North Carolina Highway 12 passes through the community linking it to Frisco to the east and Ocracoke to the west (via a ferry across Hatteras Inlet).

On the protected Pamlico Sound side of the island, watersports such as windsurfing, kayaking, kiteboarding, and swimming are all readily available and accessible.

A large museum dedicated to not only the Maritime History of the region but the thousands of ship wrecks off the coast of the island in the Graveyard of the Atlantic Hatteras has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa).

Hatteras experiences hot summers, somewhat moderated by the Atlantic Ocean, and some of the mildest winters in the state, with no month having an average low temperature below 40 °F (4.4 °C).

[10] The Ellsworth and Lovie Ballance House and Hatteras Weather Bureau Station are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.