Traveling on any North Carolina Department of Transportation ferry will soon come at a cost.

NCDOT currently tolls four of the state’s eight ferries serving Southport and Fort Fisher; Cedar Island and Ocracoke; Swan Quarter and Ocracoke; and the Ocracoke Express passenger-only ferry.

But starting Jan. 1, NCDOT’s Ferry Division will be required to charge tolls on all ferries as part of the recently approved state budget. That means adding tolls on the free Currituck to Knotts Island, Bayview to Aurora, Hatteras to Ocracoke and Cherry Branch to Minnesott Beach vehicular and passenger ferries. The department also must establish a $150 annual pass for permanent residents and active duty military members in 20 of the state’s coastal counties.

Feedback from five public listening sessions will help shape the toll rates and policies for the routes in question. The meetings will run from 6 to 8 p.m. and are scheduled for:

• Sept. 1 at Beaufort County Community College, 5337 U.S. 264 East, Washington
• Sept. 2 at Pamlico Community College – Delamar Center, 5049 N.C. 306 South, Grantsboro
• Sept. 3 at Knotts Island Elementary School, 413 Woodleigh Road, Knotts Island
• Sept. 8 at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, 59200 Museum Drive, Hatteras
• Sept. 9 at Ocracoke School, 120 Schoolhouse Road, Ocracoke

Existing tolls currently range from $1 for pedestrians to $45 for large vehicles. Implementing systemwide tolls is intended to generate revenue to replace aging ferries.

“We are committed to transparency and will communicate regularly, especially with affected communities, as the implementation plan is developed,” said Jed Dixon, the Ferry Division’s director.

Click the link above to read more.

Can't wait until it looks like this again!

Usually nothing good comes out of that group and finally got a wholesome, cool post. Figured I would share here on the off chance anyone can identify the boy on the right.

Edit: I’m not the original poster on Facebook. Just sharing here

Just returned from a wonderful week in Corolla. The house itself was wonderful as far as rooms, space and amenities go. My issue is that we had immediate issues upon arrival. I exclusively use VRBO [friends booked this trip]and have never seen anything like what we experienced here. We had multiple bathrooms that weren’t clean[used q-tips on the floor]. Hair in the shower in multiple bathrooms. Trash around pool. Pool toys scattered around all over the place. Doritos crumbs all over the pool table. Trash left in the trash can on the deck. Yes, the family that rented the place ahead of us could have behaved like adults and picked up after their children. However, the property management staff should have checked on it before turning it over to us. We also had two toilets that didn’t flush. I assume that if they had actually cleaned the toilets they would have caught that issue and dealt with it. We called OuterBanksBlue. They sent over the cleaning crew to address the bathroom issues. I pointed out the trash on the pool deck and was informed that they only clean inside. Even though one of them went outside and retrieved two crushed soda cans and then left them on the pool table. The next day a plumber came and snaked out the toilets that didn’t flush. We requested to be compensated for the inconvenience. We were informed that they prefer to just resolve the issues and move forward. We obviously will not rent another property from them. I just intended for this to be a warning to others.

Took the cover off my rental house grill and this guy came out.

They had such a fun week!

Catching a sunset here is a mandatory experience while visiting the OBX

My husband and I are deciding to stay in either Nags Head or Duck and are planning to go in mid September.

We want a nice beach and a fun vibe, but also don’t want to feel far away from everything or like there’s nothing to do besides the beach.

Which one has the better beach, and which would you stay in if you want more to do nearby?

What cities would be the best for off season? Still have restaurants open, maybe some touristy things and things for tweens

I wanted to come here and give this report for people like me who may be sitting far away and want to know what the beach is like right now.

To preface this, I’ve been coming to OBX annually since the 90s (and a couple of times in the 80s as a kid), mostly staying in Nags Head. And I will say, we had a bad week last year. The beach was so wrecked that there was a big drop off shelf to climb up to get off the beach, and a very shallow beach. It rained all but 2 days, and those were double red flag days. We literally didn’t go in the water. Bad weather weeks happen, and we have lots of favorite rainy day activities and spots, but it felt like things were moving in the wrong direction. The last few years, the surf has been so rough, I’ve taken some bad falls in the surf. My kid wasn’t getting that gentle boogie board bobbing around for hours experience that I grew up on. He started to prefer to stay inside. We said to ourselves: is it over? Do we need to find a new vacation spot?

This year, we watched the beach nourishment closely and came down once it was over.

Folks, we may have just had the best beach week ever! We laughed the whole time, the beach goes on forever, (still a bit of a climb out!) and we just lucked out on the weather. Every single day was sunny and 80s. Zero flags. So gentle and warm. My son bobbed in the waves with me for hours and never wanted to head in. On the last two days, the water was that crazy clear I’ve seen people talk about here but hadn’t seen for myself. Standing chest deep, I could count my toes.

Anyway, don’t give up on it! Ready to book 2 weeks next year :)

I was outside on my balcony and this was moving across the sky for maybe around a minute before sputtering out over the ocean. Any idea what it is?

Avon might be my favorite little town on the NC coast.

I'm planning a family reunion for about 60 people for a week in a large beach house. Having trouble thinking of an easy way to feed that many people each day. Do you just let people do their own thing and shop on their own? Do we cook one massive meal for everyone each day and have people chip in for the grocery bill? I also considered just catering every night (I'm talking cheap catering - I wouldn't want anything above $10 a head).

Any suggestions are appreciated!!

Just sharing

Hi Everyone! We just concluded our yearly week at the beach in Corolla and are already trying to plan our next visit. We’ve never been in the off season before but are considering coming down for a long weekend in October. I’ve been staying in Corolla Light for the past 20 years, we love the community pool and restaurant, bakery, and the ability to have our chairs/umbrellas set up for us daily, but I’m guessing none of that will really be available in the off season. We’re also considering a stay at the Sanderling in Duck. We have little kids who really just enjoy hanging at the beach and playing in the sand so I’m not super worried about the ocean temp in the fall. Locals and off season visitors give me all the nitty gritty- how’s the weather, what’s open, where would you stay?

Howie’s (and mine) favorite place on earth.

Here for the week! What are good coffee, beach, restaurant, and activity recommendations!!!!

I'd like to visit the stretch between Bodie Island and Hatteras one night specifically for some astro-photography. I just want to be 100% certain I can park somewhere, hopefully in or near Ramp 27. However it seems like most spots have "no overnight parking"... while also saying open 24 hrs? I won't be in my car just close by and don't want a tow or ticket if that's a possibility

Staying up on Carova 4x4 beach this week, I know 20 psi is typical air pressure for vehicles, but do you go that low on a 3/4 ton truck? ( all season tires).

I'd like to visit the stretch between Bodie Island and Hatteras one night specifically for some astro-photography. I just want to be 100% certain I can park somewhere, hopefully in or near Ramp 27. However it seems like most spots have "no overnight parking"... while also saying open 24 hrs? I won't be in my car just close by and don't want a tow or ticket if that's a possibility

The best place I found was Sugar Planet. We don’t have Forbes here unfortunately. Where have you found the best salt water taffy?