Kitty Hawk is where most Outer Banks trips begin: the Wright Memorial Bridge lands here, and US-158 splits toward the beach roads. It is the calmest of the three northern beach towns, with more year-round homes than rental complexes and a wide, gently sloping beach that suits families with small kids.
The first powered flights occurred at Kill Devil Hills. Kitty Hawk remains closely associated with the Wright brothers because they stayed in the village and used its name in their correspondence. Wilbur and Orville Wright stayed in Kitty Hawk village, mailed their telegrams from the Kitty Hawk weather station, and used the town's name in their correspondence — which is why history books credit it — but the flights of December 17, 1903 took place about four miles south, on the Kill Devil Hills dunes, where the Wright Brothers National Memorial stands today.
What Kitty Hawk has of its own is the Kitty Hawk Woods Coastal Reserve, nearly 2,000 acres of maritime forest and swale ponds with paddling access off Bob Perry Road, plus the Kitty Hawk Pier, quieter beach accesses with bathhouses at Byrd Street and Kitty Hawk Bath House, and a compact strip of long-running local restaurants, breakfast spots and tackle shops along the Beach Road. Use it as a base if you want a short drive to the Wright Memorial, Jockey's Ridge and Duck without staying in the busiest stretch of the coast.