NPS and Outer Banks Visitor Bureau Feature Google Maps

Date: May 30, 2008
Contact: Outer Banks Group, [phone] ext: 148

Outer Banks Group Superintendent Mike Murray and Outer Banks Visitor Bureau Managing Director Carolyn McCormick announce a new feature on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the Visitor Bureau websites utilizing the popular Google Earth maps. The new feature provides a glimpse of, and the most current beach access information for the National Seashore on Google Earth maps. Seashore and Visitor Bureau staff worked together on the project to produce an interactive set of maps providing visual tools for the visiting public who seek the most current online information for beach access in the National Seashore.

A free download of Google Earth is available for first time users, or users with Google Earth click directly on the "current beach access map" link. The program allows you to zoom into any stretch of beach to check the status of access and protection resource areas. The underlying Google Earth map imagery is dated from 2004 to 2006 and, in some cases, may not exactly match the current, actual shoreline. (See disclaimer on maps) The color coded lines indicate the actual shoreline access status, even though in some cases, it appears on the image that the line is located landward or seaward of the base image maps. These lines are based on recent/current GPS readings and reflect actual shoreline locations and access status. The maps will be updated regularly and the date of the most recent update will be indicated on the link.

For current information on beach access, visit the park website at www.nps.gov/caha and click on "Off-Road Vehicle Information - More" link in the top middle of the page. Click on "Current ORV Access Information (Reports and Maps)," click on "Current Interactive Beach Access Map using Google Earth."

The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau website also has current beach access information. Go to www.outerbanks.org and click on the National Park access link, located on the lower left of the homepage. Once there, click on the "Current Beach Access Map" link.

For more information on the three units of the Outer Banks Group and to plan trips to the Outer Banks, check the National Park Service’s website at www.nps.gov/caha or www.nps.gov/fora and www.nps.gov/wrbr.  For more information on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, visit the Outer Banks Visitor Bureau website at www.outerbanks.org.

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