Buxton, North Carolina: America's Tallest Lighthouse - Climb It
268 steps ascend to the top of a 208-foot-tall barber pole lighthouse, America's loftiest.
- Address:
- 46379 Old Lighthouse Rd, Buxton, NC
- Directions:
- US 64 east to the ocean at Nags Head, then 48 miles south on Hwy 12. Signs from both directions on Highway 12.
- Hours:
- Daily 9-5, April - mid-Oct. (Call to verify)
- Phone:
- 252-995-4474
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
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Visitor Tips and News About America's Tallest Lighthouse - Climb It
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The lighthouse is being refurbished and is not open for climbing. It's an impressive structure and the story behind its move, outlined in the museum, is interesting. The museum is in the lightkeeper's home, which was also relocated.
[Kathy & Ron Summer 2021, 06/08/2021]
Standing 193 feet (above ground), the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in Buxton, NC is the tallest lighthouse in the United States. The current lighthouse, completed in 1871, replaced an earlier lighthouse. Both were designed to warn sailors of the dangerous Diamond Shoals off the NC coast.
The distinctive "barber pole" paint scheme is consistent with other black-and-white lighthouses of North Carolina, each with their own pattern to help sailors identify lighthouses during daylight hours.
The National Park Service allows visitors to climb the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse from the third Friday in April to Columbus Day. Keep in mind the climb is strenuous, equivalent to walking the stairs of a twelve-story building, only on a narrow, two-way staircase. The interior of the lighthouse is not climate-controlled therefore on very hot days the NPS may close access to the interior of the lighthouse with little warning.
[Greg Brown, 02/13/2010]Nearby Offbeat Places
British Cemetery on U.S. Soil, Buxton, NC - < 1 mi.
The Cora Witch Tree, Frisco, NC - 4 mi.
Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, Hatteras, NC - 10 mi.Latest Tips Across Roadside America
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