Cedar Island Ferry Terminal, North Carolina Ferry System
Posted by: 
showbizkid
N 35° 01.104 W 076° 18.868
18S E 380075 N 3875873
The Cedar Island Terminal is the southern terminus of the Cedar Island-Ocracoke Island ferry route.
Waymark Code: WMFNZ
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 06/26/2006
Views: 277
The North Carolina Department of Transportation operates eight ferry routes in the state. Most of these are quick-hop 30 to 45 minute free trips across inlets or sounds. A few trips, like the one originating from this terminal are over two hours in length and carry a fee.
The Cedar Island to Ocracoke route is essentially one of two water portions of North Carolina State Route 12, which runs from the small towns of Atlantic on the south to Corolla on the north. Two ferry trips are required to drive the length of NC Route 12.
There is food available at the ferry terminal and at a nearby motel. A small gift shop offers NC Ferry merchandise and clothing. Otherwise, this terminal is pretty much in the middle of nowhere with a few vacation homes nearby and little else.
The ferry trip is across Pamlico Sound, the largest lagoon along the east coast of the United States. For a substantial portion of the roughly 20 mile trip, you are completely out of sight of land. Our vessel for this trip on a summer Sunday morning was the M.V.S. Cedar Island. The ferry was running at near capacity for vehicles with about 150 passengers.
On board, there is a small galley serving coffee and food. Passengers have their choice of a sundeck or indoor seating. Some seasoned veterans brought out sun chairs and sunned themselves on the vehicle deck while kids had fun tossing bread to seagulls trailing the boat. Many of us roamed for a while, then returned to our cars to nap or read a book. Once out of sight of land, there's little to see for about a hour, then the barrier islands of the Outer Banks come into view.
To record your own visit to this waymark, take and post your own photo of the waymark with your log. Logs must contain an original photo as proof of your visit, please. Our ferry boat, the M.V.S. Cedar Island entering the breakwater:
Waiting in line at the terminal:
Vehicles from Ocracoke Island unload:
Leaving the terminal:
Just clearing the breakwater:
