The wildlife, especially waterfowl, is an integral part of Down East. Our waterfowl, boat building and decoy carving heritage is celebrated, preserved and shared by the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum located on Harkers Island. Be sure to visit, and return again during the first weekend of December to enjoy the Core Sound Waterfowl Weekend, including the Core Sound Decoy Festival from which it grew. The Decoy Festival will be in it's fifteenth year this winter!

Cape Lookout, with its landmark lighthouse, is located at the southernmost point of the Cape Lookout National Seashore, on the Core Banks. While the headquarters of the park is located at the tip of Harkers Island, it is only accessible by ferry.

To the east of Cape Lookout, the Shackleford Banks are home to a herd of feral horses, and the location of Diamond City, the original home of many Core Sound families. Hurricanes in 1896 and 1899 devastated the Banks town, forcing a migration to the Harkers Island, Morehead City and Salter Path that left the Banks towns only memories.