Currituck Beach Lighthouse opens for season with free climb day

Published 11:28 pm Friday, March 18, 2022

The Currituck Beach Light Station will open for the 2022 climbing season on Saturday, March 19. Visitors climb free on the first day of the season.

Visitors may climb 220 steps to the top for breathtaking views of the architecture, the Atlantic Ocean and Currituck Sound while learning from docents and museum-quality exhibits about the active aid to navigation’s significance, the lives of lighthouse keepers and the original first-order Fresnel lens.

The light station is located in Historic Corolla next to the Historic Corolla Park, home to Historic Whalehead, the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education and the new maritime museum. Public beach and sound accesses are both within walking distance.

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On December 1, 1875, the beacon of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse filled the remaining “dark space” on the coast between the Bodie Island Lighthouse (an architectural twin) and Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia. To distinguish the 162’ tall lighthouse from others, its exterior was left unpainted, which conveys a sense of the multitude of bricks used to build it. Season passes are available for those who who may want to climb the tower frequently; passes are also good at the Island Farm on Roanoke Island, which opens on April 5.

The cost to climb the lighthouse is $12. Climbers must be at least 4 years old to climb. Fees support ongoing restoration of the 146-year-old light station. Most recently, iron in the tower’s lower bands, windows and roof cornice was repaired or recast/replaced and dissimilar metals around the glass of the lantern were separated and isolated to prevent rust jacking.

“Our keepers have spent the winter planting native plants, scanning old paper files for a digital maintenance timeline, updating displays, as well as repainting the storehouse on the grounds and the iron galleries at the top of the lighthouse,” stated the season-opening announcement. “We look forward to seeing you this season!”

The Currituck Beach Lighthouse is owned and operated by Outer Banks Conservationists, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1980. For more information, visit www.obcinc.org, email info@obcinc.org or call 252-453-4939.

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