Great area to sit and enjoy the view or to go shopping. We loved sitting over here and enjoying…read moretime outside with the ocean.

This is where you wait for the ferry to Ocracoke. Best to arrive early to make sure you get your…read morespot on it. If you arrive after 10 most likely you will not get on. What gets worse is when you watch the Express lane fill up with trucks.

Great area for the kids to play in the water without having to deal with the huge waves of NC…read more Highly recommend. Get there early to get beach space

There really are a lot of Canucks here windsurfing. I spoke with a few from the Montreal area…read more This mass invasion of socialists from the north means there's a lot of excessive politeness, "eh"s, "sorry"s, and disputes resolved with words rather than guns. 'Murica.

We took the car ferry to Ocracoke Island for a day while visiting the Outer Banks in November…read more While there, this was one of the places we stopped. We did a short .8 mile trail here. Parking is kind of weird. There's no parking at the trail, but we parked at a nearby church that had parking for a donation. The trail starts out in a wooded area that's really pretty. Then the middle portion of the trail is along the beach. The beach portion was my favorite part because of all the jelly fish we saw right on the shore. I don't know what phenomenon was going on that they were all right on the shore or if it's normal, but it was really cool. I'd definitely add this to your list of stops on Ocracoke Island.

Apparently this is Blackbeard's old stomping grounds. I'm kind of glad it hasn't been turned into…read moresome cheesy pirate-themed amusement park, but surprised that there really wasn't any information there on this. The paths lead through some diverse environments to a small inland-facing beach. People were using them for running, but you'll be done quickly if you do that. It's definitely a haven for mosquitos, and being on the inland side it isn't that windy. I saw signs indicating that the park is planning to expand with more trails. Given the amount of island that isn't easily accessible, this seems like a good decision to me.

While in Rodanthe, NC my family rented two double kayaks and had a blast paddling around the sound…read more This is an excellent adventure to take with kids. The sound is 1' to 3' deep so tip overs (if they were to happen) are not going to happen in deep waters. The kayaks are light - my wife nor I had any issues being the main paddler - we each had a kid in helping. We saw some fish, pelicans, and many sea gulls during our two hour rental. We dropped anchor (me holding onto the kayak) and got out and walked / played in the water midway as well. See my pics, this was a great time in the calm sound side waters. They close at 5pm most days so plan accordingly.

Nice owner and chilled worker, peaceful campsite by the sound. Good and roomy outdoor showers…read more(indoor showers are eh). Rental rate for wave runner is slightly discounted if staying on camp site ($55 for half hour jet ski but can't go too far north/south of the sound) Stayed at camp site #7 which has a view of the sound. Strong wind coming in from ocean side so make sure you have something solid to prevent the tent from blowing in (I used coolers).

Camped here for three days. Excellent camp grounds right next to the dunes and the ocean. The sky…read morewas amazing - millions of stars and no light bleed. The beach was clean and there were lots of shells. Camp spots were aplenty with space. Not crowded. The camp ranger Scott was a pleasure to converse with. A wonderful and intelligent man. Has showers but not hot water. Bathrooms were clean. No electric or water hook ups. Primitive camping.

Ten stars for the fabulous Ocracoke Island. Peaceful, relaxing, beautiful. I enjoyed my time here…read morevery much. There's just something about the isolation of being two hours from the mainland, independent in your own RV and not having to deal with the fast pace of the real world. The beach was beyond belief, free of crowds and noise and litter. Just watch the waves crashing is like pushing a reset button. The sunrise this morning was perfection itself. My only complaint here? The dang golf carts! These people drive like they are immune to traffic laws and physics, pulling out in front of my three ton RV that would crush them flat. Yes, there is a 20 mile per hour speed limit on the island and I adhered to it, but wow. Look out for these people zipping in and around parking lots. [Review 785 of 2025 - 4217 in North Carolina - 24345 overall]

