The black and white spiral banded lighthouse at Bodie Island (pronounced body, not bow-dy) is the third lighthouse of that name to stand along the coast of the Outer Banks.  The first tower went under construction in 1847,  but was doomed from the start.  It was poorly designed an poorly engineered, and by the time it was complete, the lighthouse was a foot taller on one side than the other.  Instead of attempting to make repairs to this 54 foot structure, it was decided that another one should be built from scratch.

The second Bodie Island lighthouse, which stood almost 90 feet tall was a great improvement over the first.  The white brick tower was equipped with a third order Fresnel lens that was visible for 15 miles.  But during the Civil War, Rebel troops blew up the tower because they feared that Union soldiers would use it as a lookout, so once again Bodie Island was in need of a new lighthouse. 

The current Bodie Island lighthouse was put in service in 1872, and was built on the north side of Oregon Inlet, unlike its predecessors.  It's a good thing too, because Oregon Inlet was migrating to the south and had come to within a quarter mile of the earlier lighthouse sites. 

While you can't climb the Bodie Island lighthouse, you can visit the grounds and walk around this majestic tower.  The gift shop and museum are open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. in summer)