicamacomico Life-saving Station in Rodanthe, one of the best-preserved stations on the East Coast.

Join the hot locals and touring pros windsurfing at the Canadian Hole or surfing by the Hatteras lighthouse. Take an eco-tour to find out more about barrier island life or catch one of the free, daily presentations at National Park Service visitors centers during the summer season. Get up early to watch the sun rise out of the ocean, or try to take a picture of the dolphins playing in the surf just in front of you so your friends back home will really believe they were that close.

Hatteras and Ocracoke offer it all. But the best of what they offer can’t be packed in a bag or captured on film, and those are the memories spending time on the islands create. Remembrances of the sand between your toes, the salt air, or of watching the sun settle into the sound. Thoughts of family and friends, of long beach walks, or that big fish that didn’t get away. Island memories. Images that will last a lifetime. - Thomas Yokum