Visit The Outer Banks

Guide to Bodie Island Lighthouse

On the edge of Nags Head, NC, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore starts in the area commonly called Bodie Island, pronounced body. This ten-mile stretch follows the NC12 coastal highway past waterfowl ponds and golden beaches, with the steady flash of the 1872 lighthouse marking Oregon Inlet for vessels nearing these Outer Banks.

Just south of Nags Head, the present-day Bodie Island Lighthouse is the third beacon created to guide mariners along the coastline between Cape Hatteras and Currituck Beach. The first Bodie Island Lighthouse went up in 1847 on the south side of Oregon Inlet, in the area now called Pea Island. After twelve years, it was left behind because its foundation was inadequate. A replacement was constructed in 1859, also south of the inlet, then destroyed in 1861 by retreating Confederate troops concerned that Union forces might use it for navigation.

The Bodie Island Lighthouse seen today was finished in 1872, north of Oregon Inlet and close to the northern boundary of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Its recognizable black-and-white horizontal bands were built in part with materials remaining from the newest Cape Hatteras Lighthouse project. Rising 150 feet and fitted with a first-order Fresnel lens, the tower sends its 160,000 candlepower beacon 19 miles across the ocean. The Currituck Beach Lighthouse is regarded as its architectural twin.

Visitors to Bodie Island can climb the lighthouse at their own pace while taking in views of Bodie Island, the Atlantic Ocean, and Pamlico Sound. The Bodie Island Lighthouse operates for climbs from the third Friday in April through Columbus Day in early October. Climbing hours are offered every 30 minutes and begin daily at 9:15 am. Tickets are required.

Climb tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens 62 or older, children 11 years of age and under, and the disabled. Tickets are sold only in person at the site on the day of the climb and are available on a first come, first served basis. Regular climbs do not have advance ticket sales. Sales open at 9 am, and climb times run every 20 minutes with a maximum of eight visitors per climb. The final climb is at 4:30 pm. Ticket holders should be at the lighthouse base five minutes before their scheduled climb time.

Because climb capacity is limited, educational fee waivers for school groups are not available for Bodie Island Lighthouse climbs.

More OBX lighthouses and lifesaving stations

Visit the Bodie Island Lighthouse | Historic Beacon on The Outer Banks page →