The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, also known as America's Lighthouse, is the tallest brick beacon in the nation, standing 208-feet. The familiar spiral-striped landmark serves as a warning to mariners of submerged and shifting sandbars which extend almost twenty miles off Cape Hatteras into the Atlantic Ocean, known as the Diamond Shoals. In 1999 the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was moved a half mile inland, to save it from the encroaching sea. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is now as far from the ocean as when originally constructed in 1870.

Opening for Climbing
Mid-April through Columbus Day
Visitor's Center museum and grounds open year-round.

Lighthouse Climbing Fees
$7.00 Adults
$3.50 Children under 12 (must be at least 42" tall); seniors 62 and older; disabled
$3.50 with a National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Senior or Access Pass


Contact Information
(252) 995-4474
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