Columbus Day, October 8th, will mark the last day to climb the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse for the 2012 season. Tickets can be purchased on site the day of the climb, starting at 8:15am. Tickets are $7 for adults and $3.50 for senior citizens (62 or older), children (11 and under and at least 42″ tall), and those holding a National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Access Pass. This time of year, climbs are made every 10 minutes between the hours of 9am and 4:30pm.

Be sure to come prepared! The climb to the top consists of 248 spiral stairs, which is the equivalent of a 12 story building.

“Built in 1870, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse protects one of the most hazardous sections of the Atlantic Coast. Offshore of Cape Hatteras, the Gulf Stream collides with the Virginia Drift, a branch of the Labrador Current from Canada. These powerful current forces southbound ships into a dangerous twelve-mile long sandbar called the Diamond Shoals. Hundreds and possibly thousands of shipwrecks in this area have given it the reputation as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic“‘. -NPS

Join one of 120,000 people to date who have climbed the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse this year!

*The lighthouse will reopen for the 2013 season on Friday, April 19th.