This is a twofer review. We went on 2 tours with the Austins while on Ocracoke for a weeklong…read morevacation recently. This is our second time to go on the ATV Tour and jthe first time for a new tour they are offering, the Sand Bar Cruise. Both are fantastic! We have such a great time with these down to earth folks. First on the ATV Tour...you show up at their office/umbrella stand that is adjacent to the Jolly Roger Marina on the main drag in Ocracoke on Siler Lake Harbor. Bring these thing with you for certain: SUNSCREEN, GOOD BUG SPRAY. Other items you will need: Water, a few snacks if you are bringing kids and maybe some beach towels. Wear your bathing suit under your clothes. You jump in the boat with Wade (a native Ocracoker...very nice) and a guide and off you go (at a great clip) to Portsmouth Island. It is about a 15 minute boat ride. When you get there Wade will beach the boat and help you off and then he leaves you on the island with your super nice quide. You then hop on some ATV Mules (some with windshields, some without-try to get one with!) and away you go. She will take you to the edge of the Historic Portsmouth Village. Before you get there she stops and lets you DRENCH yourself with bug spray. Because this is a deserted island and a National Park, they don't do commercial mass spraying which is a must on the Outer Banks. THE BUGS ARE TERRIBLE!!! It is almost not worth going to the village because of this, but it is a really neat place. The place is like it was left when the last permanent resident left (back in the late 60's I believe). There is a life saving station with all kinds of informative displays including a replica boat. There is the post office, a really nbeat church that really shows the damage of Hurricane Emily and about 6 other houses. It is a walking tour and it is quite a hike and very buggy, but I swear it is worth it if you have any interest in this sort of thing. When you are done looking over the village, you will dash back out to your ATV (they aren't aloud in the village and you have to park where the bugs are the worst..so run!) and then you go back out the the beach where there are practically NO BUGS. There is great shelling here as hardly anyone takes te private ferry (that costs about $200@ car) so you have the beach all to yourself and for the remander of the tour (which is 4 hours total) you go check out the beach and look for shells (we always find big conch/welks!) You ,may even see some fishermen on the beach. While we were there one pulled in a STINGRAY! They let it go while we were there, thank goodness. Then back down the beach to meet Wade and he takes you back to Ocracoke. This tour is expensive (hence the deduction of 1 star) it is $85 per person. But I really think it is worth the money. NOW for the Sand Bar tour. This is the BANG-FOR-YOUR-BUCK experience on Ocracoke Island. It was WONDERFUL! You get on The Native Son, the Austins' new Pontoon Cruiser. It is very nice. THINGS TO TAKE: sunscreen, towels, chairs, a filled cooler, your beach book-basically whatever you would normally take to the beach with you. They have plenty of room on the boat. When we went , Wade and his wife and kids went with us alond with about 15 other people. The boat holds about 30 or so people and so you are very comfortable on the ride out to the Sand Bar. You go about 2/3 of the way to Portsmouth Island and Wade very smoothly and professionally steers you to the barely visable patch of sand and you disembark. You are on the tour for about 3 hours, and in that time, the Sand Bar keeps getting bigger a the tide is falling the entire time. The area you can explore is almost unlimited. The water on the sandbar varies in depth, from about 6" deep to over your head swimming holes. And all this is about 2 miles off shore! It is SO NEAT. While we were there my nephews (the buddied up with Wade's kids, Hayden and Colby) caught about 20 crabs and we found about 40 sand dollars!! It was so nice. Before we left the sandbar was about as big as half a football field exposed. We just turned our kids loose (ages 13 and 10). They had the most fun we had on the whole trip. This is the best deal on the island. $40 for the adults and $20 for the kids! You can't beat that with a stick! And there was even a coupon in the 'Sunny Deals' guide that is in every store for $5 off the adults! Fantastic. We will DEF be going back for more sand bar tours with the Wade Family. BOIL IT DOWN-If you have the cash go on...BOTH! If you are having to choose between the two, We like the Sand Bar Tour...no bugs and tons of laid back fun. If you need to be a little more entertained, the guided tour of Portsmouth Island is for you. Both are fun...its all about your prefrence.

My wife and I booked a morning trip during a recent stay on Ocracoke. We loved this excursion. Our…read moreguide, Mark, was personable and responsive to the desires of the group; my wife wanted to see one house in particular in the village, and he made sure we did. The ATVs were well-used but ran great and were a blast to drive on the beach. We would most definitely do this again. Well worth the money.

Awesome skatepark. Family friendly grounds with playground for children's and covered picnic area…read more Also has basketball courts.

The horses of Ocracoke Island, known as Banker Ponies, are believed to be descendants of Spanish…read moremustangs brought ashore after shipwrecks in the 16th century. One theory traces their arrival to the 1565 wreck of the Tiger, commanded by Sir Richard Grenville, who may have unloaded livestock onto the island. These ponies roamed freely for centuries, becoming part of the island's culture and even serving in beach races and as work animals. In 1959, they were penned to protect them from increasing car traffic after the highway was built. Today, the remaining herd lives in a protected enclosure managed by the National Park Service, preserving a living link to Ocracoke's maritime past. Sadly, there weren't any ponies this morning when I stopped by. [Review 783 of 2025 - 4215 in North Carolina - 24343 overall]

Our favourite beach access is directly across from the Ocracoke Pony pens, where the horses that…read moreare no longer able to care for themselves due to injury, age, et al, are cared for and guarded. You can still adopt a pony (donate) just like the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, and anything you give goes towards their care, medical, and food. After you arrive from the ferry, it's a very short drive and you'll come up on the pen to the right. Do not interfere with or feed them, but if you're lucky and the staff are feeding them you might have the opportunity to assist. There is a platform for better viewing, as they are gorgeous, sentient creatures, and you can sit peacefully and admire them from a safe distance.