Second Grass

An old, half-vanished place name marking the sandy road out to Ocracoke's South Point

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Ocracoke, NC

About

Second Grass is a name, not a facility — one of a handful of old place names marking small landmarks along South Point Road, the sandy, unpaved track that branches off NC Highway 12 near Ocracoke village and runs out toward South Point at the edge of Ocracoke Inlet. It belongs to the same naming tradition as its better-documented neighbor, First Grass: a record, per geographer Roger Payne's Place Names of the Outer Banks, of a time decades back when this stretch of the island was mostly bare sand, shell, and seaweed, and islanders marked the rare patches of grass or scrub growth as waypoints for anyone walking or driving out toward the point.

That landscape has since filled in. Vegetation now runs nearly continuously along the corridor, so the once-distinct grass patches that gave these spots their names have largely blended into the surrounding growth — don't expect a marked trailhead or sign. What's still there is a quiet, undeveloped stretch of National Park Service land, reachable by permitted 4x4 (an NPS beach-driving permit is required), that doubles as one of Ocracoke's better birding corridors: rails, bitterns, herons, egrets, and marsh and seaside sparrows work the grass and reeds on either side of the road on the way out to South Point itself.

Treat it less as a destination to check off and more as a small piece of island history to notice along the way — a reminder of how much Ocracoke's landscape, and the names islanders gave it, have shifted within living memory.

Best Time to Visit Second Grass

No specific best season or time of year is documented for this stretch of South Point Road. Second Grass doesn't have its own visiting hours or seasonal conditions to plan around, so timing simply follows whenever a trip out toward South Point on Ocracoke already fits your schedule. There's nothing here that makes one month meaningfully better than another for passing through this stretch of the road.

Tips for Visiting Second Grass on South Point Road

Don't expect a marked trailhead or sign — the original grass patch that gave Second Grass its name has been absorbed into the now nearly continuous vegetation along South Point Road, so it's easy to pass without noticing.
This is a quiet, undeveloped stretch with no facilities described, so treat it as part of a longer, self-sufficient trip out South Point Road rather than a stop with services of its own.
Bring binoculars: this corridor is one of Ocracoke's better birding stretches, with rails, bitterns, herons, egrets, and marsh and seaside sparrows working the grass and reeds on either side of the road.

Getting to Second Grass on South Point Road

Second Grass lies along South Point Road, the sandy, unpaved track that branches off NC Highway 12 near Ocracoke village and runs out toward South Point at the edge of Ocracoke Inlet. The name marks a stretch of this road rather than a single point you can navigate to directly.

The road crosses National Park Service land, and vehicle access requires a permitted 4x4 — an NPS beach-driving permit is required before heading out. Islanders have historically traveled this stretch on foot as well as by vehicle on the way toward South Point.

What to Expect at Second Grass on Ocracoke

Second Grass isn't a trail or a facility — it's a place name, one of a handful of old landmarks marking small stretches along South Point Road on Ocracoke Island. It belongs to the same naming tradition as its better-documented neighbor First Grass: according to geographer Roger Payne's Place Names of the Outer Banks, both names date back decades, to a time when this part of the island was mostly bare sand, shell, and seaweed, and islanders marked the rare patches of grass or scrub as waypoints for anyone walking or driving out toward South Point.

Treat Second Grass less as a destination to check off and more as a small piece of island history to notice along the way — a reminder of how much Ocracoke's landscape, and the names islanders gave it, have shifted within living memory.

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