Ocracoke Attractions

Most of Ocracoke Island’s attractions are of the best variety: free! Or at least they’re very inexpensive.

The attractions here are simple and unfettered, with few of the usual commercial trappings of a tourist site. There are no go-cart tracks, mini-golf courses, waterslides or movie theaters. On Ocracoke, the island itself is an attraction. When people are here, they just don’t need as much stimulation. Quiet walks on the beach (Cape Hatteras National Seashore), fishing and clamming, looking for

Ocracoke’s beach has attracted increasing national attention as it works its way up Dr. Beach’s much ballyhooed list of “Best Beaches.” The wide sandy beach is clean, and there are plenty of spots where, with a little effort, you can enjoy it undisturbed by others. The ocean reaches high temperatures of 85 F in the summer and can adopt the clear aquamarine hues of tropical waters when the conditions are right. Board sports, surf fishing, swimming, shelling, reading and napping are all popular beach pastimes. The 16 miles of oceanfront beach are part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and are free of development.

There are nine on and off ramps between the beach and N.C. Highway 12, five of which provide four-wheel-drive access. The southern and northern ends of the beach, the areas most popular with surf fishermen, are open year-round to four-wheel-drive vehicles. The section of the beach between Ramp 70, by the airport, and Ramp 59, at the Hatteras ferry, is closed to vehicle traffic seasonally and has plenty of good spots for families with children and those looking for more solitude. Several threatened and endangered species, such as the piping plover and several species of sea turtles, nest on the island’s beaches, and sections may be closed to the public in order to protect these nests.

Lifeguards are on duty at the most popular, though by no means overcrowded, beach from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The lifeguard beach is on the right about 1 1/2 miles north of the village and is identifiable by a small brown swimmer sign and its large parking lot. There are restrooms, changing rooms and a shower facility here as well.

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National Park Service Ocracoke Island Visitor Center
38 Irvin Garrish Hwy.
(252) 928-4531
The majority of land on Ocracoke is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and is publicly owned and administered by the National Park Service. The NPS Visitor Center, located at the southernmost end of N.C. Highway 12 near the Cedar Island and Swan Quarter ferry docks, is a clearinghouse for all types of island and national seashore information. You’ll find an information desk, helpful staff, a bookshop, free maps, informational brochures and exhibits about the island. From Memorial Day through Labor Day three or four ranger-led programs are offered daily. The visitor center is
open year-round.

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Historic Marker of Fort Ocracoke
Irvin Garrish Hwy., behind the NPS Visitor Center
This marker is a little hard to find, but it’s worth seeking out. It’s on a grassy patch behind the National Park Service Visitor Center and next to the boat ramp. Park the car and walk out to the sound and you’ll see it. The marker commemorates Fort Ocracoke, the remnants of which lie submerged in Ocracoke Inlet toward Portsmouth Island. The fort was constructed by volunteers beginning on May 20, 1861, the day North Carolina seceded from the Union to join the Confederacy. One side of the marker lists all the men from Ocracoke and Portsmouth islands who were killed in the Civil War.

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British Cemetery
British Cemetery Road
On May 11, 1942, about 40 miles south of Ocracoke, a German submarine torpedoed and sank the British vessel HMS Bedfordshire. The 170-foot ship was one of 24 antisubmarine ships loaned to the United States by Winston Churchill. The entire crew of four officers and 33 crewmen drowned. U.S. Coast Guard officers found four of the bodies washed ashore three days later. The soldiers were buried on a plot of land next to a family’s cemetery on land donated to Britain. The Coast Guard still maintains the grave sites and flies a British flag over the graves. Every year on the anniversary of the sailors’ deaths, there is a ceremony to honor the British sailors. The adjacent village cemetery also provides an interesting look back into Ocracoke Island’s past.

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Ocracoke Lighthouse Lighthouse Road Ocracoke Lighthouse may be the shortest of the four Outer Banks lighthouses but that only makes it all the more charming. About 70 feet tall, the whitewashed tower sits on a lawn of flawless green surrounded by a white picket fence, outbuildings and a quaint keeper’s cottage, creating a picturesque scene of old island life. Built in 1823, this is the oldest lighthouse in North Carolina and the second-oldest in the nation. It is still in operation, and its beam can be seen 14 miles out to sea. During the summer season, docents are often on hand to answer questions and offer tours of the lighthouse, though climbing is not permitted.

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Springer’s Point
Loop Road
Springer’s Point covers about 90 acres of maritime forest bordering Pamlico Sound near South Point. In 2002 after 10 years of research and negotiation, the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust purchased a 31-acre tract of this land and established a nature preserve. A high point of land overlooking the inlet, Springer’s is believed to be the site of the earliest settlements on the island. Supposedly Blackbeard, whose real name was Edward Teach, met up with some fellow pirates here shortly before his 1718 death for several days of rum drinking, a pig roast, bonfires and music. He was discovered at his hangout in November and beheaded in a bloody battle. The deep hole just off the point is a popular fishing spot and still called “Teach’s Hole.”

