Beacon by beacon
America’s Iconic Lighthouses
Coast to coast, the most beautiful and storied lighthouses worth a road trip — from Maine’s rocky points to the Great Lakes cliffs and the Pacific fog. Find them by coast and plan the chase.
60 iconic lighthouses · 5 coasts · one collectible road trip
Atlantic Coast
Cape Elizabeth, MEPortland Head LightMaine’s oldest light (1791), commissioned by George Washington — the most painted lighthouse in America.Bristol, MEPemaquid Point Lightperched on dramatic striated rock ledges — the one on the Maine state quarter.Tremont, MEBass Harbor Head LightAcadia National Park’s postcard light, glowing at sunset over the granite.Lubec, MEWest Quoddy Head Lightthe candy-striped beacon at the easternmost point in the United States.York, MECape Neddick “Nubble” Lighton its own tiny rock island — one of the most photographed lights anywhere.Truro, MAHighland (Cape Cod) LightCape Cod’s oldest and tallest light, moved back from an eroding cliff in 1996.Eastham, MANauset Lightthe red-and-white tower from the Cape Cod potato-chip bag.Woods Hole, MANobska Lighta classic cast-iron light over Vineyard Sound at the elbow of Cape Cod.Aquinnah, MAGay Head Lightatop the colorful clay cliffs of Martha’s Vineyard.Jamestown, RIBeavertail Lightone of America’s oldest light stations, on a rugged point at the mouth of Narragansett Bay.Block Island, RIBlock Island Southeast Lighta red-brick Victorian light on the Mohegan Bluffs, moved back from the edge in 1993.Montauk, NYMontauk Point LightNew York’s first lighthouse (1796), at the very tip of Long Island.Fire Island, NYFire Island Lighta black-and-white banded tower and the first sight of America for many immigrants.Sandy Hook, NJSandy Hook Lightthe oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the U.S. (1764).Long Beach Island, NJBarnegat Light “Old Barney”a beloved red-topped tower guarding the Jersey Shore.Cape May, NJCape May Lightclimb 199 steps for a view over the Victorian beach town and Delaware Bay.Annapolis, MDThomas Point Shoal Lightthe iconic hexagonal screwpile “cottage” light standing right in the Chesapeake Bay.Virginia Beach, VACape Henry Lightthe first lighthouse authorized by the U.S. government (1792), at the mouth of the Chesapeake.Chincoteague, VAAssateague Lighta red-and-white banded tower above the wild-pony refuge.Corolla, NCCurrituck Beach Lightan unpainted red-brick tower you can climb, in the northern Outer Banks.Nags Head, NCBodie Island Lighthorizontally banded black-and-white, with a boardwalk over the Outer Banks marsh.Buxton, NCCape Hatteras Lightthe tallest brick lighthouse in America, its black-and-white spiral famously moved 2,900 ft in 1999.Ocracoke, NCOcracoke Lighta small, gleaming-white tower — the oldest operating light in North Carolina.Harkers Island, NCCape Lookout Lightthe only U.S. lighthouse with a diamond “checkerboard” day-mark, on a remote barrier island.Hunting Island, SCHunting Island LightSouth Carolina’s only publicly climbable light, in a wild state-park forest.Tybee Island, GATybee Island Lightone of America’s most intact 18th-century light stations, near Savannah.St. Simons Island, GASt. Simons Lighta still-active Golden Isles light with a museum in the keeper’s house.St. Augustine, FLSt. Augustine Lighta black-and-white spiral tower over the nation’s oldest city — 219 steps to the top.Ponce Inlet, FLPonce de Leon Inlet Lightthe tallest lighthouse in Florida and one of the best-preserved light stations in the country.Jupiter, FLJupiter Inlet Lighta striking red-brick tower over the turquoise inlet, climbable for sweeping views.Key West, FLKey West Lightan in-town tower steps from Hemingway’s house at the end of the road.
Great Lakes
Two Harbors, MNSplit Rock Lightthe most iconic Great Lakes lighthouse — perched on a 130-ft cliff over Lake Superior.Ludington, MIBig Sable Point Lighta tall black-and-white tower reached by a 1.8-mile walk through the dunes.Frankfort, MIPoint Betsie Lightone of Michigan’s most photographed lights, on a Lake Michigan dune coast.Holland, MIHolland Harbor “Big Red” Lightthe beloved bright-red gabled light at the Holland channel.Paradise, MIWhitefish Point Lightthe oldest active light on Lake Superior, by the Shipwreck Museum and the Edmund Fitzgerald.Grand Marais, MIAu Sable Lighta remote tower within Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.Marblehead, OHMarblehead Lightthe oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes, over Lake Erie.Baileys Harbor, WICana Island Lightreached by a stone causeway in Door County — climb the tower for Lake Michigan views.Chicago, ILChicago Harbor Lightthe classic offshore light off Navy Pier with the city skyline behind it.Erie, PAPresque Isle Lighta climbable tower in Presque Isle State Park on Lake Erie.
Pacific Coast
Point Reyes Station, CAPoint Reyes Lightreached by 300+ steps down a wind-and-fog-lashed headland — a whale-watching perch.Pescadero, CAPigeon Point Lightone of the tallest lighthouses in America (115 ft), south of Half Moon Bay.Big Sur, CAPoint Sur Lighta stone light on a giant volcanic rock along the Big Sur coast, by guided tour only.Point Arena, CAPoint Arena Lighta 115-ft tower you can climb on a dramatic Mendocino headland near the San Andreas Fault.Crescent City, CABattery Point Lighton a tiny island reachable only at low tide — time the walk-over right.San Diego, CAOld Point Loma Lightat Cabrillo National Monument, high over the entrance to San Diego Bay.Florence, ORHeceta Head Lightthe most photographed lighthouse on the Oregon coast, with a B&B in the keeper’s house.Newport, ORYaquina Head Lightthe tallest light on the Oregon coast (93 ft), on a tide-pool-rich basalt point.Newport, ORYaquina Bay Lighta rare wooden lighthouse-and-keeper’s-house in one, said to be haunted.Port Orford, ORCape Blanco LightOregon’s oldest and westernmost light, on a windswept headland.Ilwaco, WANorth Head Lightover the “Graveyard of the Pacific” where the Columbia River meets the sea.Westport, WAGrays Harbor Lightthe tallest lighthouse in Washington, climbable on the wild Olympic coast.Whidbey Island, WAAdmiralty Head Lighta Spanish-style light in Fort Casey State Park over Puget Sound.
Gulf Coast
Pensacola, FLPensacola Lighta tall black-and-white tower on the Naval Air Station, with Blue Angels overhead.Biloxi, MSBiloxi Lighta cast-iron tower standing in the median of US-90 — a Mississippi Gulf Coast symbol.Port Bolivar, TXBolivar Point Lighta black iron sentinel near Galveston that sheltered survivors of the 1900 hurricane.Port Isabel, TXPort Isabel Lightthe only Texas lighthouse open to the public — climb it on your way to South Padre (and Starbase).
Pacific Islands