PONCE INLET, Fla. — It’s one of the oldest and most recognized structures in Volusia County.  

The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is the second tallest brick lighthouse in the country, standing 175-feet tall.

What You Need To Know

  • The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is open to the public 7 days a week

  • Guests can walk along a narrow staircase to the top of the lighthouse and look out toward the ocean

  • The area is home to several museums to learn about the history of Ponce Inlet

  • Private tours are available or around at your own pace

The lighthouse was completed in 1887 and once was a beacon of safety for those traveling by sea.

In the late 19th century, the lighthouse provided essential ship guidance to those traveling along Florida’s often unsettled waters.

Steven Oshinski is a volunteer docent at the lighthouse and often walks up several times a day.

“We start to ascend at the bottom of the structure with 203 steps which is Florida’s tallest lighthouse,” said Oshinski.

While the lighthouse still helps those out in the Atlantic ocean know they are at Ponce Inlet, modern navigation, including GPS, has turned the building into an adored tower for tourists to admire and learn about the past.

The walk up the narrow staircase will take you around 15 minutes or less, and there are places to stop along the way.

Often you will meet guests walking down and will have to make room for each other on your journey up.

“I always joke — I need to have a before and after picture — before they go and when they come back down. They look like a whole different person,” he said.

The view looking down the staircase of the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. (Spectrum News/Randy Rauch)

Oshinski says Florida once had some 30-lighthouses staggered along its coastline to help guide ships moving goods in and out of the sunshine state.

“And basically — back in the day — every forty-to-fifty miles along the coast of Florida, all the way to Pensacola to the west side of the gulf. Florida was surrounded by lighthouses,” said Oshinski.

The compound is also home to a gift shop, several museums and a nearby marine science center.

The lighthouse is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The cost to visit the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is $6.95 for adults and only $1.95 for children 3 to 11 years old.

For more information, call 386-761-1821 or visit Ponce Inlet Lighthouse.