Featured Stories
Locals land big ones in blue marlin tourney
By Connie Leinbach
Ocracoke charter fisherman Rob Orr can say with confidence that the big ones did not get away.
We’re talking two 400+-pound marlins that...
Old friends, new performers, island magic define Ocrafolk Festival 2026
By Peter Vankevich
There was, to riff off Stephen Sondheim, something familiar, something peculiar, something for everyone.
That sums up how the Ocracoke Folk Festival 2026...
New community garden aims to provide good food and sanctuary
Text and photos by Jeanne Brook
Between the Ocracoke United Methodist Church and the family graveyards on Howard Street lay a tangle of brush, vines...
North Carolina must invest in Ocracoke’s lifelines
Ocracoke Island recently received something important: the full attention of North Carolina’s transportation leadership.
A visit on May 5 by Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson and...
Ocracoke Library to host summer reading programs
All are welcome to join in the Ocracoke Library’s free summer programs for kids and families.
This year’s theme, “Unearth a Story,” will explore dinosaurs,...
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
July 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.
