The Boiler Surf Guide

The Boiler Surf Guide

Cape Hatteras, in the collective sense, is especially vulnerable to the combined effects of intense winds, abnormally high tides and heavy flooding due to both tropical and non-tropical systems. The highway through the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge has been redesigned and pushed inland toward the Sound as storm activity continues to threaten this thin, 13-mile strip of sand. Before entering Pea Island, though, you pass over the new Marc Basnight Bridge which spans Oregon Inlet and connects Bodie Island to Hatteras Island and replaced the old Bonner Bridge in early 2019. You can become part of one of the most picturesque scenes on the island when you cross over the new bridge at sunrise or sunset.

Once you arrive on Pea Island, you know you're in Hatteras. Sea oats, cacti, herons, 5,000 acres of marshland and not much more on this ribbon of sand, except the ocean. This is one place that has no true spots, but little lumps of sand that turn on and off with the ebb and flow of tides and the push and pull of winds. A good first check would be at the first visitor center you see. This spot is appropriately named "The Boiler" for the partially submerged boilerplate of a wrecked ship extending out of the water, hundreds of yards from shore.

Aside from that, your best bet will be to pull off the side of the road, avoid the soft sand and check some spots on your own. If you see a pack of cars, keep driving and find your own little piece of sand -- it is one of the few places you still have that luxury.