Cape Lookout National Seashore
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courtesy of the National Park Service |
Contact Information:
131 Charles St.
Harkers Island, NC 28531
252-728-2250
http://www.nps.gov/calo/
Size: 28,243 acres
Location: Visitor center is on the eastern end of Harkers Island, 20 miles east of Beaufort, NC and 30 miles south of the Cedar Island terminus of the North Carolina State Ferry route from Ocracoke Island to Cedar Island. From Beaufort, take US 70 east to Harkers Island Road (SR 1332/SR 1335). From Cedar Island, take SR 12 south past the Atlantic turnoff to US 70 west. Continue on US 70 to Harkers Island Road (SR 1332/SR 1335). Cape Lookout National Seashore is accessible only through private ferries leaving from Harkers Island, Davis, Atlantic, Beaufort, Morehead City and Ocracoke or by personal watercraft.
Description: This series of undeveloped barrier islands extends 56 miles along the lower Outer Banks, embracing beaches, dunes, historic Portsmouth Village, and Cape Lookout Lighthouse. More than 100 wild horses, living in groups called harems or bands, roam free along the entire length and width of Shackleford Banks Island.
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courtesy of the National Park Service |
Operating Hours: Visitor Center on Harkers Island is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET (closed December 25 and January 1). Visitor Centers in the Lighthouse Keepers Quarters and in Portsmouth Village are open from April to November (hours vary). Private ferry service to the park offered mid-March to the first weekend in December. Park accessible by personal boat year round. Primitive cabin rentals available from April 1st to the first weekend in December.
History: Authorized on March 10, 1966. Designated a Biosphere Reserve in 1986.
See other National Seashores
See other North Carolina National Parks
