Featured Stories
Fire It Up BBQ ‘smokes some love’
By Jeanne Brook
Wafting across the parking lot of Blue Heron Realty these days is the tantalizing smell of Eastern North Carolina barbecue.
Fess Winstead of...
Gold found on Ocracoke
Editor's note: This story was first published in the May 2026 Ocracoke Observer issue.
By Connie Leinbach
It wasn’t the fabled Blackbeard’s treasure, but finding a...
‘Ocracoke Untamed’ captures the island’s rich natural world
By Peter Vankevich
Island residents Karen Rhodes and Matt Janson present a photographic and narrative journey through the Ocracoke’s ecosystem in their 160-page coffee...
Gov. Stein signs ferry audit bill into law as state prepares for systemwide tolls
By SamWalkerOBXNews.com
Gov. Josh Stein has signed into law legislation ordering a comprehensive performance audit of the North Carolina Ferry System, requiring an independent review...
Ocracoke Fig Festival to feature (little) Washington Chef Jamie Davis
The Ocracoke community will celebrate the summer’s fig bounty with special guest chef Jamie Davis Aug. 6 to 8 in the Berkley Barn.
The free...
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
August 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.
