Read some history on Nags Head, then find the right place to spend your vacation . Whether it is in Corolla, Duck, Kill Devil Hills, Hatteras, Ocracoke, or Manteo.

"Nags Head" Here is a little about Outer Banks long before we were born.It is quite a interesting place,and has a lot of history.

We have taken our vacations for many years at the Outer Banks and have come to love it. It's kind of a home away from home. We stay in Kill Devil Hills.

Did you know that early maps show Nags H,as a promontory of land, characterized by high sand dunes, visible from miles at sea? They would have been quite high.

To the right is Jockeys Ridge.

It is a tall sand dune.Tales of land Pirates, who lured ships ashore in stormy weather, may be the possible origin of the towns name.

(A few hundred years ago was a different world in the Outer Banks, than it is today).

Then it could have been carried across the sea by English exployers, who were remined of a similar location of the English coast, a high point on the Isles of Scilly, the last sight of old England, that the earlier exployers were to see on their voyage to the new world.

The true origen is obscured, but legend insists that early bandits known as Bankers, realized how profitable piracy was, (Blackbeard) and developed their own unique method as land-based pirates. These guys took mules, or nags as they were known to the area, and tied lanterns to their necks, and walked up and down the beach at night.

Skippers would mistakenly think the lights were of other ships close to shore (remember, it would be a stormy night).

Then they would change course, and run aground. Then the Bankers got their cargo. That was a good scheme,wasn't it?

But then around 1830, Nags Head became known as a plush resort area,and so remains today. Here is a modern look of today.

They have a wide variety of restaurants, most of which overlook the sound, rather than the ocean.

They are often a starting base for exploring the surrounding beaches and towns. There is an array of attractions in, and around NagsHead. There are always plenty to keep you occupied.

It remains a very popular spot for a couple of reasons.

One is that it is the southern most, of the nothern beach communities, making it centrally located to both the nothern, and southern Outer Banks. Day trippers appreciate this convenience, additionally there is good fishing, and excellent hang-gliding here, as well as a lovely beach, and old-style beach cottages.