A Year-Round Guide to Franklin and Nantahala

With the summer sun beating down on her, Carolista Fletcher Baum stood firmly in front of Jockey’s Ridge and stared down a bulldozer. It was the early 1970s, and the

Rosemary and Goat Cheese Strata

With the summer sun beating down on her, Carolista Fletcher Baum stood firmly in front of Jockey’s Ridge and stared down a bulldozer. It was the early 1970s, and the

Jockey’s Ridge

With the summer sun beating down on her, Carolista Fletcher Baum stood firmly in front of Jockey’s Ridge and stared down a bulldozer. It was the early 1970s, and the Outer Banks’ iconic sand dune had grown into a roughly 100-foot coastal mountain, shaped by 3,000 to 5,000 years’ worth of winds and waves. It had even been used as a landmark for sailors approaching North Carolina’s shores. But due to the construction of new bridges and roads, the Outer Banks had become more accessible, and the ridge was now under the threat of development.

Baum’s children were playing on the dunes that day when they noticed a bulldozer headed toward the sandy peaks. They alerted their mother, who ran to block the machine in its tracks. That evening, after the construction workers abandoned their posts, Baum removed the distributor caps from the dozers, delaying the work even further. Her defiant act kickstarted an official movement to protect the living wonder.

Carolista Fletcher Baum was instrumental in saving Jockey’s Ridge. Photography courtesy of JOCKEY’S RIDGE STATE PARK

With help from the organization that Baum later established, People to Preserve Jockey’s Ridge, state legislators in 1975 purchased 194 acres of land, which became Jockey’s Ridge State Park, home of the largest living sand dune on the East Coast. Since then, the park has doubled in size and is now one of the most visited state parks in North Carolina — 1.8 million people came in 2021 alone.

In May 2023, just northeast of the towering dune field, Park Superintendent Joy Greenwood welcomed guests to the newly renovated visitor center on Carolista Drive. People poured in to see a page of the petition full of signatures that Baum collected; videos about her efforts; and the sign that she once toted around the Outer Banks, encouraging people to help save the coast’s most beloved slopes.

Jockey’s Ridge State Park
300 West Carolista Drive
Nags Head, NC 27959
(252) 441-7132
ncparks.gov/state-parks/jockeys-ridge-state-park


Massive creatures glide over Jockey’s Ridge during the Outer Banks Kite Festival. Photography courtesy of KITTY HAWK KITES

Outer Banks Kite Festival — Sept. 13-14, 2024

Jockey’s Ridge State Park experiences an increase in uncommon species each September: 100-foot octopuses, inflated zebras, and a humpback whale swim above a skyline of wood-shingled homes along the Atlantic Ocean. The Outer Banks Kite Festival is a beloved 40-year coastal tradition that’s organized by Kitty Hawk Kites. The state park’s windy conditions make it an ideal spot for kite-flying professionals from around the country to perform with stunt and sport kites, produce synchronized kite performances set to music, and teach novices how to fly kites.

To learn more, visit kittyhawk.com/event/outer-banks-kite-festival.


At Outer Banks Brewing Station in Kill Devil Hills, a marker points to Jockey’s Trail. photograph by LUKE HALTON/JOCKEY’S TRAIL

Jockey’s Trail

Coinciding with North Carolina’s Year of the Trail, a new 50-mile hiking route that connects existing paths weaves through Jockey’s Ridge State Park and beyond. Jockey’s Trail, designed by The OBX Way, runs through Nags Head Woods Preserve, around the Wright Brothers National Memorial, onto Duck Boardwalk, and through Currituck National Wildlife Refuge. It culminates in Carova, where a monument marks the state line expedition of 1728.

To learn more, visit obxway.org.

This story was published on Jul 25, 2023

Katie Kane

Katie Kane is the assistant editor at Our State.