Featured Stories
Runners to dash through April 25 & 26
The 15th Annual Scallywag 5K/10K & 11th Annual Blackbeard's Half Marathon on Ocracoke will be held Saturday, April 25, and Sunday, April 26.
Ocracoke Island Weekend Runfest includes the...
Lawmakers seek audit of ferry system amid funding, sustainability concerns
By Sam Walker, samwalkerOBXnews.com
North Carolina lawmakers are calling for a comprehensive audit of the state’s ferry system, citing rising costs, aging infrastructure and growing...
Decoy festival to highlight Eddie O’Neal’s carvings
Text and photos by Peter Vankevich
Waterfowl memories are woven throughout Ocracoke native Eddie O’Neal’s life.
He recalls redheads, pintails, teal and great flocks of geese...
Islanders discuss funding for ferries, tolls at community meeting
By Connie Leinbach
Tolling the Hatteras ferry could be a boon for Ocracoke.
That’s one point the Ocracoke Access Alliance made at a community meeting March...
On change, growth and development on Ocracoke
The Ocracoke Civic & Business Association at 6 p.m. tonight (March 17) will discuss the recent Ocracoke Access Alliance trip to Washington, D.C., and...
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
Snowy South Point Road. 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
April 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.
