14 lighthouses/ 3 days

In July, Megan and I will be departing on a major task. Virginia and North Carolina lighthouses...in 3 days.

North Carolina...

Bodie Island
Cape Hatteras
Cape Lookout
Currituck Beach
Ocracoke
Roanoke Marshes (Replica)
Roanoke River
Roanoke River (Replica)

(I already have Bald Head and Oak Island)

Virginia

(I'm not going after the floating lighthouses, and unfortunately, Assateague won't be on this trip. )


Cape Charles
New Cape Henry
New Point Comfort
Old Cape Henry
Old Point Comfort
Portsmouth Lightship

It will be a hectic 3 days, but I think it is possible.

And, there will also be some GREAT commentary, I'm sure.

Think we can do it?

Oh yes you can do it! Start your day out earlie and plan on traveling late, and you can do it. Your only delay will be the ferry crossing from Cedar Island to Ocracoke. Do you have the ferry schedule? If not you can get it by calling 1-800-ByFerry. Or http://www.ncdot.org/transit/ferry/routes/download/FerrySchedule.pdf
Don't forget to stop and visit the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station as you pass by.

Good Luck, I know you will have a good time!

Your trip brings back a bunch of memories for me. On our honeymoon a few years ago, my wife and I went from Sandy Hook, NJ down to Cape Henry, Va., so the Virginia leg of your itenerary I relate too. We are hoping to do North Carolina in the near future, but there's so much to do, so little time.

Anyway, from my experience, the Virginia leg you have scheduled shouldn't be too hard. The Cape Henrys and Old Point Comfort are easily accessable. (Just be prepared to be searched every which way before getting access to the military base at Cape Henry).

As for Cape Charles, that's a funny memory. Because it's on an island, we didn't have that one planned on our trip. However, as we were cruising on the Chesapeake Bay bridge-tunnel on our way from Assateague to Cape Henry, my wife pointed to my left and said "Isn't that Cape Charles?" Yep, it was. Needless to say I did an illegal stop in the middle median, (which you were not supposed to do) ran across the road and grabbed a quick pic or two. It was from a distance, but I was happy to get a pic of a lighthouse we weren't expecting to get.

Just so you know, Cape Charles is tough to get close to unless you have a boat. And from what I've read, the island's not easy to get to even with a boat. I've been told that the view we stumbled on was one of the better ones one can get.

As for Assateague, it is quite a ways over to the island so I can understand why you wouldn't include it. But if you ever get the chance - and if you haven't yet been there - it is wonderful. The lighthouse is very nice and the entire island is peaceful. It was one of our favorite places on the entire trip.

Anyway, have fun and enjoy! You can do it without a doubt.

The view of Cape Charles is better going north as Bill learned. My fist image was thru the windshield at about 50 mph - thank goodness for fast autofocus. However, trying to get a distant image of this one light would be an expensive and time consuming proposition on a speed lighthousing outing. You would have to travel both directions on the Bay Bridge/Tunnel and would have the fare to pay at least one direction. I would think perhaps it would be best to leave that attempt until you make the visit to Assateague?

Something else to consider for your OBX stint - you are going in July which is the high tourist season. It has been several years since my daughter and I made a similar trip, but traveling on the OBX can be verrrrrrrry slow. After you cross the bridge and turn north to go to Currituck you may have to deal with many pedestrians walking on the road (even though it will be very tempting to pick up all those bonus points......) As I recall, it is only 20 or so miles up to Currituck, but it took us over an hour each direction because of the massive congestion. May be better now, but not sure how as there was no way to widen the road. Also, I ended up at the light at about noon, along with everyone visiting Corolla I believe - took well over an hour to get to the door for the climb, but it was well worth it.

If you have time and Virginia Beach isn't excessively crowded, there is a nice LSS there.

If you are into history, the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe is very interesting to visit. And, you get a different view of Old Point Comfort from above. If you are into collecting stamps for a lighthouse passport, I believe they keep the OPC one at the museum.

Lastly, a word to the wise. Don't push the speed limit in that area at all, even when you think you are in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes can be heavy enforcement along with hefty fines.

Best time to hit Currituck in the summertime is early morning if you can manage it. Tourists just starting to come in at that time, so you avoid the long lines.

You'll need to sign up for your climb at Hatteras, and there will be lots of people doing the same.

If you have a wait for the ferry over to Ocracoke after visiting Hatteras, there is a museum within walking distance of boarding the ferry, Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. That's where the restored Hatteras First Fresnel lens is on display. Look at the displays on the wall near the lens, and you just might see photos of a couple of WACKOS posted there.

I second the motion to take in the LSS at Virginia Beach if you get a chance...well worth the visit and easy to get to. Then there's Chicamacomico in Rodanthe on the OBX, also a not to miss.

Dave's warning to mind the speed limit is an important one. Take it from a "victim" of the speed traps heading from the VA state line towards the bridge over to OBX.

And my last tip, which of course only works if time permits is to re-visit Bodie Island at sun down...you'll never regret it. Just take precautions for the "no-see-ums". Bug spray!

