Okracoke Island, OBX, North Carolina

A Winter Beach (Mostly) to Yourself

In 2020, I set the lofty goal of walking 20.20 miles in one day by the end of the year. I accomplished my goal on Ocracoke Island that December, with a series of walks up the entire coast 15-mile coast, plus some in town strolls. The next year we returned to Ocracoke for Thanksgiving. Empowered by my 2020 walk, I had spent 2021 walking the OBX coast in a series of hop on hop off legs. Once again, I tackled the Ocracoke coastline, this time walking the entire stretch at once, from the ramp closest to the ferry landing all the way to South Beach.
During the summer we parked in the main parking lot at Ocracoke Beach to swim at the lifeguarded beach, while many families chose to drive to their beachfront recreation spot.

Local Shopping

One of Ocracoke’s greatest assets is the fact that it is home to only locally owned shops and restaurants.

A pre-holiday visit is the perfect opportunity to shop for gifts that support small local businesses. The Village Craftsmen and other island shops are filled with high quality and USA-made jewelry, pottery, and art. The store is owned by the Howard Family, who are stewards to the history of the island as some of its earliest inhabitants. If you plan to visit the island, their website and Facebook Page provide both local history and recent news. Other shops include Moonraker’s Tea Shop, Island Ragpicker, Over the Moon, Down Creek Gallery, Books to be Red, Bella Fiore Pottery, and Seabreak Jewelry. Coffee from Magic Bean and Ocracoke Island Coffee kept us fueled for our shopping.

Businesses are family-owned with minimal staff, so hours often don’t match what is listed on Google, especially during the holidays. Give restaurants and stores a call before you visit, or check facebook pages to see when they are open. On New Year’s Day we called one restaurant to order lunch and were greeted with a message apologizing for being closed because their oven had broken. Being young once ourselves, we were a little suspicious that the “oven” had just been up too late the night before ringing in 2021.

Harborfront Action

The island offers an array of accommodations, from large multi-family homes to small independent hotels and B&Bs. However, I am not sure any of them top the view from our Silver Lake Harbor front rental. From our window we were treated to birdwatching that included pelicans, herons, cormorants and small diving ducks. One afternoon a river otter spent a few hours swimming around Silver Lake Harbor.

(Side note- this is not an actual lake. Remember when, in the movie Jaws, the shark went into the “lake” where the small kids were sailing? Silver Lake is like that one.)

Island Dining

There are an array of restaurants on the island, from more upscale spots like Dajio to the Mexican food truck Eduardo’s. We’ve made many dining-oriented memories on the island, from Alice’s first sip of coke from Taqueria Suazo’s to an Italian food themed campfire on the Beach with a takeout pizza from Jason’s and pasta from Sorellas. Pony Island Restaurant omelets and waffles & ice cream were breakfasts of champions. Dining on the picnic tables at Flying Melon included delicious food and welcomed visits from the islands resident Ocracats. Howard’s Pub, Ocracoke Oyster Company, and SMacNally’s are staples for seafood on the Island. Finally, hot pretzels from Plum Point kitchen and beer from 1718 Brewery were staples of our vacation diet.

B&B Life

The Castle on Silver Lake offers rooms for couples and small families in the main building, as well as condo-style villas behind and next to the property. When staying in the Villas, breakfast was not included, but we did have access to the pool and steam room. On our summer and spring trip we booked the Lighthouse suite, which takes up the two floors of the castle and has a living room with panoramic views of the island. The outer deck was available to anyone staying on property during the day and early evening, but became private for those booked in the Lighthouse overnight.

Beach Fires & Driving

Downloading a fire permit is all you need to have a fire on the beach within that season’s rules. During the summer we found ourselves inundated with small biting “no-see-ems” and mosquitos. November and December gave us perfect nights for stargazing and having dinner by campfire, without being a feast for the local population of insects.
To drive on the beach you need to obtain a permit from the National Park Service, and spend a lot of time researching what vehicles can be used, the equipment you will need, and what you will do if you get stuck. There are entire facebook groups devoted to people how made poor choices for driving on the beach; you don’t want to be on them.