The best place to meet for the holidays is "A High Tide Christmas" on December 13 in Downtown Manteo! Capture a photo of your pet with Santa Paws at Poodles & Bob from 10am-12pm; visit Sensory Santa at the Roanoke Island Inn from 11am - 1pm; Enjoy music from the Outer Banks Youth Chorus at 11:30am; join the Gnome for the Holidays scavenger hunt or shop the sales at local boutiques! Snap a pic of a real Roanoke Island Santa complete with crab pots and fishing boots in front of the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse from 3:30pm - 5:30pm! grab a hot chocolate from Shut the Barn Door and head over to Magnolia Pavilion for Mistletoe Line Dancing from 4pm - 6pm with Let's Dance OBX! Then, at 6pm, head to the Manteo Waterfront to enjoy the Outer Banks Holiday Flotilla featuring anything that floats decorated for Christmas! Enjoy some dinner at any of our wonderful restaurants, catch a movie or Rock the Holidays at Old Tom's Tavern from 7pm to 9:30pm; grab a few stamps for your Christmas Island or Twelve Bars Christmas and your day will be complete! A High Tide Christmas is sponsored by the Manteo Business Association, who encourage you to shop small, buy local and support your community during this holiday season!

Join The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, Saturday, December 13th, from 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm for some holiday spirit! Enjoy live music, refreshments, make a seashell ornament, and write letters to Santa! Tour the gallery and enter a raffle for your chance to win an original Sam Green wood duck decoy! Holiday parade through Hatteras Village with an awards presentation following at the museum. This event is FREE and open to the public.

Join in the fun of one of the most festive celebrations on Hatteras Island with this annual Christmas parade that has become a decades-long tradition for locals and holiday visitors alike. The Hatteras Island Christmas Parade combines local businesses, fire departments, the US Coast Guard, and non-profit organizations in a joyful and small-town parade that will inspire anyone to get into the holiday spirit.

The parade happens every year around the second Saturday in December, (weather permitting), and features a roughly mile-long route that veers from the Hatteras Community Center to Eagle Pass Road in the heart of Hatteras village. Local businesses and organizations are represented with coastal-themed floats, and kids of all ages will love the candy, toys, and other prizes that are thrown to the crowds throughout the march down NC Highway 12. Santa himself makes a special appearance at the end of the parade, and everyone is welcome back at the Hatteras Community Center after the parade is over for hot cocoa, cookies, and to hear the winners of this year’s parade festivities. Always drawing a large crowd of locals, homeowners, and visitors, this wonderful outdoor event is a favorite way for island lovers of all ages to officially ring in the holiday season. 

Join Ranger Austin for a fun and festive evening hike to the light.  Experience the dunes at night with an educational tour up to our solar powered Christmas tree.  Catch a magical view from Jockey's Ridge and the spirit of the holiday season!

Pre-registration is required.

Email austin.paul@ncparks.gov to register.