Located in Dare County, North Carolina, Nags head is a vacationer’s paradise known for its beautiful beaches and impressive sand dunes. Nags Head was North Carolina’s first tourist destination, and during the 1830s, families from neighboring towns would trek to the area to sell fresh produce and fish to visitors.

Home to Sam + Omie’s, one of the oldest restaurants in the Outer Banks, Nags Head is also the location of what has become known as “Millionaires Row”, a historic district that features beach cottages that date back to the early 1900s.

It is estimated that the sand dunes at Jockey’s Ridge are about 7,000 years old and are so high that they can be seen from miles away. In 2003 Nags Head was devastated by Hurricane Isabel. Among the landmarks that were lost was Jennette’s Pier, which was the first pier of the Outer Banks and dated back to 1939. The pier was rebuilt afterward and today measures about 1,000 feet in length.

It is said that Nags Head got its name from the lights that thieves and wreckers hung from the heads of mules and horses to make ships crash onto the beach to steal their cargo. Because of this, the town’s emblem features a depiction of a horse’s head. One of the main attractions for visitors to Nags Head is the Bodie Island lighthouse, which was built in 1939 and still stands at 156 feet tall.

Nags Head is considered to be one of the most unpopulated places in the United States, with only about 2,800 permanent residents living there all year round, but this number increases to up to 50,000 during the months of June, July, and August, because of the large number of visitors to the town. With plenty of activities for vacationers, beach goers, nature lovers, and hang gliders, Nags Head, North Carolina, is definitely a place worth visiting.