Currituck Beach Lighthouse

Right next to the Corolla Wildlife Center, this was a nice looking lighthouse we thought would be fun to climb with our two kids. we waited on line for about 15 min, then overheard the worker managing the line tell another group that it was $ 10/​per person to climb the lighthouse. There were no signs of any kind upon entering the lighthouse area, or while waiting on line, which we thought was odd. So we quickly decided $ 40 to climb a lighthouse wasnt worth it and moved on. Disappointing.

Lovely lighthouse and buildings but we weren’t paying $ 10/​pp to climb to the top. And we are doing all of the work. So we just enjoyed it from below. I really wish it was more family friendly.

The lighthouses in Southern California are pretty lame, so it was really cool to check out a good lighthouse for once. We made our way up from the coast to check out the Currituck Lighthouse, and I’m really glad we did. It’s this towering brick structure you can climb for a rather steep price. It’s a long climb up the couple hundred steps, but totally worth it – unless you’re scared of heights. From the top, you get to look out over the nearby Whalehead Club and park a spectacular view of the Outer Banks that seems to stretch on forever. There’s also a small museum built into the lighthouse with some great historic photos and other artifacts from the lighthouse’s past.

If you’re a sucker for a good lighthouse then coming to the outer banks is a great spot as there are several to take a look at and in season there are several to climb but only one stays open after October and that one is the Currituck Beach Lighthouse.
The lighthouse was finished in 1875 to fill a gap along the coast where no coverage existed. The Bureau of Lighthouses had it strategically built 34 miles south of the Cape Henry Lighthouse and 32 ½ miles north of Bodie Island Lighthouse.
Unlike most lighthouses, Currituck was never painted leaving its outer bricks exposed to the elements. This was done intentionally to differentiate it from the all of the other lights in the area/​region. It’s also cool because you really get a sense of the sheer number of bricks that were used in the building process.
To give you a sense of scope in terms of size:
Old Cape Henry has 191 steps
Cape May has 199 steps
Currituck Beach has 214 steps
Absecon has 224 steps
Cape Hatteras has 257 steps
So by no means is this one the tallest but it’s a good hike to the top with several landings along the way all with great views of the surrounding area and with different placards along with the way detailing everything about the structure’s history.
One negative is that the website for the lighthouse is somewhat useless. It does not list the cost to climb nor does it list exactly when the lighthouse is/​could be open.
Allow me to expound:
The hours listed on the website say daily from Easter to Thanksgiving but the guy I was talking with who has been working there for over a decade said that unless the weather is crazy the lighthouse will be open every year the week after Christmas and sometimes randomly on weekends year round if the weather allows just like this year they’ll be opening two weeks before Easter for the season yet neither the website nor their FB page reflect any of this. (If the lighthouse opens in the offseason, the gift shop does not.)
As a sidebar the price to climb is $ 10 per person (cash or check only to climb but the gift shop accepts credit for purchases over there — odd??) which is kind of a ripoff. Kids seven and younger are free but still the price is whack. I’ve climbed a lot of lighthouses in several states owned both by the NPS, state/​local governments and private organizations and this one takes the cake in terms of price.
Overall it was a pleasant surprise to be able to climb this one in a month not normally associated with lighthouse climbing and I will begrudgingly give it five stars although the high price weighs heavily on my mind to almost knock it back to four.

This lighthouse is one of the most beautiful and scenic I’ve ever seen. Even though it’s not exactly on the beach from the top it is got such a picturesque vantage point of this part of the OBX.
The beautiful brick and grounds are stunning. They even use oyster shells to keep it echo friendly as borders. They also have rain barrels to promote saving water.
A very serene and beautiful way to spend the day. Make sure you put this on your to do list it is a must.
What’s a girl to do? See every lighthouse you can.

I am very honored and blessed to been working at the little gift shop right in the complex of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. I’ve been working there for 10 years and it is such a beautiful place to visit and I enjoy seeing many different faces and some that have returned over the years and getting to see my friends that I have made working at the shop and going over to seeing my friends at the lighthouse. I’m hoping to make it my 11^th next spring. Be sure to come check us out at the Currituck Beach Lightouse and the gift shop too. We are a seasonal place open during the Easter to Thanksgiving. We’re open everyday 9 to 5 rain or shine (unless its a really bad storm then it may be close sometimes when they hear thunder they close the lighthouse for at least 30 mins to an hour) and during the summer on Wednesdays and Thursdays til 8. The admission to climb to the top of the lighthouse is $ 10 per person kids 7 years and under are free and you pay right inside the entrance of the lighthouse cash or check — no plastic. The stairs are 220 steps to the top and there are 9 landings to stop and take a break before carry on with the rest of your climbing. The gift shop of where I work at has very many things to choose from to collection lighthouses to paintings or just something of a beach theme we sale really cool and nice t shirts and caps, we have coffee mugs, shot glasses, pirate stuff, board games and puzzles, cool things for kids like kid books, stuffed animals of wild horses and beach animals. So come on by and check us out!!!