Enjoy that trip and we'll be waiting for your gorgeous photos!

Judy

Judy is certainly right about visiting Bodie at
Sundown. It sure is beautiful!

Let me 3rd the speed limit

I always budget 1.5 to 2 hours to get from Bodie to Currituck. And another hour to get back to US 158 in Kitty Hawk. Take Judy's advice and go up there early in the morning before the tourist hit the road. The grounds are open and you can get a lot of no-heads in the way photos. Also make sure you walk out on the dock and get photos from there back over the water and marsh/scrub pines toward the light.

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I do have a question...Should I start at the south part of NC and work my way north into Virginia? Seems if I do it that way, I could get to Bodie Island at sunset. Is there a Holiday Inn or something near Bodie? Also, is there a way into Virginia by going north from Currituck?

Also, what doess LSS stand for?

Is Cape Charles close enough that I could shoot it with a 300mm zoom? I shot the photo of Morris Island with a 24-120mm lens, and cropped it. Is it around the same distance as Morris Island?

Here is one of the photos we took of Cape Charles from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. It's a ways out there. This was with a 70-300mm.

Remember, I actually stopped the car, crossed the highway and got off on the side of the road nearest the lighthouse. Do that at your own risk as there are signs posted saying not to stop.

I'm not sure what I was thinking at the time because I'm pretty good at following the rules. I think I was just caught up in getting a picture of this lighthouse.

Anyway, hope this pic helps.

Only way from Currituck to VA is on the beach and then it has to be opened. Probably not worth the effort to try and figure out.

LSS is Life Saving Station. Chicamacomico is one of the very best out there and is well worth the visit. You will have to pass right past it on the way between Hatteras and Bodie.

My first image of Cape Charles was with a 28-200 probably zoomed out (back in the antique film days - would have to search thru the books to even find the image). We were able to get some nice views of it two years ago during our Portsmouth Regional boat trip.

Plenty of hotels in the central OBX area. Several good sites to help with tourism. Also be sure to visit the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society web page as well as that of the Chesapeake Chapter for the VA lights.

There's a Holiday Inn Express on the north side of Kill Devil right on the beach road. Also some nice restaurants for seafood just North of the HI on the beach road. My view out my window was the Wright Brother Memorial.
Three years ago there was a ferry from north of Currituck to VA but I never took it. I don't have any specifics.

The only way to get to Va from the Outer Banks is the main road. US-158 to US-168, driving on the beach requires 4-wheel drive and the beach is closed at the VA line. There is a ferry which runs between Currituck and Knotts Island, NC which will take you to VA Beach via the long way.

Traffic is backed up on Sat & Sun mornings due to tourist leaving and arriving for cottage rentals in the Currituck Lighthouse area.. Hotel room may be hard to find for one night lodging.

Thanks for the info, Tom. Always great to have very valuable input from folks local to the area being discusssed. Your insight will help Bill and any others thinking about visiting the OBX.

If he were to start at Currituck very early on Saturday, how jammed up would be be coming back south later in the morning? Currituck's web site appears to be somewhat out of date, but they indicate opening at 10 AM. Figuring a half hour to climb and hit the gift shop, he could be headed south by 1030 or so.

Welcome to the CF, and please do post about your wonderful area.

I'm thinking of starting with Cape Lookout, and going north, then into Virginia, and back into NC for the Roanoke area lights.

Starting on Friday, ending Sunday, or starting Saturday and ending Monday?

Well I know things could have changed in the last couple of years, but it used to be everyone was leaving Currituck on Saturday jamming the south bound lane. On Sunday everyone was heading north to start their rental.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Some rental companies start their rentals on Sat and some on Sunday, most on Saturday with checkout time between 9 and noon. Lighthouse is in Corolla which is approx. 20 miles to the main road out of the island. Long backups.

Tuesday thur Friday are the best days to visit the lighthouse.

Thanks for all the info about the trips. I tried to get to the coastline NC/SC/GA last summer but didn't make it work - hard to find a place to stay. I'm changing jobs so now I may be able to take a trip there in the fall. This thread has given me lots of good info for a possible vacation. Any other tips about where to stay in the fall? I'm thinking I'll start along the southern VA coast and work my way south seeing all the lighthouses I can. Any other things I need to consider?
:rolleyes:

On early hour at Currituck...no promises, but if you call ahead of time, sometimes the keepers are willing to allow us true lighthouse nuts(as opposed to tourists) onto the grounds before opening time.

If your trip looks like you could do that, it certainly might be worth asking.

Judy

I did a similar trip back in 2006, and definitely echo the advice to check out the OBX ferry schedules and try to plan out around it. We had to skip out on Cape Lookout because of the long crossing time between Ocracoke to Cedar Island (we came from the North) and because the ferry only ran every 3 hours. Here is a trip journal that my ex-gf wrote up: http://lighthousefans.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=605

Good luck and hope you have a great time!

