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 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, which must be booked at least two days prior, to process through Space Force Security. 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

We have recently received two grants that will help us maintain and improve our ability to share this wonderful historic resource with the public. We received a $5,888 grant from the Florida Lighthouse Association which will enable us to create five outdoor interpretive signs to enrich the experience for our visitors. We also recently received a $1,000 grant for emergency relief assistance from the United States Lighthouse Society, due to the impacts of the pandemic. We are one of only 4 lighthouses in the state of Florida and only 35 in the nation to receive this funding, for which we are grateful.

We recently recorded a podcast for the US Lighthouse Society. This is an hour long podcast the first half of which is a discussion about Patos Island Light in Washington State. The Cape Canaveral Light discussion is in the 2^nd half. You can listen to it here.

We are continuing our Open (Light)House tours. 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 Annex housed next door in Hangar C! Our next dates are May 5th and May 26th. Our first two tours sold out quickly, but there are still a few seats available for these tours, so book as soon as you can.

We held 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

From the President

As I reflect on the first two months of 2021, I am reminded of the tremendous commitment of our volunteers who keep the light shining. It has been a year since we were first hit with the Pandemic which has forever changed lives. The resiliency of our volunteers will ensure we are ready when operations return to normal. That said, the docents have safely conducted limited tours of the Keepers Cottage and Lighthouse since October. We are currently planning for our Annual Descendants Day, Running event and our Volunteers/members event. The dates and times are still to be determined, and are obviously dependent on the status of COVID as well as the Space Station’s protocols for events. We are excited to once again share the light.

In October of 2019 I had the opportunity to visit the Venus Point lighthouse in Tahiti, French Polynesia . I found it to be fascinating because of the parallels between Venus Point and Cape Canaveral, both places of scientific discovery. The lighthouse was built by the French in 1867 to commemorate Captain James Cook’s scientific journey onboard the HMS Endeavor. The primary objective of the voyage was to calculate the distance of the earth from the sun by measuring the time that it took Venus to transit the sun. The transit of Venus across the sun occurs every 120 years.

On August 12, 1768, HMS Endeavor left England commanded by Lt. James Cook bound for Tahiti. This area was so poorly mapped that it would be equivalent to going to the moon or Mars by today’s standards. The Endeavor arrived in Matavai Bay, Tahiti on April 12, 1769 and established an observatory at “Fort Venus”. Astronomer Charles Green and Captain Cook performed the observation on June 3, 1769 with mixed results due to the fuzziness around the planet. The expedition was likened to a space mission. “The Endeavor was not only on a voyage of discovery,” writes Tony Horwitz “it was also a laboratory for testing the latest theories and technologies, much as spaceships do today.”

We are continuing to work our way back to normalcy with each day that passes, to once again 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 is to grow to 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 says it best— 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