Bodie Island and Cape Hatteras lighthouses to open on April 18

The Cape Hatteras National Seashore Bodie Island and Cape Hatteras Lighthouses will open for the season on Friday, April 18.  

Guided tours will be offered at the Bodie Island Lighthouse. Visitors can climb the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse at set intervals.  These lighthouses will remain open through Columbus Day, Monday, October 13.  Tickets are required. 

Additionally, the Museum of the Sea at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site Visitor Center are now open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week.

The National Park Service invites members of the local Outer Banks communities and park visitors to tour/climb the lighthouses on Friday, April 18, at no charge.  Free tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis and can be obtained only in-person, that day, on-site.

Bodie Island Lighthouse Tour Information

Guided tours for the Bodie Island Lighthouse will run from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.  Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for senior citizens (62 or older), children 11 years of age and under, and persons with disabilities.  Tour tickets may be purchased on site on the day of the tour or may be reserved in advance.

Tours start every 35 minutes and are 45-minutes long.  Each guided tour is limited to 22 people.  Children must be at least 42 inches tall.  Children under 12 must be escorted by a person at least 16 years old.  For additional tour information, check the park website www.nps.gov/caha.

Tour start times are 9 a.m., 9:35 a.m., 10:10 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:20 a.m., 11:55 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:05 p.m., 1:40 p.m., 2:15 p.m., 2:50 p.m., 3:25 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:35 p.m., 5:10 p.m., and 5:45 p.m. daily, seven day a week.

Day of Tour Tickets: 50 percent of all tours for each day will be sold on site.  Day of tour tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and can be purchased only in-person at the site the day of the tour.  Day of tour tickets will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. starting April 18. 

Reserved Tickets: 50 percent of all tours for each day will be sold in advance.  Reservations for a tour can only be made between one to seven days in advance of the tour date by calling 252-475-9417.  The reservation office opens on April 18 and will be open 11a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week.  Reservations cannot be made the same day as the tour date. 

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Climb Information

Climbing hours for the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse will be 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily in the spring and fall and 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 23, through Labor Day, Monday, Sept 1. 

Climbing tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for senior citizens (62 or older), children 11 years of age and under, and persons with disabilities.  Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and can only be purchased in-person at the site the day of the climb.  There are no advance ticket sales for the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.  Children must be at least 42 inches tall.  Children under 12 must be escorted by a person at least 16 years old.  For additional climb information, check the park website www.nps.gov/caha.

Ticket sales begin at 8:15 a.m.  Climbing will begin at 9 a.m. and will run every 10 minutes with a limit of 30 visitors per climb time.  Ticket sales close at 4:30 p.m. in the spring and fall and 5:30 p.m. from May 23 through Labor Day.

For general information on the Outer Banks Group national park sites, visit www.nps.gov/caha, www.nps.gov/wrbr, www.nps.gov/fora; Twitter @CapeHatterasNPS, @WrightBrosNPS, @FortRaleighNPS; www.facebook.com/CapeHatterasNS, www.facebook.com/WrightBrothersNMem, www.facebook.com/FortRaleighNHS.