Got a question...How long does it take to get from the exit in NC that goes to Bald Head Island to Cape Lookout? I'm trying to figure out what time to leave our house. Also, what time should I book the Ocracoke ferry for? We likely won't stay at any of these ligthouses for very long. We'd like to do Cape Lookout, Ocracoke, Hatteras, and Bodie in the same day, getting to Bodie around sunset, staying there, and getting some daytime photos of it, then moving on to Currituck, and on to Virginia.

I'm not very interested in climbing the lights due to a bad knee, but I do plan on climbing Hatteras.

We will not be going to Bald Head and Oak Island. We've already been to those two.

It is best to buy tickets for the Hatteras climb early in the morning before they sell out. Also if any storms are nearby, no climbing.

From the Bald Head Island area to a point where you can take a boat out to Cape Lookout (Beaufort or Harkers Island) is going to take a few hours of driving. The boat ride out to CL and back (and all the logistics of it)is going to take up a lot of your time. I took the speedboat with the sharks teeth from Beaufort (my young daughter at the time got a kick out of it when the captain went full speed ahead in the sound..be prepared to get wet). From what I remember it arrives and leaves Beaufort and Cape Lookout almost hourly. I went to Cape Lookout while staying in Morehead City, and it still took up a majority of my day. CL is not one to be missed though. There is not much out there as far as facilities go so pack well with plenty of provisions (esp water, bug spray, some good shoes/sandals for walking in the hot sand and something to provide you with some shade). It will be a scorcher out there in July.

Also, another one of my favorite drives was to New Point Comfort. I left Hampton Roads area in April 2007 and it was snowing. By the time I got to New Point Comfort, 3-4 inches of snow was on the ground but the roads were very clear. One of the prettiest drives I have ever been on. It's mostly winding two way roads through small towns and backroads VA. Some of the prettiest sites I saw were all the snow covered churches. Due to the April winter storm that day, there were very bad continous crosswind gusts while crossing over the York River Toll Bridge. My SUV was rocked several times by the wind gusts and it felt like the SUV was going to tip over. It did seem like it took forever to get there. At the end of the road you walk out on to a viewing platform. From there the lighthouse is still a ways off so you will need a good zoom lens. Wolf Trap is also nearby and they say you can view it from the distance. By that time a lot the snow had started to melt away but I had to get the rest of my family to Williamsburg for the remainder of the day so off we went. The following day I did the Old/New Cape Henry's(had been to before) and Old Point Comfort(cute and quaint and you can see Thimble Shoals out in the water at some distance). From Old Cape Henry, very far in the distance across Chesapeake Bay you can make out the outline of Cape Charles.

I did the Roanoke LH's coming from the Raleigh area via 64 to the OBX in August 2007 on my way to a Bill In-Store Event so the RR's were on the way except the original Roanoke River in the Edenton town park which required some back tracking. The low bridge over the Albemarle Sound from Plymouth to Edenton had a nice crosswind which made for a hairy crossing if you are not use to that kind of thing. I picked up a nice RRLH shirt at a store nearby for the RRLH restoration efforts.

Of all the lighthouses in North Carolina, Bodie has to be my favorite. While Cape Lookout has a wildness to it you are on your own for the most part out there and dependent on a boat ride back to civilization. The beach out there is awesome with nice sea shells if you are into that kind of thing. At Bodie you get the same feeling of the wildness but are minutes away from civilization should something come up. On my August trip last year I was fortunate enough to visit Ocracoke and Bodie when the doors to the lighthouses were opended up on different days. I ended up going to Bodie twice (one day was cloudy and one day sunny blue sky) so I took some wonderful pictures there with different variations of clouds and sky. I do advise stoping by Chicamacomico LSS. It was not open at the time I rode by it very early in the morning (on the way to Cape Hatteras & Ocracoke) but I was able to get some nice pictures of it. It is easy to ride by and miss if you are not on the lookout for it.

^^^

Is that the ferry ride? Or do I have to take a boat to Cape Lookout, and then the ferry to Ocracoke? I'm confused. lol

There are several private ferries that will take you to the island and Cape Lookout lighthouse. It takes about 15 minutes, but do not know cost.

Then you will need to take US70 to NC12 and take the toll ferry from Cedar Island to Ocracoke. Ocracoke is 13 miles long. The ferry ride is about 2.5 hours and I think you have to make reservations. Then you have to take a free ferry to Hatteras Island, about 1 hour. From there it is 1 hours drive to Bodie Light. Check out www.outerbankslighthousesociety.org for info on NC lighthouses.

Only "people" ferries/boats to Cape Lookout round trip from Beaufort or Harkers Island. The cost is approximately $15 round trip per adult. You will go out to Cape Lookout then return to where you departed and left your vehicle - either Beaufort or Harkers Island. Since you are going in July, reservations are preferred. When you get back from Cape Lookout, you will then have to drive to the Cedar Island Ferry Terminal. From Cedar Island to Ocracoke is the 2.5 hour vehicle ferry which I believe does require a reservation.