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Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Review
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was the first lighthouse built in the region, authorized by Congress in 1794 to help prevent shipwrecks. The original structure was lost to erosion and Civil War damage; this 1870 replacement is, at 208 feet, the tallest brick lighthouse in the world. Endangered by the sea, in 1999 the lighthouse was actually raised and rolled some 2,900 feet inland to its present location. A visitor center is located near the base of the lighthouse. In summer the principal keeper's quarters are open for viewing, and you can climb the lighthouse's 257 steps (12 stories) to the viewing balcony. Children under 42 inches in height aren't allowed in the lighthouse. Offshore lay the remains of the USS Monitor, a Confederate ironclad ship that sank in 1862.
- Address: Off Rte. 12, 30 mi south of Rodanthe, Buxton, NC, 27920 | Map It
- Phone: 252/995-4474
- Cost: Visitor center and keeper's quarters free, lighthouse tower $6
- Hours: Visitor center and keeper's quarters: daily 9-5. Lighthouse tower: Apr.-mid-Oct., daily 10-5
- Website: www.nps.gov/caha
- Location: Hatteras Island
Contact Information
Member Reviews
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Vitoarc, from Raleigh, NC
Make sure you call ahead in the summer!
What the NPS fails to tell you is that they CLOSE walking the stairs to the top when the inside temperature of the lighthouse gets too high! During the hot summer months you are rarely permitted to enter the lighthouse.
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