Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Closed for climbing in 2026 due to restoration

See the black-and-white spiral-striped brick lighthouse that was moved 2,900 feet inland in 1999.

46379 Lighthouse Road · Buxton, NC

About Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Completed in 1870, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse stands just over 198 feet from foundation to pinnacle and is painted with black spiral stripes on a white background. In 1999 the lighthouse was moved 2,900 feet in 23 days and now sits 1,500 feet from the shoreline. The tower is not open for climbing in 2026 because of restoration work, and the national seashore charges no entrance fee. There are 269 steps from the ground to the lens room.

#lighthouse
#outer banks
#national seashore
#maritime history

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What's around here?

The closest stops to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

Sports & Outdoors
Iconic
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
No admission fee
Walk miles of open Atlantic beach, visit three historic lighthouses and camp or fish along the Outer Banks barrier islands.
3.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors
Museums
Frisco Native American Museum & Natural History Center
Under $25
A nonprofit educational museum that preserves Native American artifacts, art, and culture.
5.6 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
Museums
Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum
No admission fee
A maritime museum in Hatteras Village that covers Outer Banks shipwreck and coastal history.
10 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
Sightseeing
History Buff
Bodie Island Lighthouse
No admission fee
See the black-and-white banded 1872 lighthouse over the marsh, and climb its 200-plus steps in season.
39 mi awayMore like this
Sightseeing
Roanoke Island Festival Park
Under $25
A living-history park on Roanoke Island with a replica 16th-century ship, a recreated first English settlement, and an Outer Banks history museum.
46 mi awayMore like this
Sightseeing
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
No admission fee
Coastal national historic site on Roanoke Island marking early English colonization, a Reconstruction-era freedmen's settlement, and early radio experiments.
49 mi awayMore like this