Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
46379 Lighthouse Rd, Buxton, NC
Buxton, NC
A black-and-white spiral tower on the Outer Banks, the tallest brick lighthouse in America, guarding the treacherous shoals sailors called the Graveyard of the Atlantic.
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse rises on the elbow of the Outer Banks, a barrier island reaching farthest out into the Atlantic, and at more than 190 feet it is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States. Its bold black-and-white spiral stripes make it one of the most recognizable lighthouses in the world, a daymark meant to be seen and identified from far offshore.
The tower guards one of the most dangerous stretches of coast in America, where the warm Gulf Stream flowing north meets the cold waters coming south and drives ships onto the shifting Diamond Shoals. So many vessels have wrecked off Hatteras that the waters earned the name the Graveyard of the Atlantic, and the light has warned mariners away from them since the 1800s.
What Guests Love
- The bold black-and-white spiral daymark, unmistakable against the dunes
- Climbing the tower when it is open for the view over the seashore
- The dramatic story of moving the whole lighthouse back from the sea
- Wild, undeveloped beaches of the national seashore all around
Worth Knowing
- The lighthouse welcomes visitors, and tower climbs are seasonal and can be limited by restoration work
- Climbing the tower means a long, steep spiral stair, so it is not for everyone
- Summer is hot and busy; spring and fall are milder and quieter
- The shoals offshore are genuinely dangerous, so heed swimming and rip-current warnings on the beach
Details
Buxton, NC
Learn about Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
The Graveyard of the Atlantic
Off Cape Hatteras the seafloor rises into the Diamond Shoals, long fingers of shifting sand that reach miles out to sea and lie right where two great ocean currents collide. Sailing ships caught in the confused water and sudden storms of this coast wrecked here by the hundreds over the centuries, giving the waters their grim nickname.
A first lighthouse went up on the cape in 1803, but it proved too short and too dimly lit to do the job. The soaring brick tower standing today was completed in 1870, its first-order lens throwing a beam far out over the shoals, a decisive improvement that saved countless ships from the fate that had claimed so many before.
Moving a lighthouse
The Outer Banks are restless islands of sand, and over the decades the sea crept steadily toward the lighthouse until the surf threatened to undermine it entirely. Seawalls and sandbags bought time, but by the late twentieth century it was clear the tower could not stay where it stood.
In 1999, in one of the great feats of American engineering, the entire 4,800-ton brick lighthouse was lifted onto rails and slowly rolled nearly 2,900 feet inland over several weeks, then set on a new foundation safely back from the sea. The move captured the nation's attention and gave the beloved landmark a new lease on life.
The island and its people
Hatteras Island has long been home to independent-minded fishing communities, and the villages tucked among the dunes carry generations of watermen's history. The waters offshore drew Native peoples of the coast, then colonial mariners, and later the surfmen of the old life-saving stations who rowed out through the breakers to rescue shipwrecked sailors.
The lighthouse anchors the wider Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the first national seashore in the country, which protects miles of undeveloped barrier-island beach, marsh, and dune. Small villages, family fish houses, and long empty stretches of sand give the island a character quite apart from more developed beach towns.
Wildlife, weather, and the seashore
The seashore is a haven for birds, from pelicans and skimmers to migrating shorebirds and the nesting piping plover, and sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs on the summer beaches. Dolphins are common just offshore, and the rich currents make the waters some of the best fishing on the East Coast.
Weather rules life on Hatteras. Summer is hot, humid, and busy, spring and fall bring milder days and thinner crowds, and the island lies squarely in the path of Atlantic hurricanes that reshape its beaches and dunes. The same restless forces that threatened the lighthouse still redraw the coast year by year.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Buxton
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Surrounding
Miles of undeveloped barrier-island beach, dune, and marsh, the first national seashore in the country.
Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum
About 15 miles south
A museum in Hatteras village telling the story of the coast's countless shipwrecks and the crews who rescued survivors.
Ocracoke Island
By ferry beyond Hatteras
A remote village and beach reached by ferry, with its own historic lighthouse and ties to the pirate Blackbeard.
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
About 25 miles north
A barrier-island refuge of marsh and beach that is a renowned stop for migrating and wintering birds.