Ocracoke Island began welcoming back visitors Friday, September 21, 2018.
Ocracoke Village was spared any noticeable damage; the island remains the same beautiful, friendly place that visitors know, love, and return to year after year. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore's visitor center, off-road vehicle permit office, and campground on Ocracoke Island also reopened to visitors Friday morning.
At this time, the Hatteras to Ocracoke ferry route is out of service due to the damage sustained on HWY 12 at the north end of the island from the pony pens to the ferry dock. NCDOT executed an emergency contract to start repairs on the road and the sand dunes protecting it. Due to the Hatteras to Ocracoke ferry route being out of service to the public, the NCDOT Ferry Division has waived the tolls for all ferry traffic accessing Ocracoke.
The NCDOT Ferry Division will be operating the following ferry schedules until the Hatteras to Ocracoke route is operational again. Their reservation system is currently accepting reservations.
- Swan Quarter to Ocracoke - 7:00 am, 10:00 am, 1:00 pm, 4:30pm, and 6:30 pm
- Ocracoke to Swan Quarter - 7:00 am, 9:30 am, 12:45 pm, 3:45 pm, and 9:30 pm
- Cedar Island to Ocracoke - 7:00am, 10:00am, 1:00pm, and 4:00pm
- Ocracoke to Cedar Island - 7:30am, 10:00am, 1:00pm, and 4:00pm
Hyde County will also be activating the operation of our tram service in Ocracoke to help with walk on traffic from the ferries. It is free to use and available to anyone that would like to utilize it. The tram service will be in operation starting Saturday, September 22 at 1:00pm.
If you would like to come to Ocracoke but were unable to secure a reservation on the ferries, you can park your vehicle at the ferry terminal and walk on instead. The trams will operate daily from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm, subject to change based on demand, and will cycle approximately every 30 minutes. In addition to the tram service, there are bikes, golf carts and 4x4 vehicle rentalsavailable from the private sector.
The trams are part of the new passenger ferry service that will be coming to Ocracoke in the future. The county has coordinated with the NCDOT Highway Division, NCDOT Ferry Division, and the operator to begin tram service temporarily as a service to our visitors. We are very excited to offer this service and believe it will be a great convenience to our visitors.
