Oregon Inlet Life Saving Station

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.

A Confusing, Well-Documented History

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.

Visiting

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.