Millions of tourists each year flock to the famous barrier islands that dot North Carolina’s coastline, known as the Outer Banks.
One of most popular attractions is the 152-year-old Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which guided weary seafarers for decades through the dangerously swift-changing sandbars of the Atlantic — eerily dubbed “The Graveyard of the Atlantic.” A spiraling red staircase beckons tourists with the stamina to climb to the top.
