Great visitors center/headquarters with information about the residents of the refuge. Staff was…read moreall helpful and welcoming. One was shoveling snow for a safer walkway in the parking lot. What a rare sight! Paved roads take through the largest lake in NC with observation areas. The end of January is an excellent time to see many tundra swans. We also saw bald eagle snow geese, and many birds on this Atlantic fly away. The lake was icy and made for amazing pictures. PBS NC was filming with Bernie Harberts and his donkey and covered wagon. The Episode about Lake Mattamuskeet and the transformation of the pump station and hunting lodge is due out in June 2025. It was great to peak into the lodge, normally closed to the public for now, but big renovations are ahead.

A large lake with many areas for fishing and looking at birds and trees. This place was on my…read morewife's bucket list for some reason. Free parking. Cell phone reception was very poor. The soda machine was broken. Mosquitos covered all areas of my exposed skin. 1000s of them. Somebody left an entire uneaten pizza in the parking lot, so the squirrels were excited. Bathrooms were not very large, but they smelled pleasant. The old haunted lighthouse was spooky. They say there's a ghost of a old Chinese man in there. The gate was open and we poked our head inside. We saw something very odd inside. Go see for yourself!

We decided to take a day trip on the free ferry to Ocracoke while staying in the Outer Banks…read more There isn't a TON to do on this island, so we decided to stop here to check out the beach. I LOVE that they have a nice walkway to the beach, makes it easier than having to trudge through the sand with a cooler. Also great that they have bathrooms on premise as I despise port-a-potties, sadly it was all closed during the government shut down. The parking lot is a little bit on the small side, so it might be best to try to arrive earlier in the day to secure parking. I spotted a warning sign about rip currents and I think it's great that they have this! Be careful, my friends on past OBX trips had some scary situations when they were caught in the dangerous rip tides. The beach here is beautiful and tranquil. It was cold when we visited in December, but I could see this as an amazing place to go for a stroll by the water. If you have some time to kill before you board the ferry back to the mainland, this is a nice place to stop. If you are here in the summer, pack a lunch and come here for the day.

Bottom Line: A nicely maintained day use area for people of all abilities to enjoy the pristine…read moreOcracoke Beach. The Ocracoke Day Use Area is a specific plot of land and accompanying facilities on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. "Ocracoke Day Use Area" is the official name given to this public space by the National Park Service who maintains and operates this area. In the summer months the Ocracoke Day Use Area is a popular destination for those vacationing on Ocracoke Island and wanting to feel the sand between their toes or take a dip in the Atlantic. I imagine this beach access is popular because it has a large parking lot and it is the closest developed beach access to Ocracoke Village. In addition to a paved parking lot, the Ocracoke Day Use Area has the following amenities: - changing rooms - bathrooms - outdoor shows - handicap accessible bathrooms - beach access/boardwalk - bike rack Speaking of accessibility, a few years ago the NPS upgraded the beach access/boardwalk at this location. The boardwalk is lengthy but it has a gentle slope to be compliant with the Architectural Barriers Act. (I suspect that also means it is ADA compliant.) The boardwalk divides around the dune line and one section goes to a lovely scenic overlook while the other section descends onto the beach. So even if you're not up for getting sandy, you can still enjoy the beach. There are various places on Ocracoke Island to access the beach via motor vehicle but I don't think this is one of them. You'll need a permit which can be purchased at the Ocracoke Visitors Center. And I believe you can also rent beach wheelchairs there too.

This is my favorite dive operation in the middle Atlantic region. I've been diving with them for…read moreclose to 20 years. They have grown from a small 6 passenger boat (The Mac), to a large 21 passenger dive boat (The Flying Fish). Diving is on many of the shipwrecks in the Graveyard of the Atlantic, most were WW2 casualties. Dive sites vary in depth from shallow 35', to over 240'. Generally, the range is 80'-100'. Marine life abounds....juvenile tropicals, sand tiger sharks, and everything in between. Artifacts are still on many wrecks for those inclined to search. Marine life is the major attraction, along with diving a piece of history. Outer Banks Diving provides gear rental and service, along with equipment sales and air/Nitrox fills. The boat is large enough to provide a smoother ride, and has lots of comfy places to enjoy the sun, or shade, for the rides in and out. This is not the tropics, the trips are usually one and a half hours each way. Where I live, I have closer options for diving, but I always make the trip to Hatteras. Last month the air temp was mid eighties, water temp was 80 at 100 feet. Viz is usually upwards of 75 feet. If you are on the outer banks, give them a try. Amy or John Pieno can answer any questions about rates, lodging , etc. They can be reached at 252-986-1056 www.outerbanksdiving.com Maybe I'll see you on the boat, I'm that old dude. Phil J. in Maryland

