The only way to reach the lighthouse is to take a guided bus tour which encompasses driving by a number of launch pads. Interesting, but you don't get a chance to stop. We did spend an hour at the lighthouse.
This is the third build and location. Number one (1848) was right on the ocean's edge. Great idea except for erosion from storms. And while it apparently had a good light with a visibility of six miles, the shoals the light warned against were 11 and 13 miles off shore.
In 1868 the move of the lighthouse to a safer location was completed. Nice try. In 1894 it was moved nearly 1 mile inland and constructed of brick and steel. At 151 feet and fitted with a Fresnel lens this seemed to do the trick.
Fast forward over 100 years to the space age. With the lighthouse location in the vicinity of launch complex 37, a new challenge arose...rockets blasting off in to space were literally shaking the delicate Fresnel lens apart.
In 1993, a high-powered searchlight was installed and the Fresnel lens was turned into a museum display at the Ponce de Leon Inlet lighthouse.
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