Nice quaint area. Way north so make sure to go during the week to avoid Duck traffic on weekend. Crowds were sparse and we were able to take our time and enjoy. If you have 4×4, you can ride another miles north and hwy 12 Will end right on beach and you can drive out and cruise down the shoreline. Very picturesque.

This place is nice, but way over priced to go to the top of the light house. It’s $ 10.00 per person over the age of 7 years old. They also only take cash or check. With our family of 5, $ 50.00 was too much to pay to climb a bunch of steps!

I have visited this location on two separate occasions. It is such a serene and inviting place. I only wish we could have went into and up the lighthouse on one of our visits. This is one of our favorite places in NC, we will be back in a year or so I’m sure :)

I’m in love with the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. Everything about this place is inviting, from the entrance to the gift shop.
Upon entering the property, there is an open area with cute brick walkways. Past the lighthouse lies an adorable gift shop that you will want to spend some time in. There are some great little treasures to find. I returned 3 times and purchased some great items for my home.
The view at the top of the lighthouse is amazing. Enough said.
There is 1 con… the $ 10 fee to enter the lighthouse. It’s a bit excessive but worth visiting.

Although I felt that $ 10 was a little steep ($ 5 would have been better), it was a magnificent view once at the top. Situated in a nice, wooded area near a big grassy area and the old village. The gift shop had many choices.

Heritage Park (that houses the lighthouse) is a scenic, breezy, and peaceful place to visit. The views surrounding the park are breathtaking. Be sure to take the nature trail walk down to the sound. It is a peaceful wooden walkway through the wetlands that opens up to the panoramic views of the Currituck Sound and lighthouse. Beautiful dragonflies and butterflies surround you as you walk though. It is the highlight of our visit to Heritage Park. As for the lighthouse, it’s a pretty quick climb to the top… just 214 steps. It is wise to visit in the early morning before it gets too hot to climb (it gets hot quick and there is no A/​C in the lighthouse, obviously.) Also you beat the lines if you visit early on. The view from the top is gorgeous and so quiet. Be sure to visit the quaint little gift shop for some cute knick knacks to remind you of your visit here.

A pretty and different type of lighthouse — up close the brick construction is very impressive! Nicely maintained grounds surrounding it, plus a little shop that sells almost every kind of lighthouse tschotchke imaginable. If you’d like to climb to the top, that will cost you $ 8.

If I could is give it 10 stars I would! Very knowledgeable staff, not to busy, they send you up in shifts, awesome view at the top. 160 feet up, and only 220 stairs up, breaks in between awesome for kids and adults, and you don’t have to work out for the rest of the day :-)

This was the last place that my family and I visited on our way out of the Outer Banks. It was a great way to say goodbye to one of the best vacations I have taken in a long time.
The land that this sits on is beautifully taken care of and quite welcoming. You wouldn’t know that a few hundred feet away were a ton of vacation homes and people clogging the beaches. Although this lighthouse is not in use anymore for what it was first purposed for, it is well maintained and quite the draw for tourist in the area. There is a small parking area within walking distance to the little lighthouse complex. A good enough amount of spaces as you are definitely not going to take all day here, it really shouldn’t take you more than a half hour to see everything here.
Once you enter there are signs to direct you which way to go, most people ignore these signs and walk whatever way they want to. If you walk the right way you walk past the caretaker’s house and then another small building that houses a gift shop and where you buy your tickets to enter the lighthouse. There are many little things here to look over and you could easily take all day just browsing the items in the gift shop, but the real draw here is the lighthouse. It is massive from the outside and there are many steps to take to get to the top.
Notes of interest here: the lighthouse is closed during bad weather (i.e. thunderstorms, lightning, high winds), it is now $ 8 to enter the lighthouse, most importantly; they only take cash or checks.

