Featured Stories
Award-winning ‘Best Day Ever’ documentary debuts on Ocracoke
By Connie Leinbach
When does Ocracoke Island ever get to see the state premier of a movie?
Ocracoke was treated to just that on Feb. 4...
Elders reminisce about Ocracoke back in the day
Editor's note: This story was first published in the October print issue of the Observer.
Text and photos by Connie Leinbach
After about 30 years, Ocracoke...
Everything changes here
Text and photos by Michael Lydick
The dunes at South Point shift a little every time I return—sometimes a gentle reshaping, other times a dramatic...
Ocracoke Christmas Bird Count connects birds and observers
By Peter Vankevich
The birds of Ocracoke proved watcher-friendly for the annual Christmas Bird Count held on Dec. 31. For the second consecutive year,...
Why do we have to fight so hard for transportation access?
By Amy Howard
A common belief is that people who live on Ocracoke are rich.
We aren't.
We are industrious and work hard to be able to...
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.
