Bodie Island, Cape Hatteras Lighthouses Announce 2016 Opening Date
National Park Service Outer Banks Group Superintendent Dave Hallac has announced that the Bodie Island and Cape Hatteras Lighthouses will be open for climbing this year from Friday, April 15 through Monday, October 10, and admission will be free on opening day April 15.
Ticket sales begin daily at 9am with the last tickets sold at 4:30pm at each site.
Climbing tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for senior citizens (62 or older), children 11 years of age and under, and those holding a National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Access Pass.
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.
Children must be at least 42” tall, and children under 12 must be escorted by a person at least 16 years old. Climbing the lighthouses is strenuous—climbing the Bodie Island Lighthouse is equivalent to climbing a 10-story building; climbing the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is equivalent to climbing a 12-story building. For more information on what to expect, check the park website www.nps.gov/caha.
Superintendent Hallac invites members of the local Outer Banks communities and park visitors to tour/climb the lighthouses at no charge on opening day, Friday, April 15. Free tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis and can only be obtained in-person, that day, on-site.
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse operations will not move to a 5:30 pm closure as it had previously during the height of the summer season. The current 4:30 pm closure better reflects visitation patterns of that peak season (as attendance dramatically dropped after 4:30 pm) and provides for better efficiencies in managing operational costs.
______________________________
_______________________________
