Late Fall on North Core Banks From Atlantic: The Ferry's Last Weeks, and Why the New Cabins Still Aren't Open

In its last weeks of the 2026 season, the Morris Marina ferry in Atlantic has no posted schedule. A November run to North Core Banks starts with a call to the office for a reservation. Once you're across, the island has no open cabins, gas, ice, or drinking water, so everything you need goes in the truck before you leave.

Long Point Cabin Camp, near the North Core ferry landing, is permanently closed because of damage from Hurricane Dorian. Its replacement is planned for a site about five miles farther up the island and isn't open yet. Because of that, the ferry is running a reduced schedule this year, and the rest of a North Core trip has to be planned differently.

A ferry business built around cabin renters

Morris Marina has been open with customers about this. Its schedule page explains the situation in its own words:

"Much of our business relies on cabin rentals to transport customers over to the island. We were told by the NPS that they would be open for the 2026 season. We have just been informed that they WILL NOT be open for the 2026 season, directly affecting our business negatively for yet another year."

So the ferry is running a limited schedule, and its days and times change throughout the 2026 season. No timetable is posted online. To reserve, you call the office and ask which dates and times are open. The season runs from March through the end of November. That leaves about three and a half weeks from this Thursday. The ferry asks passengers to arrive 30 to 45 minutes before their reservation to sign in. Any schedule changes will go up on that page and on the Morris Marina Ferry Facebook page.

The National Park Service tells the same story from its side. On the Cape Lookout National Seashore Alerts & Conditions page, last updated April 8, 2026, the North Core Cabin Camp is listed as closed. The park says it will release an opening date once construction is finished. Long Point Cabin Camp is listed as permanently closed because of Dorian damage.

Where the new camp is going, and why it moved

The new camp isn't going back where Long Point stood. The park's Finding of No Significant Impact, approved in November 2021, explains the move. Repeated storms had narrowed the old site and left it exposed to waves, and the old cabins and buildings were damaged beyond repair.

The park picked a site about five miles north of the old camp and ferry dock, just south of mile marker 12. According to the finding, this stretch hasn't been breached in recent hurricanes. It also has less erosion, higher ground, larger dunes, and heavy vegetation on the sound side, and it's the widest part of the island.

The plan for the new camp includes:

1. Sixteen modular cabins: eight with 8 beds and eight with 4 beds
2. A central shower house and pavilion with outdoor rinse stations
3. A well, pump house, wind generator, and solar battery house
4. A visitor information and administrative office
5. An NPS operations area
6. A camp road with a dump station
7. A treatment facility

The plan also keeps three pieces of the old camp: the ferry dock, the bathhouse, and the ATV/UTV shed. Every other damaged structure there was slated for demolition. When the new camp opens, it will be about five miles up the beach from the dock where the Atlantic ferry lands.

What a November trip has to carry

The park's conditions page lists North Core Banks as open for camping, shelling, and fishing. It also lists what's closed. Long Point sells no ice or gas, and its bathhouse and dump station are closed. North Core has no drinking water, and the park asks visitors to bring their own. The same page lists the visitor center restrooms at Portsmouth Village as closed because of a damaged solar system.

That turns the packing list for a late-season run into a short inventory of everything the island used to provide:

• A reservation by phone. No posted ferry times exist for 2026, so the call to Morris Marina comes first.
• Fuel for the whole trip. Long Point no longer sells gas.
• All your drinking water and ice. The island has no potable water, and no ice is sold there.
• An ORV permit and decal for each vehicle. The Recreation.gov permit page says 2026 permits are valid through December 31, are non-refundable and non-transferable, and are not capped in number.
• Attention to route signs. The park can close routes temporarily for resource protection or safety, and it signs every closure. Portsmouth Village is a permanent vehicle closure.

Here are Morris Marina's posted round-trip fares from its pricing page. The marina notes that vehicle fares can be adjusted for width and weight.

For a single truck under 19 feet with two adults, that adds up to $205 in ferry fares. A full-price $75 ORV permit brings it to $280 before any gas, water, or ice gets loaded. Those numbers assume the truck stays inside the posted length and the marina makes no width or weight adjustment.

What the October reports showed for fall fishing

The fishing is why a lot of these late-season trips happen. The most recent regional report is broad rather than specific to North Core's surf. The Fisherman's Post Morehead/Atlantic Beach report for October 2026 relayed word from Chasin' Tails. Anglers there were catching Spanish mackerel and bluefish everywhere from inside the inlet out to the beachfronts, and the Spanish were running bigger than usual. Fall king mackerel were biting farther off the beach, mostly to the east and north, and the shop expected that to shift as water temperatures dropped.

The same report said old drum fishing had been good in the sound and up into the Neuse River. Anglers were working ledges and points with fresh mullet or running bigger swimbaits under popping corks around bait balls. Carolina Traditions Guide Co. said the big drum were holding mid-river and expected the bite on artificials to pick up as temperatures cooled.

Anyone keeping fish should check the current rules first. The NC Division of Marine Fisheries recreational size and bag limits page lists red drum at 18 to 27 inches and one fish per person per day. Spotted seatrout had a harder year. After cold-stun events, the state closed recreational and commercial harvest in coastal and joint waters from February 6 through June 30, 2026. Harvest reopened July 1 with restrictions set out in proclamation FF-31-2026, which is the document to read before keeping trout.

Red drum management is also under review. The state opened a scoping period for the Red Drum Fishery Management Plan on October 1, 2026. According to DEQ, no management options had been developed at that point, and the existing measures could stay in place if the review finds no changes are needed.

The calendar after the last ferry

Once Morris Marina's season ends at the end of November, the Banks follow the park's off-season calendar. The 2026 permit page laid it out this way:

• Through December 31: 2026 ORV permits are valid.
• January 1 to March 11: No vehicles allowed on North Core Banks (Portsmouth Island) or South Core Banks (Davis Island).
• Early January: The new season's permits go on sale. For 2026 they went on sale January 4 at a $35 preseason rate.
• After the preseason window: The permit returns to full price. In 2026 that was $75 starting March 12.

The 2027 permit dates will come from the same Recreation.gov page. If 2027 follows the 2026 pattern, anyone planning a spring run off the Atlantic ferry can save $40 by buying in the preseason window. The park says it will announce the North Core Cabin Camp's opening date once construction is finished.

The permit fees and fishing limits above come straight from the state and park pages linked here. They're general information only, so check the current rules with those agencies before you go.

I've crossed Core Sound plenty of times myself, and I keep an eye on how access to the Banks changes, because it affects how Down East families use the water and what a place in Atlantic means to the people who own one. If you'd like to talk about boating, water access, or property anywhere along Core Sound, Jo Ann Mangum is glad to help. Let's Connect.