Silver Lake

We asked an Englishman living in Ocracoke what had brought him to this tiny island. "The ferry," was his droll reply, revealing his mastery not only of Ocracoke humor, but transportation fundamentals as well.

If you're in Ocracoke, you either took a plane or boat to get there, there is no other access to the island. Located at the southern tip of the inhabited Outer Banks, it's the closest thing North Carolina has to a land's end. The small village that surrounds the harbor is the only development on the 14 mile island, the rest of the sand belongs to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

A trip to the Outer Banks would be incomplete without a day in Ocracoke. Even in the middle of summer when the town pulses to the beat of regular ferry deliveries, there's a sense of isolation unavailable in most parts of our modern country. In the off season the feeling is even stronger, you'll be sharing the village with only the locals and a few aficionados.

Ocracoke is also the jumping off point for expeditions to Portsmouth, the ghost town on the other side of the inlet.