Tall and slim, with bold black alternating with stark white circular stripes the 156-foot Bodie Island Lighthouse sits not on an island at all; it is located on the soundside of Highway 12, between Nags Head and Oregon Inlet. It was completed in 1872, the third lighthouse built in this area. The first was destroyed by a storm and the second by war.
For over 200 years, many a vessel encountered the huge waves, strong currents and high winds offshore near Bodie Island, and many met their fate along that stretch of the Atlantic.