Exploring North Carolina's Lighthouses: A 4-Day Solo Road Trip and Coastal Guide
North Carolina has 8 iconic lighthouses along the coast. I have been wanting to see them all, so this summer I took 4 days and did a solo road trip and camped along the way. To save you from some of the planning and searching I’m gonna put it all together for you. I highly recommend you make the trip. Thank me later.
Stops (4 Ferries)
Cape Lookout Lighthouse - Cape Lookout
Ocracoke Lighthouse - Ocracoke
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse - Buxton
Bodie Island Lighthouse - Nags Head
Currituck Beach Lighthouse - Corolla
Roanoke River Lighthouse - Edenton
Oak Island Lighthouse - Oak Island
Old Baldy - Bald Head island
Day 1
You can change where you start but I started at Harkers Island since I live in New Bern. You have to take a ferry to get to Cape Lookout and you can look at the schedule and book your trip if you click the button below.
It’s about a 25-minute ferry ride each way and you pass right by Shackleford Banks where you may get to see some of the wild horses on the shoals. At the Cape they have bathrooms as well as a visitor center. If they have it open you are able to climb the stairs to the top of the lighthouse and enjoy some amazing views but if they don’t, it is still well worth the trip to go through the historical information at the house and speak with the Lightkeepers.
After exploring at the Cape I would take the ferry back over to Harkers Island and start making your way to Cedar Island. You are making your way to the Cedar Island Ferry Terminal which requires a reservation and is linked right below this paragraph. The Cedar Island Ferry is going to take you to the island of Ocracoke where you will be seeing the Ocracoke Lighthouse. There are some restaurants on the island and it would be a good place to grab some lunch.
Once you’ve had your fun and food on Ocracoke Island you need to drive to the very northern tip of Ocracoke on Hwy 12. This is where you will catch the Hatteras Ferry. The Hatteras Ferry is free and does not require a reservation, just get in line and get on board. Once you arrive to Hatteras you’re about 25 minutes from the Hatteras Lighthouse. I personally recommend camping at the Cape Point Campground as its a short walk to the beach and you can see the Lighthouse from your campsite at night.
Day 2
On the itinerary for day 2 you will have about 4 hours of driving and about 183 miles. The goal is to see Bodie, Currituck (Corolla) and Roanoke River Lighthouse. Where you decide to sleep on this 2nd night will be different for different people. You can stay at a campground around Roanoke River Lighthouse, or you could start making your way towards Oak Island Lighthouse and stay somewhere in between, dealers choice. I think it’s necessary for me to mention that Bodie is one of the of favorite stops for most people. You have the opportunity to book a reservation to climb it and I will link it below the paragraph, as of writing this article it is $10. Both the grounds and the ambience are beautiful at Bodie and if you follow the walkway towards the marsh the view will be well worth the bugs, especially if you want to take some photos. I would give yourself a little extra time at Bodie because it is the favorite for a reason and depending on the time of day maybe account for some time for the crowds at Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla.
Day 3
On Day 3 feel free to get creative because it really depends on where you decided to spend the night after you left Roanoke River Lighthouse. If you stayed near Roanoke River Lighthouse, then you are probably looking at around a 3 hour 45 minute drive and about 215 miles to get down to Oak Island. You could just do one lighthouse on this day and explore Oak Island. This is a different strokes for different folks type of situation, you could just see the Oak Island Lighthouse and spend the day at the beach or decide to book the ferry and head over to Bald Head Island for the night.
Day 4
Day 4 is going to consist of the final ferry ride to Bald Head Island and I would leave a day for this as there is plenty to do and see on Bald Head Island. Below this paragraph is the Bald Head Island Ferry information. You can climb the lighthouse here and do some historical tours. The ferry to Bald Head Island is a passenger ferry so you will have left your vehicle in the parking lot at the terminal. I noticed most people rented golf carts when they got off the ferry but I’m cheap (broke) so I walked….I would recommend renting a golf cart. I can’t personally speak to all the things to do on the island, but I could tell just by walking around that it was not lacking. Do some research of your own and I guarantee you will find some things of interest.
Some of these photos are available for purchase as prints if you follow the link below.