A restored 1898 U.S. Life-Saving Service station near Basnight Bridge, part of the original 1874 Outer Banks life-saving network.
Just south of the Marc Basnight Bridge on Hatteras Island stands one of the Outer Banks' original life-saving stations — a lineage that traces back to 1874, when the U.S. Life-Saving Service (the Coast Guard's predecessor) built seven stations along this stretch of coast to rescue sailors from the notoriously dangerous waters near Oregon Inlet.
The station's name has shifted more than once. The original 1874 station on this site was first called "Bodie Island," even though it actually sat on the Pea Island side of the inlet; in 1883, a separate station to the north took the Bodie Island name, and this one became "Oregon Inlet." The building visible today dates to 1898 and served continuously — first under the Life-Saving Service, later the U.S. Coast Guard — until 1988.
The station isn't a staffed museum with posted public hours — it's a historic structure you can view from the parking area near the bridge, often paired with a stop at the nearby Bodie Island Lighthouse and Coquina Beach. A local preservation group has been working to restore the building for future public use.
244 reviews
4 months ago
I am a life saving station seeker & was pleased to add this one. You earn your photos because its a bit of a hike through sand dune trails. Its abandoned but in good shape. Absolutely no way to enter, very high stilts. It is gutted anyway but a great representation of our past history.
4 months ago
Great place to fish off the old Bridge. The beach is probably a 5 to 7min walk and it is through the sand dunes. Would not recommend for elderly. All the shells where clams and most broken and not worth keeping. Very peaceful only a handful of people that were walking the beach. But it was very cold when i was there. Not sure what it would look like on a summer day.
8 months ago
It's a good hike in the sand if you go all the way to the beach, but it's well worth it if you like the history of the Outer Banks. You can get great shots of the Bodie Island Lighthouse from here as well.
a year ago
I spend 4 months during the summer operating my charter boat from the outer banks, NC. I traverse Oregon inlet daily and can see the lifesaving station every time I pass. So I decided to take a couple hours and walk around and get some good pictures and videos. It is an easy place to access by crossing the "Mark basnight bridge" on route 12. Heading south across the bridge you will see a turning place where you can access the life saving station as well as the Bonner bridge fishing pier. Parking is free and plentiful. Once there, you will see many beautiful trails that will lead you through a maze of sand dunes as well as a bird sanctuary. The life saving station itself was built in 1874 and stood till 1954 before it was closed. The building itself is still in very good shape yet it has an ominous presence due to Oregon inlets history of being one of the nation's most hazardous inlets. The outer Banks is known as the graveyard of the Atlantic and has over 5,000 shipwrecks off of the coast! That's more than any place in the entire world! If you're on vacation and you love the beaches then head south a little bit and check out the Oregon inlet Life saving station. Give yourself a few hours to roam around and check out the sites or collect some seashells. As a photographer, I can say there are some of the most spectacular views and sunsets available at this location. Thank you for taking the time to read my review, captain Matt!
a year ago
Really liked it down here. Very nice. Great parking, great scenery. You can see the lighthouse from the old bridge or just standing in the parking lot. Also, it's a really good place for scenery viewing and photography, also including astrophotography, which I was able to do tonight even though there was a barge parked right next to the shore with its lights on. Really annoying, but anyways, very enjoyable.