OBX Driving and Camping - Ocracoke

wardriver

wardriver

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OBX Beach Driving and Camping - Ocracoke, NC

Just got back from a long weekend of fishing, beach driving and camping on Ocracoke Island, NC. Its the last island you can actually take a vehicle to and is below Cape Hatteras. Its a 14 mile island owned mostly by the NPS. Great even on Memorial day to get away from the crowds.

The truck held its own and pulled more than its weight. (Read tricked out jeep with refurbed military trailer burried on the beach) and a good amount of others too.

Pulled the camper like a champ. I should have some more pic's on my DLSR that I'll post when I can get them off.

Thanks to Legokchen for the D-Ring hangers!

4runner-beach1.jpg


4runner-camper1.jpg
 
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Nice pics! I bet you had a great time! How long and what was the weight on the trailer you were pulling? We are looking to getting one of them too. The island looked desertted, what a score especially the long weekend!
 
jeeper1 said:
How long and what was the weight on the trailer you were pulling?
Click to expand...

I've got the owner's manual at the house and I'll pull the exact numbers - but its a 99 Palomino Yearling with a king and full on the ends, with heat/ac/stove/3way fridge and two couch areas inside - so its not that small. No electric brakes so I'm hoping to do the tundra brake upgrade when I find some calipers.
 
Nice pictures, looks exactly like my first (and favorite) 4Runner.

Nervo, i think picture 2 might be the better half of a really stuck runner.
 
Nunyabiz - Is Freeman Beach on the north end of Carolina Beach? If so I used to drive there when it was free. I think its $10 a day now. I used to take my 1st FJ40 out there 14 years ago or so. I'm also a big fan of Fort Fisher - if you can still drive out there too.

Nervo - those pic's are hilarious. Oregon Inlet is much farther north than Ocracoke and that beach looked really full. But Ocracoke has that deep soft fluffy sand too - the wrong driver or vehicle can burry it quickly.

We camp at the NPS campground on Ocracoke (there is on on Hatteras too). You have to dry camp, but they have flush toilets, cold showers and potable water. The local campgrounds pretty much suck but you get full hookups. The sites are so close in the non-nps campgrounds you can hear your neighbor fart in their camper. This is the first year we had a camper - in years past we've tent camped. The wife is rather pregnant so we opted for the camper this year.

You can make reservations at www.recreation.gov. Bookings start 6 months out and fill up fast on holiday weeks. If you are coming from the ferry on the main land you will need to make a reservation there too.

jeeper - The weight on the camper paperwork says 1465 dry (no water, gear or propane). The "box" itself is 7ft wide and 12ft long + the tongue. Fully open its 18.5 feet long tent to tent. I've got a manual not sure if that helps shape your decision or not.

Pic's from my DSLR are coming later today....
 
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Yes it is, I have never been there so know little about it.
It is $20 a day now or $100 a year, my truck came with a yearly pass so I should go at least once or twice just outa spite.

Although the place you went looks more to my wifes liking, with tables, fire rings, toilets etc.


Freeman Park
 
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Fort Fisher is $12 per day or $50 oer year. You will have to go at least 5 times to get the full benefit of an annual pass.


Don't forget to wash the under carriage or your truck will die a long and painful death.


I have not been to Okrakoake. I imagine they are both the same distance for me. Wilmington does have some nice restaurants to eat at. How are the local restaurants near Okrakoake?
 
Singtoe said:
I have not been to Okrakoake. I imagine they are both the same distance for me. Wilmington does have some nice restaurants to eat at. How are the local restaurants near Okrakoake?
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I've made the trip down 40 through Raleigh to Carolina Beach many, many times. The road time from there to Carolina Beach or Fort Fisher would be much shorter - under 2.5 hours. To Ocracoke you'd have to hit the ferry at Cedar Island and would take probably 5 hours or so.

As for the restaurants - there are only a hand full - 10 or so. My favorite is Howard's Pub.

But the beach is why people go here....Cape Hatteras and Ocracoke have made the top 10 US beaches list since 2007. (They are separated by a small channel - you can sit on the north end of Ocracoke and see the people on the south end of Hatteras).
 
OBX has changed

I remember going when it was free to drive on the beach also.

Plus there weren't nearly the amount of people that there are now! You'd see a few crazy drivers, but not what I saw posted on the OI idiots link.

Thanks for taking me back to my home state.
 
I have a Freeman Park season pass but I prefer to go during the slower times of year. I don't like feeling unsafe around all the drunk idiots out there. However, OI makes Freeman look a lot better..haha.
 
Years ago we used to go to Corolla at the north end of OBX to jetski in the surf. I understand that you can't take the launch jetskis from the beach anymore, but can you still drive up there to the VA state line? Do you need a pass?
 
RE: Corolla/Carova: There is a fence at the state line between VA and NC. You can drive all the way up to it. On the VA side it's False Cape State Park and you can't drive on the beach. I drove up there in April and they are building houses all the way up the beach, behind the dunes. I used to drive up there in the early 1990's and someone used to have buffalo grazing and there were some scary trailers up on stilts. There were still a few fishing shacks built right on the beach. Now the beach is just like a road. We only saw two wild horses that day. They used to be everywhere. It still doesn't cost anything to drive on the beach there and the sand road to the state line is about 19 miles.
 
wardriver said:
Just got back from a long weekend of fishing, beach driving and camping on Ocracoke Island, NC. Its the last island you can actually take a vehicle to and is below Cape Hatteras. Its a 14 mile island owned mostly by the NPS. Great even on Memorial day to get away from the crowds.

The truck held its own and pulled more than its weight. (Read tricked out jeep with refurbed military trailer burried on the beach) and a good amount of others too.

Pulled the camper like a champ. I should have some more pic's on my DLSR that I'll post when I can get them off.

Thanks to Legokchen for the D-Ring hangers!

4runner-beach1.jpg


4runner-camper1.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice pics.
I spend every other weekend down there launching off at Ramp 55.
 
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