The coolest lighthouses in the U.S. worth a visit

Picturesquely embedded midway up a dramatic oceanside slope, the Heceta Head Lighthouse dates to 1894 and stands a towering 205 feet above the waves (56 feet of that is the tower). Its Fresnel light casts beams 21 miles out: the brightest light on the Oregon coast. Some say this is the most photographed lighthouse in the U.S. You can go into the lighthouse’s ground floor, then take an outdoor hiking trail that leads up to the height of the tower so you can see the Fresnel lantern at a bird’s eye view. You can stay overnight in the lightkeeper’s cottage, now a B&B with a seven-course breakfast that's walking distance to the lighthouse and the beach below.

Many people associate lighthouses with Maine, as our most northerly Atlantic-touching state—and in fact, it boasts 65 lighthouses along its 3,500-mile shoreline. Of those 65, Pemaquid Point Lighthouse makes our list because Edward Hopper painted it and because it shows up on the state quarter, with stylized lines beaming out from its beacon to a three-masted schooner below. Built in 1835, the modest-sized 38-foot lighthouse sits on a sloping rock with scenic ledges carved out by the sea. It’s an active navigation aid owned by the U.S. Coast Guard and licensed to the American Lighthouse Foundation. Fun fact: in 1863, the tower lamp stopped using sperm whale oil and transitioned to liquid lard. Climb 30 steps to the top and then visit the Fishermen’s Museum in the nearby lightkeeper’s house. Open daily, summer and fall. There’s a small fee to enter the park ($4) and a suggested donation of $1 to climb the tower.

The 115-foot Pigeon Point Lighthouse is the tallest on the West Coast and one of the tallest in the U.S. It’s still operational, now with an automated LED beacon instead of a Fresnel lens (on view in the nearby Fog Signal Building). It guides mariners from its spot on the coast 50 miles south of San Francisco. Officially termed the Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park, it’s known for being a vantage point from which to see whales and harbor seals seasonally. Right now, scaffolding covers the tower as part of a restoration program (sadly, lead paint covers its interior and exterior) that was delayed by the pandemic and the 2020 wildfires, but the Fog Signal Building is open and there are a ton of activities to do without accessing the tower stairs.

A beautiful barber-pole tower with a bright red cap, the St. Augustine lighthouse offers spectacular views of “the nation’s oldest city.” Climb 219 steps (and 165 feet: this is the tallest lighthouse on our list) to see the ocean and miles of inland waterways. In the restored lightkeeper’s house, learn how a 19th-century lightkeeper lived and view shipwreck artifacts. The museum hosts a four-week field school in maritime archaeological research of underwater shipwrecks and Fort Mose, the first Free Black Settlement in North America. Finally, the tower is said to be haunted. Take a glowstick-lit Dark of the Moon ghost tour at night to find out if it’s true.

The Rose Island Lighthouse, a sweet, squat lighthouse perched on a rocky bluff, simply spells “New England.” You can spend the night inside from April through October, or just come for a spring or summer daytime visit. Access the lighthouse island via the Jamestown Newport Ferry or by canoe, kayak or stand-up paddle board. If you’re an overnighter, transportation on the boat Rose is included in your stay. The island also holds the barracks of Fort Hamilton, ruins of the Navy Torpedo Station, beaches and tidal pools, a perimeter trail, and great bird watching. Dating to 1870, the lighthouse is no longer officially in service because the Newport Pell Bridge now holds all navigation aids, but since its establishment as a museum in 1993, it beams a 48-foot beacon out onto Narragansett Bay and is a private aid to navigation. The lighthouse looks as it did from 1910 to 1918 when a little boy lived there with his lightkeeper grandfather.

Georgia’s oldest and tallest lighthouse is on Tybee Island and still operates as a navigational aid. Standing 145 feet tall, the tower has 178 steps (but no problem: there’s a resting platform and window every 25 steps). Each step was placed individually and rotated into position. Built in 1773 and reconstructed in 1867, this is the oldest lighthouse on our list, and many historical buildings can be explored on the grounds. The Fresnel lens, still in place and big enough to hold four people, can be seen from 18 miles out at sea. In the 1700s, a pirate flag flew here, and today, you’ll see one there, along with six others. Lighthouse admission also includes access to the Tybee Museum in Battery Garland, an historic gun battery at a coastal fort.

The New Dungeness Lighthouse overlooks the Strait of Juan de Fuca and is part of the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. To get there, visitors start with a five-mile low tide hike down the Dungeness Spit (kayakers and boaters can access it via water but must contact the refuge office first). Celebrate with a picnic and a quick climb up the 74 steps before heading back out. The lighthouse has been operating since 1857 (although the Coast Guard took over responsibility for navigational aids in 1939) and was once far more impressive in height. It was lowered 27.5 feet in 1927 because of deteriorating brickwork. If you have a strong interest in lighthouse keeping, you can spend a week here maintaining the lighthouse, greeting incoming hikers, giving informational tours and performing other tasks. The New Dungeness Keeper Program is an innovative way to step into the past (your supplies are brought in by four-wheel drive and then you’re there for the week). Find more details here.

While Michigan has no oceanfront, it has 115 lighthouses, more than any other state. Even though its 3,200 miles of coastline don’t touch the Atlantic, its Great Lakes access may prove even more dangerous than anything faced by coastal states. Fort Gratiot, Michigan’s oldest lighthouse and the Great Lakes’s second oldest, was erected in 1829 and is open May through December for visitors, with dates varying seasonally. You must take a paid guided tour to access the 82-foot-high tower and step out onto the catwalk. After climbing 92 iron (see-through!) stairs, you’ll have a vantage point of one of the busiest waterways in the world. The light is still operational.

Alert readers will note that West Virginia is a landlocked state—but that doesn’t mean it can’t have a working lighthouse. Fun story: The Summersville Lake Lighthouse arose out of a joke that if there was a spare wind tower from a nearby wind farm, then it’d be fun to create a lighthouse out of it. And that’s what happened! You can climb 122 steps to the top, and its 360-degree gallery deck has views of the Gauley River National Recreational Area and Summersville Lake. Standing at 104 feet tall, the 2012 lighthouse sports a 1941 beacon rescued from storage at an airfield, and now the lighthouse is registered with the FAA as a navigational aid. Visit daily from April through October, and with a reservation in the winter/spring.

Part of the Port Isabel Lighthouse State Historic Park, this is the last lighthouse in Texas open to the public. Built in 1852 and sporting a Fresnel lens installed 70 years later, the 72-foot tower provides spectacular views of the Gulf of Mexico and Laguna Madre Bay. Take a self-guided tour up the 75 winding stairs and three short ladders to reach the top. You can also explore exhibits in the reconstructed Keeper’s Cottage. For bonus summer fun, attend the Lighthouse Establishment Cinema, which shows movies projected onto the side of the lighthouse for free!