Outer Banks Nature at Bodie Island Lighthouse

Bodie Island Lighthouse - Outer Banks

 Bodie Island Lighthouse is a main Outer Banks attraction, but what most visitors do not realize is the that there is a series of trails that offer some of the most scenic walks the OBX has to offer. 

The trails wind through the marsh south of Oregon Inlet and through the nearby Bodie Island Lighthouse. These trails are not extremely difficult to find.  Head south on Route 12 and turn toward Bodie Island Lighthouse.  You will have to keep an eye out for the entrance, but it is opposite from Coquina Beach. 

For a little history, Bodie Island was once called Bodies’ Island,  allegedly because bodies of shipwrecked sailors washed on shore there. The lighthouse is very close to Oregon Inlet, where many ships have been shipwrecked over the years.

There is an account in “An Outer Banks Reader,” by C. O. Boutelle of a Mr. Midgett who lived on the island and couldn’t get to his house one September storm in 1846 because of the high water.  He had to sit on his horse during the storm and hope his home and family were okay while the sound and ocean did their work of cutting a new inlet.

Bodie Island Lighthouse Restoration

You may wonder why there are hunting lodges in the sound if you cross the Bonner Bridge.  Both Bodie Island and Pea Island to the south have been the winter home of many species of birds for hundreds of years. You will not want to forget your binoculars and bird identifier book so you can add a few new feathered folk to your life list.