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 just for CCSFS badged personnel occurs every Wednesday from 11:00 – 1:00.

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. Unlike most other military installations, even if you have a military ID (active duty or retired), you won’t be able to get onto CCSFS unless you also have a badge. You will have to take the public tour. Please see our Visit page for tour information.

We are doing everything we can to create a safe environment, including frequent sanitizing and enforcing social distancing guidelines. Face masks are required to be worn by all staff, volunteers and visitors, over the age of 2.

So make plans now to come visit us!

Latest News

GREAT NEWS – we are holding two Open (Light)Houses at the lighthouse in March. If you don’t have the time to take the regular full tour on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (that includes space history), 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 housed next door in Hangar C!

Wednesday March 17^th will be our St. Patrick’s Day Open (Light)House from 10:00 – 1:00. You will also receive a free Guinness with a purchase at Fish Lips or Rising Tide in Port Canaveral. Wednesday March 31^st will be our next Open (Light)House, also from 10:00 – 1:00.

Click here to check availability and book your tour. You must book at least 2 days in advance to allow time to process through Space Force Security.

Our regular tours are scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings and you must sign up at least 2 days ahead in order to be processed through Security. Please see our Visit page for details.

We will have our quarterly Members and Brick Holders only free tour of the lighthouse on Saturday March 20th. If you’re not yet a member, you can join now to be eligible for the next tour.

RECENT UPDATES

Kick-off of 2021 Annual Sponsorship Campaign – Visit our Support Page

All Members should now have access to the content on the Members Only page. Please check periodically for exclusive content. If you are a current Member and unable to access the page, please contact info@canaverallight.org.

All Volunteers should now have access to the Volunteers Only page. Please check at least weekly for news and updated information. If you are an active volunteer and unable to access the page, please contact info@canaverallight.org.

Upcoming Events

Wed 17

St. Patrick’s Day Open (Light)House

March 17 @ 9:30 am - 1:00 pm

Wed 31

Special Open (Light)House

March 31 @ 9:30 am - 1:00 pm

From the President

Welcome 2021!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Looking back on 2020 you could not have imagined such a difficult year filled with so many challenges. All that said, we are now in 2021 and look forward to a beautiful new year with the Lighthouse being our guiding light. First let me say thank you to our outgoing board, with a special thanks to Jim Underwood, our fearless leader. Jim is a remarkable leader who led in a very difficult time in our history and, I must admit, a tough act to follow. In 2020 the Keeper’s Cottage was transformed from an empty building into the Lighthouse Museum which is very impressive. His steady hand kept the board engaged as he navigated the seriousness of the pandemic with the desire to continue sharing the Lighthouse.

I am excited about being involved with this outstanding organization which is committed to sharing the Lighthouse with the public and continuing to develop the Museum. The atmosphere when working with this group of volunteers is contagious, they are so invested and committed to the Lighthouse. Let me share a little about myself as the incoming Foundation President. My wife Elva and I have lived on the Space Coast since 1980, where we raised our three children. I transferred from Sunnyvale, California with Lockheed in 1980 to support the Navy’s Fleet Ballistic Missile program as a test engineer and eventually transferred to Kennedy Space Center to support the shuttle as an Orbit-er Test Conductor. The last decade of my career has been spent with Amentum leading several of our contracts at KSC. My first introduction to the Lighthouse was in 1986 when I would jog from Hangar Y to Complex 46 the Trident II Launch pad, which sat just across the road from majestic Lighthouse. In the mid 50’s when Elva was five, her dad was stationed in Florida with the Coast Guard and part of his assignment was performing maintenance at the Lighthouse. She remembers a white picket fence around the property where she lived and playing with horseshoe crabs in the backyard on the Banana River. Anyway, we both have a personal connection to our historic Lighthouse.

As the new year begins, we look forward to working our way out of the pandemic and to fully engage in our mission of sharing the Lighthouse with the public. The Foundation currently has a membership of 400, and our goal for 2021 will be 550. So, if you are not a member, please join and if you are, please renew. It is because of our members that we exist! Membership Committee Chair Chris Ecker frequently reminds the board — Members are the backbone of our Foundation!! Our sponsors are members! Our volunteers, docents, Officers and Directors, advisors, are members! You are all our members, and we share a common mission — “to preserve, protect, promote and interpret the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse and its historical significance” to others. Please visit our website https://canaverallight.org for additional information.

Let’s have a great year and keep the light shining bright. Have fun and be safe.

Larry