Where Is Kitty Hawk NC?

Where in the world is Kitty Hawk?

If you have this question… you’ve come to the right place!

Kitty Hawk is a town located on the Outer Banks, a chain of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina. The area is centered between the towns of Southern Shores to the north, and Kill Devil Hills to the south.

Highly regarded by travel bloggers, Kitty Hawk features world-class beaches, eclectic shops and boutiques, and some of the area’s very best restaurants like Rundown Cafe, Barefoot Bernies, and Art’s Place.

If you want to travel to Kitty Hawk, we recommend either driving from your starting point directly to the town. Consider spending the night somewhere along the way if the drive is long! You can also fly into Norfolk International Airport (about 90 minutes northwest) and rent a car to make it the rest of the way.

If you are traveling from the north, you will likely take US 158. This is the road most people take to get onto the barrier island. Once you travel through Powells Point and cross over the Wright Memorial Bridge, you’ll be in Kitty Hawk.

Where to Stay in Kitty Hawk

If you aren’t fortunate enough to have a friend or family member that lives in Kitty Hawk, you’ll have to find a place to stay. Fortunately, there are hundreds of charming vacation rental homes to choose from, as well as a few hotels and condos.

Most of the homes require that you book at least a three-night stay – others mandate that you book at least a week-long stay. There are a number of different vacation rental companies that manage the homes in Kitty Hawk. You can visit their individual websites to find and book a home that’s right for you.

If you want to book a hotel, you should know that there are the fewer length of stay restrictions. Most hotel rooms can be booked for one to two nights without any additional cost to you.

Kitty Hawk NC History

The town’s name is included in many school history books, as this was where the two brothers from Dayton, Ohio, Orville and Wilbur Wright, made the first sustained, controlled, powered heavier-than-air manned flight at Kill Devil Hills, NC, four miles (8 km) south of Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903. Back then, that portion of the Outer Banks wasn’t called Kill Devil Hills, it was part of the town of Kitty Hawk.

The modern town of Kill Devil Hills did not exist until about 50 years after the First Flight. Orville and Wilbur chose the area because of the town’s frequent winds and soft sandy surfaces were suitable for their glider experiments, which they conducted over a three-year period prior to making the powered flights.

The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber AV-19 with an aircraft number of 93-1086, P-40D Kitty hawk fighter aircraft, the aircraft transport ship USS Kitty Hawk (AKV-1), and the Apollo 14 command module have been named for the town, which incorporated in 1981.