Ocracoke Island Lighthouse

See the Lighthouses web page for an interactive location map.

The Ocracoke Lighthouse is not actually located on Cape Hatteras National Seashore property, though it has been owned by the National Park Service since 1999. It is not open to the public for climbing, but you can visit the site and take photos. It is located in the village of Ocracoke on Lighthouse Road. There are only three parking spaces at the site, and the chance of getting one during the day is slim. I tried on several occasions with no success and finally just stopped by at 6 AM on the morning I was catching a ferry to Cedar Island—no problem then. What is suggested for those who want to see the lighthouse is to park somewhere in town and walk to it. For reference, if you were to park at the Ocracoke Island Visitor Center, which is near the ferry dock on the west end of the island, it is a 1.5-mile round trip walk to the lighthouse. The town is small and charming with lots of shops and restaurants, so walking around the place is quite a pleasure. It reminds me of the town of Amity in the movie Jaws.

The purpose of the Ocracoke Lighthouse was to help guide ships through the Ocracoke Inlet (channel between Ocracoke and Portsmith Island) on their way to trade with the North Carolina mainland. The original lighthouse was a wooden structure built in 1798 that sat in the middle of the channel. It was destroyed by a storm in 1818, but by then, due to the constant pounding of the sea, the inlet had shifted and the water was one mile away, making the lighthouse obsolete anyway.

The replacement lighthouse, built in 1823, is the one standing today. It is 75 feet tall with very thick walls—5 feet thick at the bottom and tapering to 2 feet thick at the top. According to the National Park Service, the Ocracoke Lighthouse is the second oldest operating lighthouse in the United States. Renovations to keep it working were finished in 2010.

The home next to the lighthouse is the Double Keepers’ Quarters (meaning it is a duplex for two lighthouse keeper families). It is a private residence today.