Featured Stories
Ocracoke Observer added to Library of Congress newspaper collections
The Ocracoke Observer, the island’s independent community newspaper since 1999, has been selected for inclusion in the Library of Congress’s National Digital Newspaper Program.
The...
Ocracoke: An extraordinary community
As another year closes, we reflect, in this season of thanksgiving and hope, on what it is about Ocracoke that’s so unique.
One of our...
Hyde officials work on addressing NC12 overwash, South Dock, ferry funding
By Connie Leinbach
As the north end of Ocracoke continues to be overwashed during King Tides and nor’easters, the Hyde County Board of Commissioners has...
Winter dredging set to keep Ocracoke’s lifelines open
From our news services
After years of coordinated engagement among several coastal agencies, a winter dredging campaign is slated for the 2025–2026 season to safeguard...
General Island Information
The Ocracoke lighthouse was 200 years old in 2023. Photo: C. Leinbach
Island Images
A Snowy Owl over the Ocracoke dunes. Photo: P. Vankevich
South Point. Photo: P. Vankevich
Northern lights seen on Ocracoke Nov. 12, 2025. Photo by Ocracoke Harbor Inn
An Ocracoke canal. Photo: C. Leinbach
The Ocracoke ponies. Photo: P. Vankevich
Ocracoke summer surf. Photo: C. Leinbach
The Island Inn Commons in bloom. Photo: C. Leinbach
Sunset cruise on the Pamlico Sound. Photo: C. Leinbach
The December 2025/Winter 2026 print issue.
The Ocracoke Observer website won first place in the 2020-2021 NCPA contest Online Division, plus four other awards. It has won more than 60 awards, many in first place, since joining the N.C. Press Association in 2015 and entering the contest starting in 2016.