Many moons ago the Currituck Beach Lighthouse used to be in my backyard. How cool is that? Unfortunately I had this bright idea to give up the beach, grow up, and move to Atlanta, GA. Now my life is surrounded by traffic and Waffle Houses instead of tourists and lighthouses. I’m still not sure what was I thinking, but I digress.
Apparently it’s $ 7 to climb the Currituck Lighthouse now. I remember back when it was $ 3 (or free if you knew the right people). I feel like one of those folks, «I remember when you could see a movie for a dime.» Anyway, it’s still well worth the seven bucks to climb to the top of the lighthouse. The view of the Atlantic Ocean, all of Corolla, and the Currituck Sound is spectacular. Up here you are reminded that despite all of the obnoxiously large sleep a family of 25 beach houses, Corolla is in fact still a beautiful unspoiled beach.
The grounds surrounding the lighthouse are really pretty and well maintained as well. It’s good family fun with a great view. Word of the wise: it is in no way, shape, or form worth watching the Fourth of July fireworks up here. Hello traffic nightmare of a two lane road when everyone tries to drive back to their beach house at the same time.

It’s been a couple of years since I was here but I always enjoy visiting lighthouses. This one charges a fee to climb to the top, and what a climb it is. My legs were sore for days afterward. The view from the top is worth it! And the drive to the lighthouse is lovely (as long as traffic isn’t heavy).

Since we are generally down in Corolla off season, this lighthouse is normally closed. This year we made the trip Labor Day weekend and made a point of climbing to the top. The Currituck Beach Lighthouse was built in the 1870’s and left unpainted which makes it somewhat unique in that it doesn’t have the typical white exterior. The climb up is $ 7 per person (cash or checks only — no plastic) and well worth the price of admission. You will have to sign a waiver before beginning the climb due to the structure predating today’s safety/​building codes.
At the base of the lighthouse and at the first two landings are displays showing the history of lighthouses, the Fresnel lens, shipwrecks and the lighthouse keepers. It’s interesting to read through the information. The climb is up a tall, somewhat narrow circular staircase. Climbers are asked to wait on one of the nine landings if people are descending, but most don’t. It can be difficult to pass on the staircase and there is a handrail only on one side so if you are afraid of heights or have small children you may want to consider visiting at a non-​peak hour. There are over 200 stairs to the top. At the landings they post the thickness of the walls and height you have climbed. The lighthouse’s walls are over 5 foot thick near the base.
The view from the top is simply spectacular. We climbed fairly early and it was already hot and humid. Thankfully there were fans circulating air on the landings near the top. The breeze once we stepped outside at the top was glorious! I can’t even begin to describe the view from the top so I’ve posted pictures. This is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. There is a lighthouse shop on the grounds as well as the refurbished keeper’s house and a nature walk towards the sound. Also nearby (within walking distance) is the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education — a free exhibit about the history of the area.
Kids 7 and under climb free with a climbing adult. However, if your child is afraid of heights or skittish, you may want to think twice.

Whenever I travel to OBX (Outer Banks, NC) with my wife and her family, I try to get a new lighthouse in as there are several in the area. Last year we visited here.
It is a bit of a ride from where we usually stay in Nags Head (about 30 minutes) but worth the trip. Located in the Northern Outer Banks in Corolla Village.
Construction began in 1873 and was completed on December 1, 1875. It is 162 feet tall with 214 circular steps to the top (think vertigo, don’t look down!) They have windows and little bits of history on almost every landing on the way up. Once at the top you get a panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean, Currituck Sound and the Currituck Outer Banks.
I definitely think it is worth the trip if you are in the area to see the little red lighthouse. Great views from the top.

Decided to take in some sites and why not atop the lighthouse. Beautiful and historical, this nicely renovated brick lighthouse is inside a park located right off of rt 12 in Corolla. When you look at it from the outside you don’t think its that tall and climbing it wouldn’t be a problem. Climbing it only cost you $ 7.00, not bad pretty cheap I thought, and why not donate it to keeping it maintained. Once you go inside you are greeted with history about the light house from the keepers of the house to earlier versions of a light house.
Let the journey begin with the winding stairs that go around the light house with platforms for you to catch your breath with some historical facts per landing. I looked at this and thought this is a cake walk, gonna breeze right thru those platforms. OK I might have gotten 80′ feet up and I wanted to call it quits, build me an elevator the rest of the way up. I am on vacation here, why are we doing this type of exercise with the previous night of heavy drinking. Now I am fighting for that next platform to catch my breath, rest the legs from that burn. stair master has nothing on this place. For 7 bucks this is a cheap but yet great work out. I finally manned up when I saw a much older couple coming down from the top, thinking wtf. if they can do it so can I. just don’t look up, it seems endless.
Once you have reached the top the view is simply breathless, beautiful all around and well worth the climb. Views of the bay and downtown Corolla with the ocean on the other side are amazing. A great breeze to cool you off also from that workout.
I came, I saw, I climbed… I conquered! Now gotta go back down the steps to my gatorade !!! Great experience, happy to have done it, and you will too !