The short version
March is the month the Outer Banks wakes up. The seasonal restaurants reopen one by one, the Currituck Beach Lighthouse opens for the year in late March, and the St. Patrick’s Day parade fills the Beach Road in Nags Head. The beaches are as empty as they get: the National Weather Service station at Cape Hatteras averages a 61°F high and a 46°F low for the month, and the ocean at the Duck research pier is in the 40s until the last days of the month. Nobody is swimming. Plenty of people are walking, fishing, shelling and driving the sand — no Currituck parking permit is needed until May, and Nags Head’s beach is open to four-wheel drives through April 30.
Wind is the March story more than temperature. A nor’easter can shut the beach down for two days; the day after one is glass, and a 60° afternoon on an empty beach is the reason people who know the place come now. April is warmer and busier.
March weather
The numbers, from the Cape Hatteras weather station’s 1991–2020 normals and NOAA’s ocean gauge at Duck:
- Air: average high 61°F, average low 46°F. A 70° day happens; so does a 45° one with rain sideways. Pack for both.
- Rain: about 4.4 inches for the month, in line with winter.
- Ocean: low-to-mid 40s at the start of the month, around 50°F by the end (Duck readings, 2025–2026). Surfers are in full wetsuits, hoods and boots. Live readings by town are on the water temperature page.
- Daylight: sunset is about 6 pm at the start of the month; the clocks go forward on March 14, and by the 31st the sun sets around 7:25 pm.
- Wind: March brings nor’easters and the first hard southwest blows. Watch the forecast, and expect ocean overwash on NC 12 on Hatteras Island in a big one. Live conditions by town are on the weather page.
What changes in March
- Currituck Beach Lighthouse opens for the season in late March (March 21 in 2026), then climbs daily through November 30. Details on the lighthouse guide.
- No Currituck beach parking permit. The county’s permit season doesn’t start until the second Saturday of May (May 8, 2027). You still need a true 4x4 to reach Carova; the beach is the road. See the Carova Beach guide.
- The town beaches are still open to driving. Nags Head’s season runs through April 30 with a town permit; Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk and Southern Shores run their own off-season programs on their own dates. The 4x4 beach access map shows the areas.
- Cape Hatteras National Seashore is as open as it gets. The ORV permit is required all year, but in March every route is open around the clock, including the seasonal routes in front of the Hatteras Island villages, which stay open through April 14. Shorebird pre-nesting closures start going up on the points and spits in the spring, so check the NPS conditions page before you commit to a ramp.
- The restaurants come back. This is the month the seasonal places reopen. Taste of the Beach, the restaurant association’s festival, moves to April 9–11 in 2027.
- Fishing. Sea mullet are on every beach by the end of the month, and the first puppy drum show in the sounds and the lower surf. Our surf fishing calendar has the month species by species.
Spring break on the Outer Banks
The drive-market school breaks fall anywhere from mid-March to mid-April, and Easter week (Easter is March 28 in 2027) is the busy one. What’s open for a spring-break week: the Wright Brothers memorial, Jockey’s Ridge, the aquarium on Roanoke Island, the Currituck lighthouse, the wild horse tours, the ferries, and the beach itself for driving, fishing and walking. What isn’t: the ocean, unless you own a wetsuit. Rental houses are on spring rates and the good ones for Easter week go early.
The parade
The Outer Banks St. Patrick’s Day Parade runs a mile of the Beach Road (Virginia Dare Trail) in Nags Head, from Bladen Street at milepost 11.5 to Driftwood Street, on the Sunday before St. Patrick’s Day (Sunday, March 15 in 2026, at 1 pm). It is the one day in March the Beach Road is crowded.
Month by month: April · October · November · December · the whole year
Frequently asked questions
Is March a good time to visit the Outer Banks?
For empty beaches, fishing, lighthouse climbs and low rates, yes. For swimming, no: the ocean is in the 40s. Pack for 45° and 70° in the same week and keep an eye on the forecast for nor’easters.
Can you swim in the ocean in March?
Not without a full wetsuit. The ocean at Duck runs in the 40s for most of the month and reaches about 50°F by the end.
Is anything open on the Outer Banks in March?
More every week. The Currituck Beach Lighthouse opens in late March, the seasonal restaurants reopen through the month, the aquarium, the Wright Brothers memorial, Jockey’s Ridge and the ferries run all year, and the wild horse tours are running.
Do you need a permit to drive on the beach in March?
Currituck County (Corolla and Carova): no permit to drive and none to park until May. Cape Hatteras National Seashore: yes, the National Park Service ORV permit, all year. Nags Head: yes, the town permit, through April 30.
What is the weather like on the Outer Banks in March?
Average high 61°F, average low 46°F, about 4.4 inches of rain, and wind. It is the month of nor’easters and of the first warm afternoons, often in the same week.