Mike Warren treats customers like family from the minute they step on the boat. I've been going on…read moretrips to the Gulf Stream with him for years and wouldn't trust anyone else to deliver the ultimate offshore experience. Hatteras Blue IS Hatteras fishing.

Had a blast fishing and Mike was a great teacher for a first-timer. The fish here are amazing and…read moreour group had an absolute blast.

10 stars!!! We worked with Seth and Desiree. THEY WERE BOTH AWESOME!!! Let me attempt to…read moreelaborate... So, this adventure all started on our last day of our vacation. 'Twas a dark and storming morning in Ocracoke, but we still wanted to go out with a bang. We called the office number on the pamphlet that we picked up a few days before (they're not always sitting there, because they have a life, BUT they do always answer the phone listed on the pamphlet and are happy to answer questions)! Anyways, I called and reserved a spot at around 10 am for noon, hoping it would clear up by then enough for a quick ride. It did! But we wanted to go out at low tide to find some Sand bars, so we moved our time to 3 pm- during the 2-3 calls full of questions and scheduling, Desiree was an absolute sweetheart. She truly cared about our experience and accommodating our needs. When we checked in, we were told we were going to be accompanied by Seth for various reasons, I'm sure it was mostly due to weather and low tide concerns (ps don't expect this, it's just a nice treat when it happens!). We were happy about that! A local who knows the good spots is never a bad thing. The rest of the check in process was standard filling out paperwork. The entire time though Desiree was chatting with my boyfriend about a book they both have read- so nice to have pleasant conversation instead of just a stale transaction of money and activity like so many places do. Anyways, Seth took us out and we had an absolute BLAST! Seth was funny, accommodating, asked us what we wanted to do/where we wanted to go and was so laid back. HIGHLY recommend this team. They deserve major kudos from the boss! They have been the sweetest locals on the island thus far.

Awesome crew and charter to take at cape hatter as. Ended up getting a lot of fish even though the…read moreweather wasn't perfect. Every time we've been out with this crew we have caught fish and had a blast. They are always willing to share knowledge and help out. Strongly recommend this charter to all who visit NC

Captain Tim was great! What started as a potential reschedule due to weather turned out to be an…read moreamazing fun filled day. 1st casting spot seemed like it was going to be a long charter, but Captain Tim found a spot and all 6 of us were reeling fish in. Thank you for your knowledge, professionalism and making our charter a memorable one! Would definitely recommend to anyone!

This guy needs to be taught some fishing etiquette. My son and I were drift fishing off a grass…read moreflat and double hooking trout and redfish, he motors up with some customers throwing grass everywhere about a hundred yards in front of our drift, throwing his anchor out and claiming the area while his customers are taking pictures of us cranking fish in. :( I've had a commercial fishing business for over 30 years and I know what BS is.

This guy know what they are doing and are good at it. I've have been on many fishing boats but…read morenever have fished out of Hatteras. I looked for a good boat to fish from my research led me to this guy. I wanted to make sure this trip would be good because this was the first offshore fishing trip for 2 of the guys. We talked to the captain and agreed on what and how to fish. He knew of a good fishing spot and wanted to be the first boat there so is asked us to be there at 5am just to ensure us a great chance to catch some quality fish. We decided that we would aim for 30 mahi-mahi and then try to catch tuna or wahoo. Well we put 29 mahi-mahi on the boat before lunch and switched fishing styles and got a Citation size wahoo and a couple of other dolphins. I would say this was one of the best fishing trips I've been on and would recommend this guy to anyone who loves to fish.