Ocracoke Island

Ocracoke is reachable only by ferry, which has kept it different from the rest of the Outer Banks. The village sits round Silver Lake harbour with the 1823 lighthouse above it, the oldest still operating in North Carolina and among the oldest in the country. Islanders speak what linguists call the Ocracoke brogue, a distinct dialect with roots in early English settlement that survived through isolation and is now receding as the older generation goes. Blackbeard was killed in the waters off the island in 1718. Banker ponies, a feral horse population, are kept in a pasture on the island. Hurricane Dorian flooded the village badly in 2019 and rebuilding took years.

What you actually see

• A lighthouse of 1823 - the oldest working one in the state.
• The Ocracoke brogue - a distinct dialect, now receding.
• Banker ponies - kept in a pasture on the island.
• Ferry-only access - which is why it stayed different.

When to go

May to October. A full day, better with a night.

Honest expectations

Ferries book out in summer and cancel in weather - the long routes need reservations. Hurricane damage has been severe and repeated. There is one village and little else. Off season, most of it closes.

Nearby

Hatteras Island is north by ferry; Cape Lookout is south.