Lighthouses in Florida: A Unique Trail for History and Sea Lovers

A couple of years ago, in the course of designing a logo for my real estate business, a friend in California said, “Why lighthouses? Are there lighthouses in Florida?”

That made me pause. I remember pushing back from my laptop, confused.

Why wouldn’t there be lighthouses in Florida? We have the second-longest coastline in the United States, behind Alaska.

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Of course, we think of lighthouses protecting rocky coastlines, right? Like in New England or up to Maine, the Northwest along the Oregon coast, parts of the French and Irish coasts. Places where the sea ruthlessly slams against the stone of high cliffs.

Florida’s coast doesn’t have any of those attributes. It’s smooth and sandy, calm and as a flat as a carpenter’s dream wall, covered in mangroves in places. What Florida lacks in stony outcroppings, however, it makes up for with shifting shoals of sand that can destroy ships just as easily as Oregon’s rocky towers.

Why Sailors Needed Lighthouses in Florida

Florida has 663 miles of white, sandy beaches, and these beaches are prone to erosion. During heavy storms, and even through normal wave action, the sand from beaches moves and shifts, often creating sandbars or shoals. This process is responsible for forming new islands along the Florida coast, and sometimes for silting up inlets making it difficult to pass through them. When sandbars get large enough, we call them barrier islands. Miami Beach and Clearwater Beach are both barrier islands.

Prior to marked channels and GPS, the primary method for navigating Florida’s shallow waters and reefs was with lighthouses. Places like Amelia Island used a stationary lighthouse and mobile lighthouses to help ships navigate the ever-changing shoals around inlets. Other lighthouses, like Key Biscayne and Egmont Key, warned sailors of flat, narrow barrier islands. Lighthouses like Fowey Rocks Light and Sombrero Key Lighthouse are located offshore and mark the location of submerged or partially submerged reefs.

History of Lighthouses in Florida

Florida lighthouses have existed since 1824. By comparison, the first lighthouse in the United States was the Boston Harbor Lighthouse built in 1716. In Florida, the original St. Augustine lighthouse was built in 1824. That one was dismantled and a new one built in the present-day location in 1876. Pensacola built the second lighthouse in Florida, also in 1824, though a new one was built a half mile west in 1858. The oldest lighthouse still standing is the Amelia Island Lighthouse, built in 1839. Florida is also home to one of the nation’s tallest lighthouse, the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse which towers at 175 feet.

Many of Florida’s early lighthouses were threatened by erosion. The above-mentioned Ponce Inlet Lighthouse was first built a short distance away in 1835. A severe storm washed the sand away from the base, and the lighthouse toppled within a year. The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse, St. Mark’s Lighthouse, and St. Augustine Lighthouse were also moved due to sand erosion.

Similarly, two of Florida’s lighthouses claim rather bizarre histories, for a lighthouse. The Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse actually came from Chicago. Construction took place in the Windy City then the lighthouse took a 4000 mile sea voyage to it’s present location. The Cape San Blas Lighthouse faced, and lost to, a severe storm. It was rebuilt then toppled by another storm. Confederate soldiers blew up the third lighthouse. It was repaired, surrounded by water which receded, and then surrounded again. At this point, Florida decided to move the lighthouse to it’s present location.

The Florida Lighthouse Association and Trail

A 2002 report estimated it would take more than $20 million to restore and preserve Florida’s 30 lighthouses. Over time, some have been transferred to private ownership. For instance, the St. Augustine Lighthouse is owned by a non-profit organization established to preserve and maintain the lighthouse and grounds.

The mission of Florida Lighthouse Association is to “safeguard Florida’s remaining lighthouses for future generations by supporting community-based restoration, preservation and education efforts.” The FLA meets at different lighthouses throughout the year and raises money through donations, license plate sales, and map sales.

I first read about the Florida Lighthouse Trail years ago and have wanted to take a long drive along this route to visit all the lighthouses in Florida. I haven’t found much information about it since then, except for a book by the same name. Nevertheless, it’s entirely possible to make a road trip out of this route. The book, by the way, is an excellent read, a compilation by several authors, each an expert on one of Florida’s lighthouses. If you’d like to learn more about this part of Florida’s history, I highly recommend it.

Florida has 34 existing lighthouses and reef lights. Of those, only a handful are open to the public. Some are closed but available by tour. Others are closed though their grounds are open. The ones that mark reefs can be viewed up close by boat though they cannot be climbed. Of the 34 existing lighthouses in Florida, 24 are still active.

How to See Florida Lighthouses

All of the lighthouses in Florida are listed below in order from the Northeast around the Keys and up to the Panhandle. I’ve listed addresses and any special viewing instructions.

