"Outerbanks-NC" Top 5 Page for this destination Ocracoke Island by Shihar

Ocracoke Island Travel Guide: 71 reviews and 109 photos

The Best of the OBX

Ocracoke Island is a small gem of an island along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The majority of the 17 miles of the island is protected by the National Park Service.

The Outerbanks is located in the far eastern section of North Carolina coast consisting of barrier islands.Many N. Carolinians have never visited the OBX simply because it is not very easy to get to and can be a very time comsuming drive.

Getting There...

Along the shore

From Raleigh, NC- Take I-64 to Manteo (approximately 3.5 hours). Then take Rt-12 to the Hatteras Ferry. Once on the Ferry to Ocracoke ,the ride is about 40 minutes. Total traveling time between 6-7 hours.

Ocracoke's Island slogan- May not be the easiest place to get to but worth a visit!

Banker Ponies- Ocracoke's Favorite Residents

Banker Ponies

There is mystery surrounding these horses, nobody knows exactly how they got on the island! There is a legend that the horses were left by shipwrecked explorerers in the 16th or 17th century. If a ship ran aground near the coast, animals were thrown off the ship to lighten the load.
Banker horses have been documented at Ocracoke since the first European settlers came to stay in the 1730's.There has been as many as 300 horses on the island.
In 1959, the free roaming horses were permanently penned to prevent over grazing and to safeguard against traffic. The remaining herd is now cared for by the National Park Service. There are only about 35-30 horses in the herd currently.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Nice Getaway!
Cons:Way too much tourism for that tiny island in peak season
In a nutshell:Definately worth a visit during off season!

Last visit to Ocracoke Island: Apr 2006
Intro Updated Apr 24, 2006
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Reviews (24)

Any water sports available! - Ocracoke Island

Any water sports available! Sports & Outdoors (1)

You can do and rent any type of water activities of your hearts desire! The most interesting sport we saw was Kite... more travel advice

Ocracoke Broque- Dialect - Ocracoke Island

Ocracoke Broque- Dialect Local Customs (1)

One of the main reasons that I was looking forward to visiting Ocracoke is to hear the native dialect. I took to a... more travel advice

All things Blackbeard! - Ocracoke Island

All things Blackbeard! Tourist Traps (1)

If you had no idea that the pirate Blackbeard hung out here on Ocracoke, you will definately be educated by the... more travel advice

Jockey Ridge State Park - Ocracoke Island

Jockey Ridge State Park Off The Beaten Path (2)

PAGE IN PROGRESS more travel advice

Warnings and Dangers (2)
See All Play it safe in the summer!
Restaurants (5)
See All Great Bagels
Favorites (1)
Legless Louie the Laughing Gull
Hotels (1)
Teeter's Campground
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Comments (6)

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NCCruiseGurl Aug 24, 2008 at 6:24 PM

Shilol, My "Beach Bungalow" (trailer) is about 50 steps from the cemetery. We didn't get to talk about OK. Randy taught there for 5 years. Beth
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NC_Ziggy Mar 14, 2008 at 11:45 AM

Hi! It's nice to know that Legless Louie is alive and well! Great job on your tips & pics! Have a great weekend!
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xdescendx May 26, 2007 at 10:51 AM

Nice Ocracoke pages. I'll be visiting for a few days in June-July. It looks like a really relaxing place. I'll be going with my girlfriend from Poland, so I'm hoping it'll be a great experience for her. Thanks for sharing this information.
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chewy3326 Jan 29, 2007 at 3:26 PM

Interesting tip about the local dialect. Great restaurant tips, too; looks like you had a great trip to the OBX!
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toonsarah May 23, 2006 at 11:31 AM

Thanks for the nice comment about my home page. I was going to leave one on yours but then I spotted you'd been to Ocracoke. Great place, great pages - brought back many happy memories. We too loved the coffeehouse!
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Florida999 May 5, 2006 at 4:58 AM

We sat out a storm at Howard's Pub several years ago ( food was great). Ocracoke will be forever "mosquito island" for us....