This red-brick lighthouse towers above the northern Outer Banks landscape in the historic Corolla Village. Visitors can climb the winding staircase, 220 steps in all, to the top of the lighthouse for a panoramic view of Currituck Sound, the Atlantic Ocean and the Currituck Outer Banks. Inside the lighthouse, at the base and on the first two landings, there are museum-quality lighthouse exhibits. On the way up or down, stop to learn about the history of coastal lighthouses, the Fresnel lens, shipwrecks and the lighthouse keepers. Corolla, North Carolina

The Outer Banks Lighthouse Society was organized in 1994 to aid in the preservation of the lighthouses in the area and work with the National Park Service and other agencies and non-profit groups to achieve the safe-keeping of the buildings, artifacts and records of the old United States Lighthouse Establishment, a.k.a. U.S. Light-House Board and Bureau of Lighthouses and U.S. Lighthouse Service. Morehead City, North Carolina

List of lighthouses in North Carolina, with descriptions, info, and photos.