Bodie Island Light Station stands proud at 170 feet tall and noticeable with it's black and white stripes. It's iconic look likely helped it make the Frommers travel guide article list "7 All-American Lighthouses".
Did you know it's not the first Bodie Island lighthouse? Marine safety is worth the continued effort for a structure to watch over the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." A poor foundation caused the first Bodie Island lighthouse to be abandoned. Confederate troops who feared the lighthouse would be used as a Union observation post during the Civil War destroyed the second lighthouse. The third lighthouse was built in 1872 and became part of the National Park Service in 1937. The third time's the charm!
1937 was also the creation of the first national seashore. Bodie Island Light Station is part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the first national seashore. If you visit, consider timing your visit between the third Friday in April to Columbus Day in October. That's when the park service allows visitors to climb the 214 steps to the top 70-foot structure.
Today the Keepers Quarters brick house also serve as one of the three Cape Hatteras visitor centers. You can expect a small exhibit area and a bookstore.
Bodie remains as one of only a dozen remaining tall brick tower lighthouses in the United States. It's also special because it still has it's original Fresnel lens.
Stay on the trails as signs warn of snakes. Take the boardwalk leading from the lighthouse to an observation platform near marshes for another view.
If you love the National Park Service like me, take your kids to the other National Seashores too. Not only will you learn about history, but also shoreline conservation. Here's the other nine national seashores:
1) Assateague Island National Seashore (MD)
2) Canaveral (FL)
3) Cape Cod (MA)
4) Cape Lookout (NC)
5) Cumberland Island (GA)
6) Fire Island (NY)
7) Gulf Islands (MS)
8) Padre Island (TX)
9) Point Reyes (CA)
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