Welcome to the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse
The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse has stood on the Cape for over 155 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.
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 four days prior. Please see our Visit page for tour information.
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. Open House for CCSFS badged personnel occurs every Wednesday from 10:00 – 1:00. Hangar C will also be open during these hours.
PLEASE NOTE: Only US Citizens, US Legal Permanent Residents (Green Card Holder), and US Work Visa holders 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.
The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation is supported by the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners and the Space Coast Office of Tourism.
Latest News
See our Visit page for details on how to take a tour
BE A BEACON OF SUPPORT FOR OUR SPACE COAST HISTORY!
The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation relies on the generosity of neighbors like you to preserve our iconic lighthouse and cottages. Our 3rd Annual ‘Christmas in July Raffle Drawing Party’ will be a PRIVATE EVENT on July 15th, 2025 (5-7pm) at Rising Tide Tap & Table and is a fun and impactful way to contribute!
Your $100 suggested donation directly funds vital maintenance and improvement projects, including outfitting our new TDC-funded cottages. You and a bestie get to enjoy heavy appetizers, 2 adult beverages, fun auctions, cool prizes and the chance to win lots of money, all while making a real difference in our community. You don’t need to be present to win the top prize of $5,000, so please donate even if you can’t attend. Being a 501(c)3, your donations are tax deductible.
To get your ‘Christmas in July Raffle Party’ tickets please email info@canaverallight.org or call 321.351.5052. To find out more about the lighthouse visit canaverallight.org.
Thank you for ‘Keeping the Light Shining” and for being a champion for the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse! We’ll see you at the party, and let’s have fun and dress up as your inner elf!
Checkout this News 6 Hidden Gem report on our Lighthouse!
Check out this new Hometown News article by our own volunteer, Kerri McMullen!
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
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.
See our Visit Page to book your tours.
Upcoming Events
MUSEUMS OF BREVARD
Please come visit all of us!
The Museums of Brevard (MOB) is a 501(C)3 nonprofit association of 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!
ECAC PROGRAM FOR BREVARD STUDENTS
The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse is partnering with the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum and the Sands Space History Center as proud members of the ECAC education program – Education & Citizenship Armed Forces Coalition of the Space Coast. Students from any public, private, charter or home school may come out to visit all three venues together. The Sands Space History Center is accessible outside the gate to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, but the Lighthouse and Space Force Museum require reservations and special clearance to visit, though both are included in a single tour.
Free 3-hour caravan tours are available in June and July on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month (unless otherwise noted) at 9:30, and from August through May on the 2nd Saturday of the month. There will be no tours in December. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED AT LEAST 2 WEEKS PRIOR for the free caravan tour. Please email lighthousetours@canaverallight.org with Subject: “Brevard School Tours”. Paid tours at other times may be booked on our Visit page. Discounts may be available. The Sands Space History Center is free and available Tuesday thru Friday 9-2, Saturday 10-5, Sunday 12-4, Monday Closed. The Lighthouse, the Space Force Museum and the Sands Space History Center are unable to offer service hours.
Message from Our Foundation President
In the September 2023 Beacon I wrote an article about the Florida Lighthouse Association (FLA) and the Specialty License Plate, and how Cape Canaveral has benefited from being a member of FLA. During 2025, FLA will give grants to various Florida Lighthouses totaling more than $300,000, of which Cape Canaveral will request about $15,000 for outfitting the new cottages. FLA also offers other benefits to its members, and I encourage you, our members, to join the FLA.
Why would I write about FLA when this is a CCLF Newsletter? FLA has helped us in the past to the tune of over $100,000, and will help us in the future, so its important that the organization continues. FLA does not get any support from the State of Florida except for around $25 from the sale of each Specialty License Plate. The tag money cannot be used for anything but lighthouse grants and advertising. Membership in FLA is important because just like CCLF, member fees and donations are its lifeline.
FLA is an organization of lighthouse enthusiasts who enjoy visiting and climbing lighthouses, especially those that are remote. FLA has three membership meetings per year and most meetings offer something that the public cannot do. At the end of March there was a meeting at Ponce Inlet and after the Lighthouse closed the FLA members were given a tour to the top including the Lantern room which is not open to the public.
A visit to Ponce Inlet lighthouse would not be complete without visiting the Lens Museum where the Cape Canaveral Light first order Fresnel Lens is on display. It remains a beautiful work of art, and carefully (lovingly) maintained. It is worth a trip to Ponce Inlet if only to see our lens.
The next meeting is at the Pensacola Lighthouse & Maritime Museum on June 6 & 7, 2025. The meeting will include a social at the lighthouse on Friday and a night-time climb of the lighthouse will be offered. On Sunday June 8, 2025, a private tour of the National Naval Aviation Museum (NNAM) will be available to the first 40 FLA members that sign up for the tour. The NNAM is one of the largest air museums in the world and has on display planes from WW1, WWII, the Korean War, and space vehicles and planes on loan from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
FLA’s Fall meeting will be held in November at the Cape Florida Lighthouse. Cape Florida was recently refurbished and the plexiglass panels in the lantern room, which you could not see through, were replaced with glass panels.
FLA offers fun informative meetings with knowledgeable speakers who have worked on lighthouses throughout the USA. Members receive free access to six lighthouses and their accompanying museums. The six free lighthouses are Pensacola lighthouse, Cape St. George Lighthouse, Crooked River Lighthouse, St. Augustine Lighthouse, Ponce De Leon Lighthouse Museum and Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. For more information visit FLA’s website at
floridalighthouses.org and consider supporting this organization in addition to CCLF.
Please visit our website https://canaverallight.org for additional information.
Thanks for your help in keeping our light shining into the future. Hope to see you all at “Christmas in July.”
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.
Get Involved
Our donors, members and volunteers play a vital role in making the lighthouse available to everyone
