"Outerbanks-NC" a Ocracoke Island Travel Page by Shihar

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.

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!

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.