If you’re ready to climb, N.C. lighthouses are open
Most of North Carolina’s lighthouses are reopening to climbing after doors closed last season over pandemic constraints.
They were missed.
“We are thrilled to get the lighthouses open again,” said Meghan Agresto, manager of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla. “Already this past week, we can see that people are ready to climb.”
Roughly 200,000 people a year climb the three Outer Banks lighthouses from Buxton to Corolla. Thousands more climb three others on the state’s southeastern coast.
Two of the most notable, though, may only open briefly or not at all. The Cape Lookout Lighthouse is closed pending results of a safety inspection. Cape Hatteras Lighthouse — the most popular of the state’s beacons — is getting interior paint removed and may open later this summer.
The beacons offer views that stretch for miles over the sea and coastal landscape. They are reminders of the history of the Outer Banks, where hundreds of ships ran aground on offshore shoals before the lights began flashing their warning in the 1800s.
They offer solitude, a place of peace where the world is far below and problems shrink, Agresto said. They portray beauty in their architecture, engineering, shape and painted stripes.
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in Buxton is a large part of marketing for North Carolina tourism all over the world, said Lee Nettles, executive director of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau. About 100,000 a year climb it annually.
The tower is an iconic image found on T-shirts, caps, place mats and stained-glass windows. Photographers and artists have spent their careers depicting it from different angles, day and night.
“They are clearly something that people look forward to,” Nettles said. “If they can open safely, that’s what we want.”
Local businesses welcome the added draw.
“It’s always exciting to have the lighthouse open,” said Becky Salyers, owner of Conner’s Supermarket in Buxton.
A year ago, the pandemic began spreading across the world. States imposed restrictions and shut down most attractions, including lighthouses with their confined interior spaces and railings along the stairwells that are touched by many.
Currituck Beach lighthouse opened late last year by requiring visitors to stay at a safe distance and wear masks. The vintage windows were opened for ventilation. The number of people inside was limited to state guidelines and the staff regularly cleaned the rails on the 220 steps to the top.
Other lighthouses will follow similar protocols this season.
Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla opens for the season Saturday. Daily hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and tickets to climb are $10. Children ages 3 and under are free.
Bodie Island Lighthouse south of Nags Head will open in late April or early May. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 11 and seniors 62 and over.
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse could open for climbing later in the summer.
Ocracoke Lighthouse was never open for climbing, but remains the second-oldest beacon in the nation still operating. Visitors can go to the site.
Cape Lookout Lighthouse remains closed.
Oak Island Lighthouse south of Wilmington is expected to open in late spring or early summer. There is no charge to climb, but reservations are required.
Old Baldy, located on an island south of Wilmington, opened March 1 for climbing Thursday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children.