National Park Service Visitor Services Suspended on Ocracoke Island

Date: October 5, 2016
Contact: Mary Doll, 252-473-0221

The Outer Banks Group continues to closely monitor the path of Hurricane Matthew. Due to Hyde County’s mandatory visitor evacuation of Ocracoke Island starting at 5:00 am today, National Park Service (NPS) visitor services on Ocracoke will be fully suspended by the end of today.

Campgrounds: The Ocracoke Campground will close at 10:00 am this morning. Oregon Inlet, Cape Point, and Frisco campgrounds continue to operate on a one-day availability basis.

Visitor Services: The NPS visitor center and off-road vehicle permit office on Ocracoke Island will not open today, and will stay closed until further notice. NPS visitor services may be suspended on Hatteras Island, Bodie Island, at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and at Wright Brothers National Memorial on Thursday. Additional information will be sent out once Outer Banks Group management has made a determination based on current storm forecast. The parks’ social media sites on Facebook and Twitter will also be updated with current information.

Beach Access Ramps: All off-road vehicle beach access ramps on Ocracoke Island will be closed to vehicles by the end of today. Daily beach access ramp status updates are posted on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Facebook page at https://facebook.com/capehatterasns.

Rip Currents: There is a high risk of dangerous rip currents, a high surf advisory, and rough surf north of Cape Hatteras today. A high risk of rip currents will continue throughout the storm period. For more information on rip currents safety go to http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov.

Weather Updates: Visitors currently in the parks, or who are planning on visiting the parks within the next week, should closely monitor NOAA weather radio and websites (http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=35.21933901200049&lon=-75.69015697799966#.V_OyDPkrKUk), local radio, and media for updates and advisories. They should also heed notices issued by Dare County Emergency Management (http://darecountyem.com) and Hyde County Emergency Management (http://www.hydecountync.gov/departments/public_information.php).