Ocracoke Inlet and the village of Ocracoke are located off the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound 65 miles northeast of Beaufort and 44 miles south of Roanoke Island. The Ocracoke inlet allows access to not only Pamlico Sound, but also to the popular vacation area of Ocracoke and Silver Lake nearby to the east. Ocracoke Island is isolated from the rest of the world and must be reached by boat. A ferry service brings visitors in from the mainland on regular schedules during the season.

Use NOAA Charts 11550, 11548 and 12200.

The Ocracoke Inlet is a bit more reliable than its surrounding inlet neighbors, but still deserves a good serving of respect when you use it. As the inlet channel is ever changing, buoys located between the Morse (A) sea buoy in the Atlantic Ocean and flashing green “27” on the Teaches Hole Channel are not charted. The Coast Guard will occasionally conduct a sounding of the inlet and move buoys as necessary. Before transiting the canal, we recommend radioing the Coast Guard or local marinas to determine current conditions.

Inside the inlet are a series of complex and tricky channels that lead east to the village of Ocracoke and north through a series of shoals to Pamlico Sound. Although Wallace Channel and Blair Channel have adequate charted depths, you should treat these as “locals only” passages and use the more reliable Teaches Hole Channel to the east.

Once you have cleared the inlet, pick up the Teaches Hole Channel at flashing green buoy “27,” and then pick up flashing green “29” and flashing red “30” farther on. A series of daybeacons leads you in toward the 11-foot-deep Silver Lake approach and the village of Ocracoke.

Passage farther onto and from Pamlico Sound is made through Big Foot Slough Channel, which is deep and reliable. This channel is frequently dredged to allow the Ocracoke ferry boats to pass. From Pamlico Sound, the approach into Big Foot Slough is first marked by flashing red “1BF,” flashing green “13” and flashing white “NB.” A series of nun and can buoys lead off farther south toward Ocracoke. Note that the buoys run as if you are approaching Pamlico Sound “from the sea.” Greens stay to starboard and reds to port when traveling toward Ocracoke form Pamlico Sound.

Ocracoke has four marinas, and three of them will accept transient guests at their slips. There are no haul-out facilities here. Depths inside Silver Lake are a consistent 13 feet.

Local Notices to Mariners are now exclusively available online from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Ocracoke Civic and Business Association