NJIB’s New Jersey Lighthouse Appreciation Post

Absecon Lighthouse (Atlantic County)
31 S Rhode Island Ave, Atlantic City, NJ
Absecon Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in New Jersey and the third tallest in the United States! It stands 171 feet tall and requires 228 steps to reach the top. Once you reach the top, you’ll enjoy great views of Atlantic City and the Atlantic Ocean, and it’s the only lighthouse in New Jersey that still has its original first-order Fresnel lens.

Cape May Lighthouse (Cape May County)
215 Light House Ave, Cape May Point, New Jersey
Located at the southern tip of New Jersey, Cape May Point State Park is a key attraction on the New Jersey Shore Heritage Trail and features an environmental center with a classroom for interpretive programs and a museum that showcases the natural and historical features of the area. The 157-foot-tall lighthouse still serves as an aid to navigation. Visitors climb the 199 steps to the top of the lighthouse for stunning panoramic views of the scenic Cape May Peninsula.

Delaware Bay Lights
There are 8 lighthouses in Delaware Bay that are only accessible by boat. The oldest is Brandywine Light, which was lit in 1850. The newest, Miah Maull, was permanently lit in 1913. Take our Delaware Bay Lighthouses Virtual Tour during the Lighthouse Challenge to learn about the construction and current status of these lighthouses at Cape May Lighthouse.

Tatham Lifesaving Station and Museum (Cape May County)
117 Street and 2 Avenue, Stone Harbor, New Jersey
The Stone Harbor Lifesaving Station was built in 1895 and was recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The tower offers views of the Atlantic Ocean, Hereford Sound and Back Bay, where surfers constantly monitor for ships in distress.

American Lifesaving Station 30 (Cape May County)
801 E 4th St, Ocean City, NJ
The Ocean City station was known as Beasley Station until 1883. Rebuilt in 1885-1886, it is the only U.S. Lifesaving Service station in New Jersey to be rebuilt to the service’s distinctive 1882 design. Not only is the design architecturally stunning, with its gabled roof and observation tower, but it is also very efficient in its use of space to accommodate boats and surfers.

East Point Lighthouse (Cumberland County)
10 Lighthouse Rd, Heislerville, New Jersey
East Point Light, known as the Maurice River Light until 1913, is a lighthouse located in Heislerville, Delaware Bay, at the mouth of the Maurice River.

Tinicum Back Hill Lighthouse (Gloucestershire)
Second Street, Paulsboro, New Jersey
The historic Tinicum Back Hill Lighthouse is located at the intersection of Second Street and Mantua Avenue in Paulsboro, New Jersey, adjacent to the Delaware River. The lighthouse is a steel-frame structure that stands 85 feet tall with 112 steps leading from the neoclassical pavilion at the base of the tower to the lantern room. Directly below the lantern room is the lookout room, which features a unique wood closet that curves along the circular exterior wall of the tower. Next to the lighthouse is the keeper’s residence, which sits on 4.8 acres and includes seven rooms, a brick oil house, a frame barn and granary, a cowshed, a poultry house, and a latrine.

Sandy Hook Lighthouse (Monmouth County)
85 Mercer Road, Highlands, New Jersey
Sandy Hook Lighthouse, located about a mile and a half inland from Sandy Hook, New Jersey, is the oldest surviving lighthouse in the United States.

Seagate Lighthouse (Monmouth County)
9 Ocean Ave, Seagate, New Jersey
The last inhabited lighthouse on the Atlantic coast, Sea Git Lighthouse was built in 1896 by order of the United States Lighthouse Board to illuminate a dark area in the middle of the 38.5-mile stretch between Navesink and Banagat Lighthouses.

Squan Beach Lifeguard Station (Monmouth County)
124 Ocean Ave, Manasquan, New Jersey
The Squan Beach Lifesaving Station was established in response to offshore disasters. As residents shut their windows against hurricane-force winds and wild nor’easters, the station’s goal was to rescue victims and protect property from shipwrecks off the coast of Manasquan. The Squan Beach Lifesaving Station was originally built in 1855 and replaced in 1872. The current station was built in 1902.

NaviSink Dual Light (Monmouth County)
2 Light House Rd, Highlands, NJ
Located 200 feet above sea level on Navesink Heights, the twin lighthouses have stood over the treacherous coastal waters of northern New Jersey since 1828. Named the Navesink Lighthouse Station, they were known as the “Twin Lighthouses of the Heights” to those who used their powerful beacons to navigate.

Barnegat Lighthouse (Ocean County)
208 Broadway, Barnegat Lighthouse, New Jersey
Barnegat Lighthouse State Park is located on the north end of Long Beach Island. You’ll need to climb 217 steps to reach the top, where you’ll enjoy panoramic views of the island’s beaches, Barnegat Bay, and Long Beach Island.

Tuckerton Harbor and Bay People Museum (Ocean County)
120 W Main St, Tuckerton, New Jersey
Tucker Island Lighthouse features exhibits on Jersey Shore privateers and pirates, Tuckerton (designated as the third port of entry at the founding of the new nation, for the receipt and departure of domestic and international trade and travel), the origins of the United States Lifesaving Service, shipwrecks, and the Jersey Shore’s first resort.

Fins Point Lighthouse Close Up (Salem County)
Fort Mott and Lighthouse Road, Pennsville, New Jersey
This 1876 cast iron lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Originally built in Buffalo, New York, and moved here by train and mule cart, this unique cast iron open-frame lighthouse was built in 1876 at a cost of $1,200. Standing 115 feet tall, it features a 24-inch rangefinder lens, a dual-wick burner, and a kerosene vapor lamp that produces 150,000 candlepower. Nearby is Fort Mott State Park, a 104-acre waterfront park featuring Spanish-American War-era buildings and gun emplacements.

For more guides and inspiration on things to do in New Jersey, be sure to explore newjerseyisntboring.com.

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