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

 

Don’t miss out – only a few days left to buy your ticket to our fantastic Christmas in July party!  Get them now while still available!

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.

Click Here to See Our Flyer!

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!

 

Celebrate National Lighthouse Day with a FREE tour of the 1868 Cape Canaveral Lighthouse – Thursday Aug 7, 2025 from 9:30-11:30!  Visit not just Brevard’s only lighthouse but restored missiles and rockets of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum’s Hangar C Annex.  OR Celebrate International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend with a FREE tour on Saturday Aug 16, 2025 from 9:30-11:30!  In addition to visiting the lighthouse and Hangar C, you can listen to the Kennedy Space Center Amateur Radio Club as they communicate with lighthouses and radio operators from around the world.

See the past, present and future as you drive through the World’s Premier Gateway to Space. The lighthouse can only be accessed through a tour.  Reservations are required at least 10 days prior, and space is limited.  Click here to make your reservation now.

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

HELLO AGAIN! Over the next couple of months there are a lot of exciting activities concerning the Lighthouse. The first activity is our third annual “Christmas in July” on Tuesday July 15, 2025, the first of two fundraisers this year. The event will be held again at Rising Tide Tap & Table, but this year the event is going to be a private event for Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation. The biggest number of complaints from last year was that it was too crowded, and the food ran out. We addressed the complaints by asking the owner if he could close the restaurant to the public from five to seven, and he agreed.

This event is a Raffle drawing party, and you will need a ticket to get in the door; each ticket will admit two people at the suggested minimum donation of one hundred dollars, $100.00, per ticket; only 250 tickets will be sold. The ticket also includes heavy appetizers and two adult drinks plus prizes, giveaways, silent and live auctions. First place in the raffle is $5,000.00; you do not need to be present to win the 1st place prize. But to claim the 2nd place prize of $1,000.00, you must present the winning ticket at the drawing.

In August, we are going to repeat our public caravans for National Lighthouse Day on 8/7/25 and International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend on 8/16/25. Also, on the weekend of 8/16/25, the KSC Amateur Radio Club will conduct their annual outreach to other lighthouses and people who want to connect with lighthouses around the world. The caravans will be limited to twenty-five cars, so get on the lists as soon as they are opened. Last year the caravan on International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend was a full caravan with eighty-five visitors.

In September, we have one of my favorite days, Descendants Day. If you have never been a docent or volunteer during Descendants Day, you are missing a wonderful opportunity to gain first hand accounts of the history of the Cape from the people who lived there before it was a military station. The families are eager and happy to talk about their history. One of the things we do on Descendants Day is to take the descendants to the cemeteries so they can see where their ancestors are buried, the only time in the year that they can visit their ancestors’ grave sites.

Other events happening in the fall are the member/volunteer picnic on November 1, 2025, and our other annual fundraiser at the American Muscle Car Museum on November 29, 2025. More info will follow about these two events as we get closer.

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.

Explore and Learn

Learn about the Cape Canaveral lighthouses, from 1848 to the Space Age

Get Involved

Our donors, members and volunteers play a vital role in making the lighthouse available to everyone

sponsors