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A kiteboarder jumps above the water at Cape Hatteras National SeashoreA kiteboarder riding the Atlantic surf between Hatteras and FriscoKites over the ocean beach on Hatteras IslandKiteboarders off a wide beach on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Chapters / US East Coast Open, 1 of 1 remaining

Ride Cape Hatteras, keep it open

Thirty miles of shallow sound on one side, the Atlantic on the other, and wind from almost every direction. Hatteras Island is one of the great kiting coasts of the world, and nearly all of it is national seashore.

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New riders call this homeKite, WingKite Point, Hatteras

Everything you need to know about Cape Hatteras

Live conditions

Why riders love it

What brings people here, from the people who manage it and the people who ride it.

  • The shallow soundside water runs about 2–4 ft deep for hundreds of feet from shore at Kite Point.
  • Spring and fall are strongest, especially October, November, March and April. Fall through early spring bring north and northeast winds; late spring and summer bring southwest.
  • A steady northeast wind is best at Kite Point, where the water is less choppy than at other soundside beaches.

Sources: OuterBanks.com; National Park Service; InsideHook

See the wind right now
A kiteboarder riding the Atlantic surf between Hatteras and Frisco

Access and rules

Each site sets its own rules. The chapter publishes confirmed rules as each site answers in writing, and points riders to the official page before they go.

  • The launches are inside Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The Kite Point parking lot was opened in 2019 by the National Park Service, local community members and riders.
  • Parking at Kite Point is a small sandy lot; park well off NC-12 and its bike lane and obey No Parking signs.
  • Beach driving needs an NPS permit from the office near the lighthouse in Buxton. No overnight camping.

Sources: National Park Service; OuterBanks.com

Help hold the launch
Kites over the ocean beach on Hatteras Island

Ecology and habitat

Stewardship rotates across the city's spots, so riders are known as the people who look after them.

  • The Atlantic piping plover is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and nests on the seashore.
  • Pre-nesting closures are posted by mid-March, with buffers of 75 m around nests that grow much larger when chicks are present.
  • Respect posted closures; they move during the season as birds nest.

Sources: National Park Service

Fund stewardship here
Kiteboarders off a wide beach on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Good to know

Location, facilities and history.

  • Buxton is a village on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, near the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
  • Kite Point is on the sound side of NC-12, about a mile south of the Haulover (Canadian Hole) parking area, roughly two miles from Buxton and Avon.
  • The island's soundside kite launches include Haulover, Kite Point and Salvo Soundside; Springer's Point is on Ocracoke.
  • Power lines run along NC-12 near the shore. A kite caught in them can knock out power to the whole island.
  • REAL Watersports in Waves, Kitty Hawk Kites in Rodanthe and OceanAir Sports in Avon run lessons on the island.

Sources: National Park Service; OuterBanks.com; OuterBanks.com; InsideHook; Island Free Press

Meet the riders
A kiteboarder jumps above the water at Cape Hatteras National Seashore

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Schools that teach on this water

REAL WatersportsKitty Hawk Kites Kiteboarding SchoolOceanAir Sports

Cape Hatteras

At Kite Point the sound runs 2–4 ft deep for hundreds of feet from shore.

Source: OuterBanks.com

Know the spot

Cape Hatteras

The strongest kiting months are Oct–Nov and Mar–Apr.

Source: OuterBanks.com; National Park Service

Know the spot

Cape Hatteras

Pamlico Sound stretches up to 30 miles wide behind the island.

Source: InsideHook

Know the spot

Why Cape Hatteras needs a chapter

A kiteboarder jumps above the water at Cape Hatteras National Seashore
US East Coast

Hatteras Island is a thin strip of sand between the Atlantic and the Pamlico Sound. The sound is shallow enough to stand in for hundreds of feet, and the wind swings from northeast in the cooler months to southwest in summer, so there is nearly always somewhere to ride.

Newriders call this home
3local schools teach on this water
Kite, Wingdisciplines riding here

Cape Hatteras chapter, World Wind Sports

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A kiteboarder riding the Atlantic surf between Hatteras and Frisco
US East Coast

Almost all of it is Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Launches sit beside a highway with power lines along the shore, beaches close each spring for nesting birds, and parking at the best spots is limited. Kite Point exists because the park, the community and riders worked out a lot together in 2019.

Newriders call this home
3local schools teach on this water
Kite, Wingdisciplines riding here

Cape Hatteras chapter, World Wind Sports

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Kites over the ocean beach on Hatteras Island
US East Coast

A chapter keeps that kind of partnership going. It gives the National Park Service one group to call, keeps riders trained and clear of power lines and closures, and runs stewardship so the seashore sees riders as part of looking after it.

Newriders call this home
3local schools teach on this water
Kite, Wingdisciplines riding here

Cape Hatteras chapter, World Wind Sports

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Photographer credits Back this chapter

The riders, schools and crew of Cape Hatteras

Riders from Buxton, Hatteras, Waves, Rodanthe, Salvo and the schools that teach them.

See the rider directory Talk on the board
RREAL WatersportsLocal school teaching on this waterKKitty Hawk Kites Kiteboarding SchoolLocal school teaching on this waterOOceanAir SportsLocal school teaching on this waterWWSThe chapterHolds the line on access: one standing voice with whoever manages the launch.WWSThe chapterRuns stewardship days, so the people who manage the beach see riders as an asset.WWSThe chapterRuns sponsored certification weekends, so riders are trained and self-policing.RREAL WatersportsLocal school teaching on this waterKKitty Hawk Kites Kiteboarding SchoolLocal school teaching on this waterOOceanAir SportsLocal school teaching on this waterWWSThe chapterHolds the line on access: one standing voice with whoever manages the launch.WWSThe chapterRuns stewardship days, so the people who manage the beach see riders as an asset.WWSThe chapterRuns sponsored certification weekends, so riders are trained and self-policing.
iSportsKite, WingiWind spotKite Point, HatterasiKnow thisBuxton, Hatteras Island, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.iKnow thisShallow Pamlico Sound; strongest in spring and fall, northeast or southwest winds.iKnow thisLaunches inside Cape Hatteras National Seashore; Kite Point lot opened with the NPS in 2019.iSportsKite, WingiWind spotKite Point, HatterasiKnow thisBuxton, Hatteras Island, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.iKnow thisShallow Pamlico Sound; strongest in spring and fall, northeast or southwest winds.iKnow thisLaunches inside Cape Hatteras National Seashore; Kite Point lot opened with the NPS in 2019.

Live conditions

Wind right now at Cape Hatteras

Full forecast

Fund this chapter. You can too.

Your gift keeps the chapter running and the beach cared for: cleanup supplies, signage, certification weekends and the costs of being the group the park can call.

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Nearby chapters

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Open, 1 of 1 remaining

Kalmus, Cape Cod

On summer afternoons the southwest sea breeze fills in across Nantucket Sound and Kalmus turns into Cape Cod's busiest kite and windsurf beach. Riders share it with swimmers, lifeguards and the Hyannis ferries, on rules that are mostly informal.

Open, 1 of 1 remaining

Long Island

Long Island has miles of ocean beach, a long shallow bay and summer sea breezes, and almost nowhere that clearly says kiting is welcome. Riders here have been looking for a place to ride legally for more than a decade.

Open, 1 of 1 remaining

Avon and Waves, OBX

Knee-deep water for hundreds of yards, wind most days of the year, and a whole island built around riding it. Avon and Waves are the heart of Hatteras Island's kite scene, on soundside beaches that belong to a national seashore.

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