Welcome to the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse
The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse has stood on the Cape for over 150 years. Situated amidst America’s Premier Gateway to Space, the lighthouse is owned by the United States Space Force and maintained as an active aid to navigation by the United States Coast Guard. Visits to the lighthouse, museum, and gift shop are available via prescheduled tours, only. Open House for CCSFS badged personnel occurs every Wednesday from 10:00 – 1:00. Hangar C will also be open during these hours.
We are open for scheduled tours, but since we are located on an active military installation, you cannot drive your own vehicle onto the facility. Members of the public can only visit by taking a tour, which must be booked at least two days prior, to process through Space Force Security. Active duty military with CAC cards may come onto the station to visit the lighthouse, but cannot escort non-badged visitors without prior approval of SLD 45. Unlike most other military installations, a retired military ID will not gain you access to CCSFS. You will have to take the public tour. Please see our Visit page for tour information. So make plans now to come visit us!
PLEASE NOTE: Only US Citizens are allowed on the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at this time.
CAPE CANAVERAL LIGHTHOUSE VIRTUAL TOUR – created by the University of South Florida Center for Digital Heritage & Geospatial Information
CAPE CANAVERAL LIGHTHOUSE VIDEO
Check out our brochure.
For more tours, videos, podcasts and stories, please visit our Explore and Learn page.
Latest News
Win a chance at 1 of 5 $100 VISA gift cards for completing our short survey!
If you have visited the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse in the past year, please take our survey. Your opinions will help make Cape Canaveral Lighthouse even better and will help us build our remaining cottages.
To complete the survey, click the link or QR code below:
https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7676924/Cape-Canaveral-Lighthouse-Questionnaire
Check out this Hometown News article on volunteering at the lighthouse from one of our own docents, Kerri McMullen. If you would like to volunteer and help us share the lighthouse history and experience, please complete the Volunteer Form on our Get Involved page.
Hidden gem at Cape Canaveral | North Brevard | hometownnewsbrevard.com
Come visit our beautiful lighthouse diorama made by George Holmes and Rebecca Horner in its new home at the Sands Space History Center just outside the south gate of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Check out this video! We celebrated National Lighthouse Day on August 7th with close to 100 visitors. Lighthouse Day is celebrated Aug. 7 in the United States to commemorate the act of the establishment and support of lighthouses by Congress in 1789. This year, lighthouses around the country participated in a video competition sponsored by the US Lighthouse Society. Check out our entry and see the fun had by all.
Our 4th Order Fresnel Lens on loan from the Coast Guard is now on display in the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Museum!
We now have a 4th Order Fresnel lens on loan from the U.S. Coast Guard. This type of lens is significant to the Cape Canaveral lighthouse as it was used twice in its history. During the Civil War, the old Winslow Lewis Lamp was removed from the original brick lighthouse when all lighthouses in the South were ordered to go dark. After the war, a 4th Order Fresnel lens was installed in the brick lighthouse from 1865-1868, when the iron lighthouse was built and began using a 1st Order Fresnel lens. Later in 1893-1894 when the iron lighthouse was dismantled and moved a mile inland due to beach erosion concerns, a skeletal tower was built and used a 4th Order lens until the move was completed. The 4th Order lens now in the museum was made in America circa 1905 by the MacBeth-Evans Glass Company. It’s just under 3-feet tall and likely weighs over 500 lbs. This is definitely worth a special trip to see a Fresnel lens up close.
Members and Brick Holders are eligible to take a quarterly tour of the lighthouse and Hangar C. If you’re not yet a member or brick holder, please consider becoming a member or buying a brick before our next quarterly tour so you can take advantage of this special FREE event, only open to those individuals.
If you don’t have the time to take the regular full tour on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (that includes space history), try our monthly special Lighthouse and Hangar C only tour. You will be able to come just to the lighthouse for a 1+ hour visit. You will also be able to see the tremendous collection of artifacts from the Air Force Space and Missile Museum Annex next door in Hangar C. Click here to book your Lighthouse and Hangar C only tour, or any of Canaveral Tours’ small van tours.
Upcoming Events
The Museums of Brevard (MOB) is a 501(C)3 nonprofit of interested museums and historic sites in Brevard County, Florida (including the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse). Together we: advertise and promote each other’s facilities both individually and jointly; share activity information and coordinate upcoming events; share best practices and lessons learned in museum administration and management, including fundraising, grant writing and collections management; and assist other members with special requests.
Check out the MOB Brochure and see all the sites!
Like the MOB on Facebook and find out all the things happening!
Message from Our Foundation President
Christmas is getting here faster than you think, only 239 days ‘til Christmas, but better yet only 79 days until Christmas in July! That is right, the second annual Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation’s (CCLF) Christmas in July is scheduled for July 18, 2024, at the Rising Tide Tap & Table in Port Canaveral from 5 – 7PM. Only 250 tickets are available for a requested donation of $100 each. The ticket not only gets you and a guest into the event, but also a chance to win the $5,000.00 first prize or $1,000.00 second prize. You do not need to be present to win the first prize, but you must be present to win the second prize.
In addition, everyone with a ticket will be eligible for a free caravan in December to see the Lighthouse decorated for Christmas. The caravan will be a late afternoon event so the lights will be shining, and the lens at the top of the tower will be quite visible. Tickets will be available on May 1, 2024, and you can contact any CCLF Board member to get your tickets, or call CCLF at 321-351-5052, or contact me at 321-591-9844.
MAYDAY! The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation Board of Directors (BOD) needs a secretary since our secretary had to resign due to family issues out of state. The position should take no more than 8 hours a month, including the monthly BOD meeting. If you have any questions, you can call Cheryl Bennett at 321-537-8746. Everyone interested in volunteering please contact me at 321 591-9844 or email
cclf-president@canaverallight.org.
HELP! We are also looking to increase the Speakers’ Bureau; people who enjoy talking about our Lighthouse. Anyone who would like to be part of the CCLF Speaker team, please contact Sharon Crockett at 321-537-5797. The number of requests for speakers is increasing and we could use additional people to help.
CCLF is in the process of reviewing and updating our Policies and Guidelines. These documents govern how we operate and can be found in the Volunteer Only section of our web site. When a document is updated and approved by the CCLF BOD, we include the changes in the weekly Volunteer Notes so all who volunteer are aware of the changes. We are also reviewing the Processes and Procedures and will include any changes to these documents in the weekly Volunteer Notes as well.
Finally, a huge thank you to our 2024 Annual Sponsors. Their generous contributions significantly support all of the Foundation’s efforts. Our 2024 Annual Sponsors are listed on the last page of each issue of the Canaveral Beacon. Please give them your support whenever you can.
Please visit our website https://canaverallight.org for additional information.
Thank you for your help in keeping our light shining into the future.
Ron
Visit
Since the lighthouse is on an active military installation, it can only be reached by taking a tour
Shop
Our online shop is under construction. Please check back or visit our gift shop at the museum or Exploration Tower at Port Canaveral.
Get Involved
Our donors, members and volunteers play a vital role in making the lighthouse available to everyone
