Top Places to Visit in Ocracoke

Popular Places in Ocracoke

Ocracoke Lighthouse

The Ocracoke Lighthouse is the oldest (1822) and shortest (75’) of the Outer Banks lighthouses. It is also the second oldest operating lighthouse in the nation mounting an 8000 watt stationary light can be seen 14 miles away.

Before the Ocracoke Lighthouse was built, there was a wooden lighthouse in Ocracoke Inlet at Shell Castle Island. The lighthouse burned down in 1818 and the channel had shifted closer to Ocracoke making the village the best location for a replacement. Shell Castle Island exists only on maps now. The location is a shallow shoal that occasionally peaks above the surface of the water.

The Ocracoke lighthouse is on higher ground than many of the village homes. During floods caused by coastal storms, village residents would often gather at the lighthouse keeper’s home to wait out the flood.

Unlike other Outer Banks lighthouses, the Ocracoke Lighthouse cannot be climbed.

Pony Pens

Eight miles north of Ocracoke Village, the Ocracoke Pony Pens is a 188 acre area where a herd of Ocracoke Banker ponies roam.

The horses have been on the island since colonial times and genetically they are linked to the Corolla Wild Mustangs and the Shackleford Banks wild horses. The Ocracoke herd, however, has other genetic makeup from cross breeding that was done in the 19th and early 20th century and is not considered as true an example of the Spanish mustangs as either of the other herds.

Nonetheless, the herd, cared for by the National Park Service, is considered historically significant.

Howard Street

The oldest street in Ocracoke and one of the oldest the state, Howard Street is an unpaved, beautiful dirt road with quaint businesses in old homes and family graveyards framed by ancient live oak.

The street’s name is undoubtedly a tribute to William Howard, onetime purser for Blackbeard, who was given a last minute reprieve from the hangman’s noose, retired to Ocracoke where there is reason to believe he lived to be at least 100.

Many longtime residents of the village legitimately claim William Howard as an ancestor.

Ocracoke Preservation Society Museum

Across from the Ocracoke Ferry Terminal, the Ocracoke Preservation Society Museum is a small but fascinating glimpse into the story of Ocracoke.

It’s not an all day visit—an hour is plenty of time, but it will be time well-spent.

There is also a research library in the building.

British Cemetery

The British armed trawler HMT Bedfordshire was sunk by a torpedo from U-558 just before midnight on May 11, 1942, with the loss of the 36 man crew. Four bodies washed up on shore a few days later and were identified as Bedfordshire crewmen. A local family donated land for a burial and the cemetery has been perpetually leased by North Carolina to the British Government.

There is a joint British Navy/Coast Guard commemoration every May at the cemetery.

The cemetery is located at 234 British Cemetery Road.

Buxton Business District

Ocracoke Variety Store

With the nearest chain supermarket two hours away—if the ferry is caught just right— a local grocery store is at the center of Island life. The Ocracoke Variety Store is all of that.

It’s on Irving Garrish Highway about a quarter mile from the Cape Hatteras National Seashore border.

Howard’s Pub

It’s not Howard, a first name, that Howard’s Pub calls out. The original Pub was founded by Ron Howard, direct descendent of William Howard of Blackbeard fame. That was in 1979 at a different location and the Howards no longer own the business, but it remains as a tribute to the Howard legacy on Ocracoke Island.

The pub features a huge selection of beers, very good pub food and live music in season. A must see place on Ocracoke Island.

Ocracoke Working Fishermen’s Association

The fish doesn’t get fresher or better than the fish sold at the Ocracoke Working Fishermen’s Association Store. The docks are out back; the fish is processed on premises and whoever is behind the counter knows who caught the fish and when.

SMacNally’s Bar and Grill

It’s dangerous recommending a restaurant. Tastes are so varied that one person’s gourmet is another persons’s garbage. However, the recommendation for S McNally’s Bar and Grill is not for the food—which happens to be very well prepared—but for the setting.

An outdoor eatery with a bar that is on the Silver Lake waterfront, on a sunny summer day or a warm fall afternoon, it doesn’t get much better than a fresh seafood plate, a cold beer and time with a friend or family.

The Beach Experience

The Beach

How good is the Lifeguarded Beach at Ocracoke? Every year it makes the Dr. Beach top ten list as one of the best beaches in the United States. In 2020 it was # 2. Here’s what he had to say about Ocracoke in 2020.

“Ocracoke, once the home of Blackbeard the pirate, is still a special place—it is my favorite getaway beach. Here you will find some of the wildest beaches in the country…Don’t expect to play golf or stay at the Ritz; the main pursuits are swimming and beachcombing.”

The location includes a huge parking lot with restroom facilities.

Dr. Beach is Dr. Stephen Leatherman, Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University.