Jockey's Ridge: Tallest Dune on the Atlantic Coast

About 80 feet tall — the wind renegotiates daily — and it looks like the Sahara landed in Nags Head. Free parking on US-158, half-mile walk through soft sand that makes your calves complain.

From the top: the Atlantic east, Roanoke Sound west, and the long thin ribbon of barrier island stretching in both directions. The sand is fine and pale and sculpted into ridges that change shape between visits. Late afternoon is when to go — sand cools from its midday scorching, shadows deepen, hang gliders launch from the south face, and the sunset over the sound is the best free show on the Outer Banks.

Don't go barefoot before four o'clock unless you want to cook your feet. Bring water, sunscreen, a kite if you have one. It's windy — the wind that built the dune hasn't left. Kids love it. Budget thirty minutes up, longer down because the view keeps asking you to stay.