• Amelia Island Light – 215 O’Hagan Lane, Fernandina Beach, FL 32034. The grounds are open for several hours every Saturday at 11AM.
• St. Johns River Light – Naval Station Mayport. Decommissioned and replaced by nearby St. Johns Light or Mayport Light. Though access is not available to the public, you can see the lighthouse from Broad Street.
• St. Johns Light/Mayport Light – Naval Station Mayport. Located about 3/4 mile from the mouth of the St. John’s River. It is also not accessible to the public.
• St. Augustine Light – 81 Lighthouse Avenue, St. Augustine, FL 32080. The lighthouse, keeper’s house, other outbuildings, and a maritime museum are open to the public daily from 9AM to 6PM.
• Ponce de Leon Inlet Light – 4931 S. Peninsula Drive, Ponce Inlet, FL 32127. Climb to the top of the lighthouse and visit the museum. Open daily with summer and winter hours.
• Cape Canaveral Light – Cape Canaveral, Florida 32920. The lighthouse is active and weekly tours are offered. Because of it’s location, guests on the tour must be cleared by the Air Force so reservations and ID in advance are required.
• Jupiter Inlet Light – 500 Captain Armour’s Way, Jupiter, FL 33469. The lighthouse and museum are open from Wednesday to Sunday, 10AM to 2PM.
• Hillsboro Inlet Light – 907 Hillsboro Mile, Hillsboro Beach, FL 33062. The lighthouse is open via tour one Saturday each month. It can be seen, however, from Hillsboro Inlet Park or on the water from a boat.
• Cape Florida Light – 1200 South Crandon Blvd, Key Biscayne, FL 33149. The oldest structure in Miami, the Cape Florida Light is located in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. Visitors to the park can climb the 109 steps to the top of the lighthouse.
• Fowey Rocks Light – Offshore of Key Biscayne, 7 miles SE of Cape Florida. Viewable only by boat.
• Pacific Reef Light – Offshore, 3 miles SE of Elliott Key. Still operational as a daymark and viewable only by boat.
• Carysfort Reef Light – Offshore of Key Largo, 6 miles E of Key Largo. Viewable only by boat.
• Molasses Reef Light – Offshore, 8 miles SE of Key Largo. Still standing and now used by NOAA as an automatic weather station.
• Hens and Chickens Shoal Light – Offshore, 2 miles SE of Plantation Key. Serves only as a daymark now.
• Alligator Reef Light – Offshore of Matecumbe Key, 4 miles E of Indian Key. Viewable only by boat.
• Sombrero Key Lighthouse – Offshore of Marathon, FL. Viewable only by boat.
• Tennessee Reef Light – Offshore, south of Long Key. Viewable only by boat.
• American Shoal Light – Offshore of Sugarloaf Key. Viewable only by boat.
• Key West Light – 938 Whitehead St, Key West, FL 33040. Climb to the top of the lighthouse and see the museum. Open Monday through Friday 10AM to 3PM.
• Sand Key Light – Offshore of Key West, FL, 7 miles SW of Key West. Viewable only by boat.
• Garden Key Light – Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas, FL. The lighthouse and museum are open daily. However, you need a boat or tour to access Fort Jefferson as it is not accessible by car. For the adventurous, plan to stay a weekend at Dry Tortugas and add the lighthouse to your activities.
• Loggerhead Key Lighthouse – Dry Tortugas, FL, approximately 3 miles from Fort Jefferson. It’s said to be the greatest distance from a mainland of any other lighthouse in the world. Accessible only by boat.
• Pulaski Shoal Light – Offshore, 30 miles NW of Key West. Currently used by NOAA as an automated weather station.
• Sanibel Island Light – 112 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, FL 33957. The grounds are open to the public though the buildings are not.
• Boca Grande Light – 880 Belcher Road, Boca Grande, FL 33921. Originally known as the Gasparilla Island Light, this lighthouse is part of Gasparilla Island State Park. Check the lighthouse website for access information.
• Egmont Key Light – Egmont Key, St. Petersburg, FL 33715. Accessible by ferry or private boat only. The lighthouse is closed to the public but the grounds are open.
• Anclote Key Light – Anclote Key, 3 miles offshore from Tarpon Springs, FL. Accessible only by private boat or tour.
• Cedar Key Light – Offshore on Seahorse Key, approximately 3 miles SW from Cedar Key, FL. It is the oldest standing lighthouse on Florida’s west coast. Currently, the University of Florida rents the lighthouse and land around the lighthouse for a marine laboratory. Students used the lighthouse as a dorm. Inaccessible to the public.
• St. Mark’s Light – Crawfordville, FL 32327. Open via tour only. Check website for tour information.
• Crooked River Light – 1975 Hwy 98 W, Carrabelle, FL 32322. Lighthouse and museum open Wednesday through Sunday.
• Cape St. George Light – 2B, E Gulf Beach Dr, Eastpoint, FL 32328. Open daily except Thursdays.
• St. Joseph Point Light – 2071 County Road 30A, Port St. Joe, FL 32456. Lighthouse and keeper’s replica house. Check website for accessibility information.
• Cape San Blas – 200 Miss Zola’s Dr, Port St. Joe, FL 32456. Originally located on Cape Blas on a barrier island, this lighthouse was built four times before being moved to it’s current location. Open Thursday through Sunday.
• Pensacola Light – 2081 Radford Blvd, Pensacola, FL 32508. Lighthouse and Maritime Museum open daily.

Next Steps to See Lighthouses in Florida

So, what now? Make a plan to see the Florida lighthouses! I’m viewing them one by one as we’re in the area or have an opportunity to see them though I would love to drive the Florida Lighthouse Trail in segments and spend lots of time learning the history of these amazing structures.

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