Today the preserve is available for more serene pleasures. A half-mile stroll along the groomed trail takes you among the gnarled and ancient live oaks and maritime evergreen forest to the water’s edge, where a rookery of heron, egret and ibises can be spotted to the east. Along the trail visitors will see an old well, all that is left of a former home site. You should also take time to notice the amazing fences made of natural wood and vines. The inimitable Sam Jones, who once owned the property, is buried here, next to his horse.

Parking is not available, and you must walk or bike to access the property. Donations supporting maritime forest restoration can be made at the Ocracoke Preservation Society.

Deepwater Theater
School Road
(252) 928-7580, 928-4280
Deepwater Theater is the home theater of Molasses Creek, Ocracoke Island’s hometown band that’s built a loyal following with its blend of soulful singing, bluegrass fiddlin’ and occasionally skewed sense of humor. From June through August, Molasses Creek plays here on Thursday evenings. On Wednesday evenings the Ocrafolk Opry takes over, featuring a panoply of local musicians and special visiting guests. The door opens at 7:30 and shows begin at 8:00 p.m. Ticket prices are around $15 for adults and $7 for children.

Newly added in 2006 was the Rumgagger Pirate show, featuring tall tales and songs of the sea on Tuesdays at Deepwater Theater.

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Ocracoke Pony Pens Irvin Garrish Hwy. There are many theories about how ponies found their way to Ocracoke Island. Some say they arrived on English ships during 16th-century exploration, others say they were victims of Spanish shipwrecks and some say they were simply livestock for the locals. However they got here, the ponies roamed the island freely for at least two centuries and were very much a part of the island lifestyle in days gone by. The local Boy Scouts even rode them, making them the only mounted troop in the country.

When N.C. Highway 12 was paved in 1957, cars and ponies began to collide. The National Park Service wanted to get rid of the entire herd, but the islanders protested and the Park Service agreed to contain some of the ponies on the island. In 1959, they developed the Ocracoke Pony Pens, a 180-acre pasture area that today houses about 24 ponies. Several ponies are rotated up to the front pasture so that visitors can always get a look at these unusual equines. The Ocracoke ponies have distinctive physical characteristics: five lumbar vertebrae instead of the six found in most horses, 17 ribs instead of 18 and a unique shape, posture, color, size and weight.

The pens are located on N.C. 12 about 7 miles north of the village. It’s free to visit, but donations are welcomed to help pay for the food and veterinary care of the ponies. Remember: The ponies are not tame, and they may try to kick or bite you if you try to feed or touch them.

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Hammock Hills Nature Trail
Irvin Garrish Hwy.
Just across from the National Park Service’s Ocracoke Campground, the Hammock Hills Nature Trail is a 3/4-mile trail through the island’s maritime forest and salt marsh. It’s a great trail for nature lovers and bird watchers, and there are informative signposts along the way. The hike takes about 30 minutes.

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Portsmouth Island
Portsmouth Island, just across the inlet from Ocracoke Island, is an enchanting place to visit. This uninhabited island is rugged and remote, one of the last Atlantic coast islands that is free of development, thanks to its status as part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore. There is much to do on this island, all of it free and simple, filled with history and the allure of the natural world.

On the north end of the island is a veritable ghost town known as Portsmouth Village. The village was once one of the largest settlements on the Outer Banks, though no one lives there now, save a caretaker. Portsmouth Village was established in 1753 on the shores of Ocracoke Inlet, and it was predominantly a “lightering” village. Large ships that used Ocracoke Inlet as a major trade route to the mainland would have to be unloaded to pass through the inlet and the shallow sounds and then reloaded as they found deeper waters. The residents of Portsmouth Village did the lightering of the load by moving goods to several smaller flatboats and then reloading the ships a ways down the water. A large community sprang up around this business, with a post office, a church, a school and many homes.

In 1846 Hatteras Inlet opened in a hurricane and was deeper and safer than Ocracoke Inlet. The shipping route shifted to the north, and the Portsmouth villagers had to find other ways to make a living. Later, during the Civil War, many islanders fled to the mainland to avoid advancing Union troops and never came back after the war. Portsmouth Village’s population continued to decline until there were only three residents left in 1970. In 1971, one of them died and the other two left the island reluctantly. In 1976 Portsmouth Village was saved when Cape Lookout National Seashore was established. The village is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Many of the buildings have been restored, and visitors can enter the church, Coast Guard station, school house and post office for a peek at old island life. The interiors look as if the people have just left, and you can look into the windows of some old buildings and see the villagers’ former belongings. There is also a visitor center in a restored house where you’ll find restrooms and exhibits on the island’s history. You can walk from the village to the beach, though it is a long walk so be prepared. The beach at Portsmouth Island is expansive and clean, and the shelling is outstanding.

Conveniences are few on Portsmouth Island. Restrooms are available, but drinking water and food are not. Bring your own, plus sunscreen and insect repellent. The mosquitoes are voracious on Portsmouth Island. The island is only accessible by boat. See Recreation for information on Portsmouth Island ferry services and boat rentals.

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