How do you feel about a huge stretch of beach nearly all to yourself that is open to 4×4’s? If that sounds good, you should check out Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. This small barrier island (less than 10 square miles) is situated South of Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks and only accessible by ferry/boat.
Riding the Slow Boat to Ocracoke
Verging on work burnout back in 2012, Becca and I decided to book a room at the Anchorage Inn in Ocracoke for Memorial Day weekend to recharge. From DC, the drive took about ~6 hours, which we split into 2 days, staying one night in Nags Head before heading further South.
Ocracoke and I have a history. My family took a few vacations on the secluded island which included memorable moments driving on the beach in my dad’s old Jeep Wagoneer (remember the old wood paneling?) and of course the one time we got stranded when dad got the distributor cap wet bombing through some standing water…
Great Ocracoke Sunset
One of the best things about Ocracoke back then (10+ years ago), was the slow pace of the island and lack of traffic and crowds, which is different than what you’ll experience in more easily reachable parts of the Outer Banks.
Before leaving Nags Head we stopped by the National Park Service ORV Permit Station at Coquina Beach to get our beach driving pass. Unlike in the past, and to the aggravation of many long-time OBX visitors and residents, the National Park Service started requiring permits this year to drive on the beaches ($50 for a week or $120 for the year).
After driving off the ferry at Ocracoke and heading into town , I was relieved to see that not much had changed in the 10+ years since I had last visited. One the main drag you see almost as many golf carts as cars, and most people walk from point a-to-b instead of driving.
We checked into the Anchorage Inn (typical beach hotel – no more, no less, but nice people working there) and then we were off to the beach as soon as we could get swimsuits and sunscreen on.
One of the several 4×4 beach access dirt/sand roads is only about 1/4 mile outside of town, so we set off in that direction (making sure to air down the tires to about 18 pounds before dropping in 4-hi) and hit the beach. As you can see from the pictures, the beach is HUGE and not crowded.
The Beach is HUGE! We had it to ourselves!
As a note, almost any 4WD SUV/truck is capable of driving on the sand; the key is to air down the tires to 15-20 pounds (for a larger footprint) and to avoid punching the gas and other sudden inputs (to avoid spinning tires too much and digging them in). We saw Subarus and Honda Pilots out on the beach that had no problems, so you have no excuses if you get stuck in your body-on-frame truck!
We were easily able to find our spot on the beach with no close neighbors and got to setting up our camping gear-turned beach gear to enjoy the day. We unrolled the 8-foot awning mounted to my roof rack for near-instant shade and busted out 2 bulky, but extremely comfy zero-gravity chairs and a table that were also stored on the roof rack. Combined with the grill we brought along and the 50 quart fridge I’ve installed in the truck, we weren’t left wanting for much out on the beach! No more sitting on a sandy towel with a Styrofoam cooler for this guy.
Checking out the Ocracoke Lighthouse
We spent most of our three days out on the beach, reading, relaxing, and playing with the dog, and spent the evenings hanging around town (some pretty decent little eateries and watering holes to be explored). One word of caution: make sure you bring bug repellant; on nights when the wind died down the mosquitoes were fierce!
Our Dog Huckleberry Loves the Beach!
Overall Ocracoke is definitely worth a half or full day drive if you want to experience an unspoiled beach town with miles of wide, uncrowded 4×4 friendly beaches. We will be back for sure!
[…] opportunities in the region. DRT has taken part in the Vermont Overland Trophy, explored Ocracoke Island, and traveled through Moab. Aside from their excursions. the DRT crew is on the forefront of mods […]