The lighthouse is 162 feet tall, and its original night beacon still flashes every 20 seconds to warn ships off the North Carolina coast. A non-profit group, Outer Banks Conservationists Inc., maintains the lighthouse. The conservation group is restoring the keepers quarters built in 1875. Another 19th century building, the Currituck Lighthouse Depot, is used as the museum shop. The grounds of the lighthouse, including the keepers quarters, are open, but the tower is closed to the public.
Visitors can watch for shorebirds and other wildlife from an observation area at the lighthouse.
Across from the entrance to the lighthouse is Coquina Beach, which has a bathhouse for swimmers. When constructed in 1870, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse sat more than a quarter mile from the Atlantic Ocean. Ever since then the waves have inched closer, and for more than 70 years, its owners have struggled to keep it from falling into the surf. At 193 feet, the lighthouse's tower is the nation's tallest. It is marked by spiraling black and white bands.