Majority of National Park Service Visitor Services on the Outer Banks Remain Open Today

Date: October 6, 2016
Contact: Mary Doll, 252-473-0221

Given the current predictions for the track of Hurricane Matthew, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Wright Brothers National Memorial, and much of Cape Hatteras National Seashore will remain open today. Due to the continued Hyde County mandatory visitor evacuation of Ocracoke Island, National Park Service (NPS) visitor services on Ocracoke will remain closed today.

Campgrounds: The Ocracoke Campground will remain closed. 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 on Hatteras Island, Bodie Island, at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and at Wright Brothers National Memorial will remain open today.

Lighthouses: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and Bodie Island Lighthouse will remain open today. As always, the opportunity to climb the lighthouses will depend on wind speeds.

Beach Access Ramps: All off-road vehicle beach access ramps on Ocracoke Island remain closed to vehicles 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 on all park beaches, 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).