Outer Banks North Carolina Lighthouses
No wonder people love lighthouses and the outer banks class of beacons are among the most tireless you have the cape hatteras lighthouse that is the tallest in america and arguably the most recognized lighthouse in the world.
Outer banks north carolina lighthouses. The cape hatteras lighthouse is normally open from the third friday in april through columbus day in october. Outer banks lighthouses and life saving stations for more than two centuries lighthouses have guarded the outer banks coast and always guided the way. Currituck beach light station on the northern outer banks has protected north carolina s shores since 1875. Spanning from corolla to ocracoke island there are a total of five different lighthouses on the outer banks a chain of barrier islands located just off the coast of north carolina.
Traveling straight from currituck beach lighthouse to. Visiting the outer banks lighthouses was my favorite part of our trip to the north carolina coast this past summer. The gift shop here was the best of all the lighthouses we visited bodie island cape hatteras cape lookout and blew away the others based on pricing and a huge selection of all outer banks lighthouses therefore the people where nice the gift shop was nice and the lighthouse was amazing as well as the views. A popular tourist destination ocracoke is an island that is reachable only by planes and boats.
Generations of seaborne travelers and mariners have sought the comfort of these beacons reassuring light as they navigated the perilous channels and shoals that mark the graveyard of the atlantic. Even though i m a north carolina native i ve spent very little time in the outer banks and i had never actually set foot inside a lighthouse before this trip. It is on the national register of historic places and is visited by thousands each year. The lighthouse on north carolina s outer banks was completed in 1823.
A historic outer banks lighthouse has been vandalized twice recently and cape hatteras national seashore officials are turning to the public for help catching who did it. Make sure to check out the historic village as well. The ocracoke island lighthouse may not be the most imposing of the outer banks lighthouses but as north carolina s oldest lighthouse in operation and the second oldest in the united states it is certainly one of the most beloved. It s possible to visit all five in one single day but it would take some swift driving and you wouldn t be able to spend a lot of time at each landmark.