North Carolina’s Outer Banks has several lighthouses along its coastline to direct mariners. Each tower has a unique color scheme and pattern visible during the day. At night, each light has its own flashing sequence (so many seconds on followed by so many seconds off) to tell them apart. Two of the northernmost ones are Bodie Island Light Station and Currituck Beach Lighthouse. These two are architectural twins.
Bodie Island Light Station
Bodie Island (pronounced “body”) is a 163-foot lighthouse. The brick lighthouse is painted with thick black and white horizontal stripes. Nearly one million bricks were used in its construction.
It is the third version for that area – the first leaned even before it was completed in 1847 and the second was blown up by Confederate troops in 1861. These first two lighthouses were actually on Pea Island, south of the Oregon Inlet. Bodie Island’s current light station, at the northern end of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, first lit its light in October 1872.
The keeper’s quarters now serve as a visitor center for the national seashore and ranger station.
Visiting
Bodie Island is open for self-guided tours in the summer months. Tickets are $10 for adults, have to be purchased online, and go on sale at 7 a.m. for that day’s climbs only.
There are over 200 steps to the top with nine landings. We did not climb Bodie Island but did take the low wooden boardwalk trail on the grounds to explore the area.
The 0.2-mile Bodie Island Boardwalk Trail leads to an elevated viewing platform. From here you get views of marsh wetlands, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pamlico Sound, and the lighthouse of course.
From the walkway and platform, we spotted egrets, red-winged blackbirds, and mockingbirds.
Currituck Beach Lighthouse
The red brick Currituck Beach Lighthouse was first lit in December 1875. It was the last brick and mortar lighthouse built in North Carolina, so its unpainted brick serves as its day marker.
The lighthouse is open mid-March through the end of November. Visitors can climb in the lighthouse for $12 per person (age 4 and above). Payment is on-site only, no advance or online ticket sales.
Our Climb
We climbed 220 steps to the top. The first few floors have exhibits explaining its history and significance.
All nine landings were larger than other lighthouses I’ve been in. If you need a break on the way up, you can stop and look at the surrounding landscapes through the windows without being in anyone else’s way. As we visited in June, some landings had fans blowing to cool us down.
There is a lot of space at the top since you do not enter the Fresnel lens area. You exit the door and can walk 360 degrees around the tower for fantastic views of Currituck Sound, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Outer Banks.
After Currituck Beach Lighthouse, we had dinner at The Village Table and Tavern in Duck. We ate the smoked mushroom appetizer, sea scallops, and rigatoni shrimp primavera.