National Seashore beaches have large parking lots.

Also see the official list of lifeguard sites here:

http://www.kdhnc.com/DocumentCenter/View/4275

Hatteras National Seashore will have lifeguards this summer at a few locations.

http://www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/wateractivities.htm

Bodie Island: Coquina Beach

Located across from the Bodie Island Lighthouse site

Hatteras Island: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Beach

Adjacent to the Old Cape Hatteras Lighthouse site

Ocracoke Island: Ocracoke Day Use Beach

1 1/2-miles south of the NPS campground OR 1/2-mile north of Ocracoke Village

At least some Kill Devil Hills beaches currently have steep dropoffs that can be disconcerting. That may lessen by summer. I can commend the public beach access at Ocean Bay Boulevard, which has two parking lots and a walkway integrated into the relatively new lifeguard headquarters building, on the site of a one-time lifesaving station. The walkway has an impressive view toward the Wright Brothers Memorial.

Here's a video from Kill Devil Hills explaining their lifeguard program:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&list=PL9BLPkqPDQkvuI_CqySXHNahZ2ZRpXx2Z&v=KrDBv9hWeO8&app=desktop

Public beach access indeed varies by community. Even Kill Devil Hills tends to have beachgoers clustered at relatively few locations.

This was posted in the Kitty Hawk forum, so I'll assume that is where you are staying. Most of the Kitty Hawk accesses have limited parking along the side roads. I have found it's just a toss up of finding a place to park, as people do come and go all day. There is a bath house with a larger parking lot located south of the Black Pelican, about milepost 4. That is probably your best bet with the little ones.

Since you are driving anyway, you might check out other accesses just for fun. I find that many of the Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head parking lots tend to fill up early in the high season. If you head to the southern end of Nags Head though, there seem to always be more parking available. Try anywhere south of the Village at Nags Head, like milepost 15 and up.

There is a bath house at the Epstein Street access, which is not actually at Epstein Street, but a little south. Jennette's Pier is the newest and nicest, but not sure how parking gets there. Keep going south on Old Oregon Inlet Road and try the Hargrove Street access, which has a bath house and extra parking across the street. If you don't need a bath house, there is usually parking at any of the smaller accesses along the way.

Just to add to the info, the Hargrove St access is around mile post 17, it has a lifeguard in summer, And has handicap access and a limited number of beach wheelchairs available to borrow. The beach is really wide there also.

And the jennettes pier parking lot across from the pier itself has a nice little playground with pirate ship structure and picnic tables.

you can try out several public access areas and see which you like best

Here's some general Outer Banks information along with a map of the public beach and sound access points along with their amenities. (IE: parking, handicap accessibility, bath house, picnic area, etc) Each town in the Outer Banks has different rules and regulations. For instance, if you're bringing your furry friend you may want to stay in Duck or Nags Head where dogs are allowed on the beach year-round.

Hope this helps in your vacation planning!

http://www.sunrealtync.com/beaches-of-the-outer-banks-sun-realty

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