Roaming Renshaw's

We have historically stayed further north in the Outer Banks (Corolla) although we have ventured to Waves and Buxton for some camping trips. August 2023 was our first year staying for a full week in a rental house and we were as far south as you could go. We stayed in a 5 bedroom house in Hatteras Village across from the ferry to go to Ocracoke Island. This was also the latest that we had stayed in OBX, typically going the beginning to middle of August, this year we went the last week of August. The benefits to going later are that prices are significantly cheaper (our house was $3300 for the week but in early August it would have been double that price!?!) and the crowds are significantly less, at times it felt like we had the whole beach to ourselves.

Since we were staying so close to the ferry, it made sense to venture to Ocracoke…several times. Ocracoke is mostly known as a fishing village and Ocracoke inlet was where the pirate “Blackbeard” was killed, they have a pirate festival on the island every October. There are a couple of ways to get to Ocracoke, you can either drive onto the ferry (no cost and the ferry’s run very regularly) or you can take the passenger only ferry which costs a few dollars and only runs three times a day. We have always driven so that we can have more freedom in exploring the island, however sometimes the wait for the ferry can take several hours so get there early! The vehicle ferry drops off at the nearest tip of Ocracoke which means you have a 15 minute drive into town. However, this gives you an opportunity to stop and see the pony pen, checkout some of the beach access points (some are boardwalks to the beach with bathhouses, others are just beach trailheads), and drive past town to get to the lighthouse and checkout the trail to Springers Point (watch out for the bugs and there is very limited parking), For those that decide to take the passenger ferry, it drops off right in downtown and there are nearby places that rent golf carts for you to explore the town. Just make sure you make it back to the docks before the last ferry back to Hatteras!

Ocracoke has some great restaurants (SmacNally’s) and coffee shops (Deja Brew has amazing views and great coffee, Hope also loved the chocolate muffin), fishing charters, some small souvenir shops, and a couple authentic art studio’s (Hope loves buying art from all of the different places we travel). From Ocracoke you can also schedule a charter boat over to Portsmouth Island. While Portsmouth used to be a bustling shipping village on the northern edge of Cape Lookout, its population steadily dwindled due to the civil war and shipping channels moving further north. The last residents moved off the island in 1971 and today it houses a visitors center, life saving station, church, and post office that are all set-up as museums. Our charter was the first one in the morning, so we were the only people on the island….pretty cool! While exploring the island make sure to have bug nets (our charter boat provided these) and wear tons of bug spray to ward off the flies and mosquitos. Charters also stop at the beaches on the island which are great for finding seashells. We also enjoyed seeing some crabs, turtles, and a couple of rays in the water. Flies on the beach were still bad so make sure to have your bug spray in addition to your suntan lotion! Careful for elderly or less nimble adventurers, the charter pulls into the beach and you disembark in the surf (no docks) and you have to be able to get back into the boat the same way. Our charter lasted four hours which gave us plenty of time to explore the town and the beach before heading back to Ocracoke, grabbing lunch, and then catching the ferry back to Hatteras.

Another benefit of staying in Hatteras, or any of the southern beaches, is that we could have campfires on the beach. Our family has always been very appreciative of the nature in OBX and especially in watching out for sea turtles. So while the fires were fun, it was also a lot of work to carry the firewood to the beach, dig out a hole close enough to the water that high tide would wash away any remnants, and then stay with the fire until it was COMPLETELY burnt out with no hazards left behind. My recommendation for others that want to enjoy a fire on the beach is to probably head to the 4×4 beach access, this would have cut down on a lot of the leg work. You need to pick-up a beach fire permit prior to having a fire but these are available online or at some stores and are no charge, they just want to make sure you know the rules. If you decide to go with the 4×4 access, you also need an off-road permit. Depending on time of year and where you plan on going these may be limited so check before your trip. Also when going on the beach, make sure to air down your tires and have proper 4 wheel drive to prevent getting stuck in the sand.

A couple of our favorite restaurants/bars on Hatteras were: The Wreck Tiki Bar which is conveniently located in the shops right next to the ferry, the orange crushes are amazing and they have a great atmosphere with indoor/outdoor seating and music/karaoke/trivia; Hatteras del sol, the sunset view from their deck was great while we were waiting for our table (a little pricey but food, drinks, and service were great); and, Sweet Tooth on Ocracoke for ice cream and candy.