Park Statistics

Visitation

There are several reporting systems and studies that document visitation statistics at Cape Hatteras National Seashore:

• Monthly and yearly visitation figures are available through the National Park Service Public Statistics Office.
• Outer Banks Group, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Visitor Study (2002)
• Outer Banks Visitors Bureau Visitor Conversion Study (2003)

Acreage

Cape Hatteras National Seashore encompasses 24,470 acres. Nearby Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, within the authorized Seashore boundary, is 5,880 acres.

Designations

Cape Hatteras National Seashore is our nation's first national seashore.

Establishment

Cape Hatteras National Seashore was authorized by Congress on August 17, 1937 and established on January 12, 1953.

Your Dollars At Work

The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 is one of the most recent and comprehensive of a number of laws and executive orders directing federal agencies to join the "performance management revolution" already embraced by private industry and many local, state, and national governments. Performance management ensures that daily actions and expenditure of resources are guided by long- and short-term goal setting in pursuit of accomplishing an organization's primary mission, followed by performance measurement and evaluation.

Strategic planning, as required by GPRA, is conducted for the National Park Service as a whole, and by every park, program, and central office to assure each will have its own specific strategic plan. Parks, programs, and central offices engage in strategic planning as a way to manage overall performance, and thereby to achieve better results in their mission of preserving resources and providing for visitor enjoyment.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Strategic Plan (2006-2011) (PDF)

Fiscal Year 2007 Annual Performance Plan, Cape Hatteras National Seashore (PDF)

SUPPORT YOUR PARK

The National Park Service cares for America's treasures, and you can help.

• Be a good park visitor. Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints. Enjoy yourself and remember future visitors who will come after you hoping to enjoy these American treasures too.
• Support stewardship of the park by becoming educated about the park's natural and cultural resources. 
• Be a volunteer. There's nothing more rewarding than warm thanks from visitors who you helped connect to the park and it's resources!
• Support the park's bookstores. Park bookstores run by Eastern National donate a share of their proceeds to help fund exhibits and programs.  
• Keep informed on park issues and provide comment during park planning processes.
• Be a good steward by obeying park regulations, including, but not limited to: picking up trash; keeping dogs leashed; leaving precious resources undisturbed, including shipwrecks; properly disposing of fishing lines and carcasses; not using metal detectors; reporting injured animals; and not harassing park wildlife.