The Bodie Island Lighthouse has a history marked by perseverance and resilience. First proposed in 1837 to help guide ships through the hazardous waters of North Carolina’s coast, the original lighthouse was completed in 1847 but soon became unstable due to construction flaws and was abandoned. A second lighthouse, built in 1859, was destroyed during the Civil War. The current lighthouse, completed in 1872, has stood for more than 150 years and serves as an active navigational aid. Over the years, it has been electrified, restored, and preserved as part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Today, the iconic black-and-white striped tower remains a beloved landmark, standing watch over the waters of the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” and connecting visitors to the rich maritime history of the Outer Banks.

Location:
The Bodie Island Light Station is located at the northern end of Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The street address is 8210 Bodie Island Lighthouse Road, Nags Head, NC. The Dare A250 Passport Program QR code sign is located in the vestibule between the restrooms and the boardwalk.

Please note that the Bodie Island Double Keepers' Quarters (Visitor Center and Park Store) is closed indefinitely due to internal damage from a January 2025 fire. The outdoor areas remain open for visiting. Climbing the Bodie Island Lighthouse is available in the summer months. Tickets must be purchased online, and certain safety restrictions apply.

The Dare A250 Passport Program features 13 historic stops located throughout Dare County, each offering a meaningful introduction to local history through museums, cultural sites and natural landmarks. At each site, visitors can scan a QR code to collect a virtual stamp and submit their name and email through the digital form. As participants build their collection, they will become eligible to receive a certificate recognizing their engagement with Dare County’s historic landscape during the A250 celebration. The program is open through November 18, 2026.

Surfing arrived in the Outer Banks and Dare County around the 1950s and 1960s, although there is conjecture as to the exact date it started. People soon discovered that the beaches of the Outer Banks in places like Hatteras Island, Nags Head, and Kitty Hawk produced some of the best waves on the eastern seaboard. Surfing quickly caught on, and a sizable industry of board shapers and surf shops found its way to Dare County. The region also produced some very talented competitive surfers. Surfers of all ages on the Outer Banks range from beginners to weekend warriors, and from holiday wave riders to seasoned professionals.

While historians can date the art of surfing back over 2,000 years in Polynesian culture, the first written account of surfing was documented by a scientist sailing with Captain James Cook who witnessed Tahitians surfing in 1769 and later, the same practice, by men in the Hawaiian Islands in 1779.

In fact, a group of Hawaiians visited the Outer Banks in August 1928 and provided surfing demonstrations to the locals during the Virginia Dare Days celebration in present-day Kill Devil Hills. A newspaper article in The Independent out of Elizabeth City read, “on Sunday the 19^th will take place some of the first surfboard riding on the Atlantic Coast by Willie Kaiama, and Princess Lei Lehua of Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii…Mr. Kaiama is a Hawaiian Life Saver and noted Swimmer, and the Princess is a native of Hawaii of royal descent…Surfboard riding is a thrilling sport and Hawaiians take naturally to the water, being equally at home on the beach or in the surf, and their magnificent physique is a source of admiration and envy to all who behold it.”

Local surfer, Thomas Fearing, is documented by historian David Stick as being one of the earliest surfers in Dare County as he was riding the waves in the 1930s. At that time, surfboards were described as being made of Juniper but were likely made of the native wood, Atlantic White Cedar. In the early days, boards were shaped and sold outside of grocery stores or from shapers’ homes. Others, like famed surfer Robert “Bob” Holland, came along in the 1950s, were willing to teach others their love of the sport. By the 1960s, the sport had stuck, and surf clubs were forming in the county. By the 1980s, Outer Banks surfing was world-renowned and drew surfers from all over the world.

The sport of surfing in Dare County grew throughout the twentieth century and is now a significant draw for tourism on the Outer Banks. The recreational sport is supported by a variety of surf shops and locally-owned board shaping outfits. It has sparked innovative entrepreneurs, like Bri Young, to start one of the first women’s surf clubs in North Carolina.

Surfing contests have also developed in the area, like the Eastern Surfing Association’s Eastern Surfing Championship that came to Hatteras in 1971 or the Wave Riding Vehicles (WRV) Outer Banks Pro in 2009, with both men and women surfers competing.  Photography and film eventually joined the surf culture, like famed local photographer, Micky McCarthy, who captured the world of surfing in Dare County during the latter twentieth century and the Surfalorus Film Festival happening each year at Jennette’s Pier. Surfing has become an integral part of Outer Banks culture, and its history continues to thrive.

All images courtesy of the Outer Banks History Center, State Archives of North Carolina.

Source: “Virginia Dare Day to be a Big Occasion,” The Independent, August 17, 1928. Digital NC. https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn83025812/1928-08-17/ed-1/seq-1.pdf.

For more information: Molly Harrison’s article, “Riding the Edge: How Surfing Took Root on the Outer Banks” from OuterBanksThisWeek.com. https://outerbanksthisweek.com/articles/riding-edge-how-surfing-took-root-outer-banks