Lifeguard stand at Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Coquina Beach
Bodie Island to Cape Point Atlantic Ocean Beaches
Coquina Beach at Cape Hatteras National Seashore offers lifeguard-protected swimming from Memorial Day through Labor Day, 9 AM to 5 PM. The guarded area is quite small and centered around the lifeguard stand. Signs mark the area. Expect large crowds in the summer, for this is the closest beach to the heavily populated Norfolk, Virginia, area.
Coquina Beach at Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Coquina Beach has a bathhouse, outdoor rinse-off showers, and changing rooms. A boardwalk leads over the dunes from the bathhouse to the beach, but if you find yourself on the very far end of the enormous parking lot, feel free to take one of the many shortcuts through the brush and over the dunes. From the bathhouse it is a 150-yard walk to the beach.
Bathhouse at Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Coquina Beach
Changing rooms and showers at Coquina Beach bathhouse, Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Beach access boardwalk to Coquina Beach from the bathhouse, Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Cut through the dunes to Coquina Beach if you find yourself at the far end of the parking lot, Cape Hatteras National Seashore
With a few exceptions, use of any photograph on the National Park Planner website requires a paid Royalty Free Editorial Use License or Commercial Use License. See the Photo Usage page for details.
Last updated on March 7, 2024
