[6] Early maps of the area show Nags Head as a promontory of land characterized by high sand dunes visible from miles at sea.

This direction was accelerated in 1855 when Dr. W. G. Pool bought 50 acres of oceanfront land which he separated into plots and sold to friends, increasing the number of homes in the area.

[citation needed] Jockey's Ridge is the last vestige of the sand dunes seen by the first explorers, as the area is now highly developed.

[11] In May 2021, Nags Head was one of 11 communities (along with nearby Ocracoke, North Carolina) chosen by the United States Department of Energy to participate in the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project, a program to provide federal aid for remote communities to modernize their electric infrastructure and resiliency through natural disasters and outages.

Located in Nags Head is the largest sand dune on the East Coast at Jockey's Ridge State Park.

Jockey's Ridge has been popular with hang-gliders since the advent of the sport, and is home to the world's largest hang gliding school.

The diversity of wildlife may change with seasonal migrations and includes bird species, foxes, mice, squirrels, occasional deer and rabbits.

Annual visitors find that ephemeral pools can spring up, and the sand can shift, making for a fresh experience every time.

The Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve is 1,092 acres (4.42 km2) and lies North of Jockey's Ridge and east of Roanoke Sound.

The town also features miniature golf courses and small amusement centers with go-karts and bumper cars for family entertainment.

Other attractions include various National Register of Historic Places in or near Nags Head, such as the following: According to the Trewartha climate classification system, Nags Head, North Carolina has a humid subtropical climate with hot and humid summers, cool winters and year-around precipitation (Cfak).

The plant hardiness zone in Nags Head is 8b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 16.9 °F (−8.4 °C).