City: Corolla, NC

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (252) 453-4939

Address: Off NC 12

Insider Pick:

Description: Visitors can climb the 214 steps to the top of the lighthouse, coming eye to eye with the 50,000-candlepower lamp that still flashes every 20 seconds and can be seen for 18 nautical miles. The climb up the narrow, winding staircase is not for the faint of heart, but a panoramic view of the Currituck Outer Banks is your reward. Inside, at the base and on the first two landings, are lighthouse exhibit panels installed in 2001. They cover the broad history of coastal lighthouses, including all of the North Carolina lighthouses, and give an in-depth history of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse and its buildings. The Fresnel lens is explained, and there is a special exhibit on the former Currituck Beach Lighthouse keepers. The Lightkeepers’ Residence, a beautiful Victorian dwelling, was constructed of precut, labeled materials and was shipped for assembly on-site by the US Lighthouse Board. The residence was abandoned when the lighthouse was automated in 1939 and keepers were no longer needed on-site (though they still visited once a week to change batteries and perform maintenance). The residence, on the National Register of Historic Places, fell into serious disrepair but was restored by a group known as Outer Banks Conservationists starting in 1980. It is not open for tours, except by appointment during the first two weeks in Nov.Today the keeper’s main duties, among many others, are keeping the lighthouse open for tourists, overseeing preservation work, and hiring volunteers and staff. In 2005 the Currituck Beach Lighthouse celebrated its 130th anniversary as a working lighthouse. Be sure to visit the on-site museum shop.Visitors climb the lighthouse for a fee of $6, cash or check only. Children younger than age 8 climb for free. School groups and other large groups are offered a discounted rate. The lighthouse is open daily from Easter through Thanksgiving. Climbing hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during eastern standard time and to 5 p.m. during daylight saving time. If you’re climbing you must go up at least 15 minutes before closing time. During periods of lightning or high winds, the lighthouse tower may be closed to climbers.