The best and brightest: the most beautiful and iconic lighthouses in America

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, Oregon - Perched on a bluff overlooking the mouth of the Yaquina River is this quirky anomaly. Built in 1871 entirely of wood, this is the oldest structure in Newport. It’s also the only existing Oregon lighthouse with the living quarters attached, and it’s open to the public. Oh by the way, it’s supposed to be haunted!

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Portland Head Lighthouse, Maine - Inaugurated in 1791, this is the first lighthouse completed by the United States government. A landmark feature of Fort Williams Park, this is one of the most photographed and visited lighthouses in New England. The adjacent museum is an engaging distraction.

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Cape Neddick Lighthouse, Maine - Affectionately known as the “Nubble,” this iconic building is a “Maine attraction.” Built in 1879, it is set at the north end of Long Sands Beach in the village of York Beach. Its stature is such that the Voyager spacecraft carried a photograph of the lighthouse as part of a collection of Earth’s most prominent man-made structures.

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Point Sur Lighthouse, California - A cherished state landmark, this squat lighthouse first shone over Big Sur in 1889. The structure and the promontory it sits on is now a designated historic park. It is open to the pubic as part a bracing three-hour walking tour.

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Castle Hill Lighthouse, Rhode Island - Built in 1890, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, the lighthouse is located on land once owned by Harvard naturalist, oceanographer, and zoologist Alexander Agassiz (1835-1910).

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Biloxi Lighthouse, Mississippi - With its inauguration in 1848, Biloxi Lighthouse became the first cast-iron iron tower erected in the southern United States. It also has the distinction of having been, er, manned, by female keepers for more years than any other lighthouse in the country. Today it’s a hugely popular Biloxi visitor attraction.

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Big Red Lighthouse, Michigan - Holland State Park’s top draw attraction is its aptly named “Big Red” lighthouse. Located at the south side of the Holland Channel, the burgundy colored landmark is Michigan’s most photographed lightstation. It dates back to 1782.

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Diamond Head Lighthouse, Hawaii -

Located on Diamond Head (near Honolulu) on the island of Oahu, the lighthouse and its achingly scenic location featured on a United States postage stamp in June 2007. The house’s Fresnel lens burns at 60,000 candle power, and spreads light nearly 18 mi (about 29 km) out into the Pacific Ocean.

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Jupiter Lighthouse, Florida - The lighthouse and adjacent museum attracts around 70,000 visitors a year. Operational since 1860, the facility is set over a designated Outstanding Natural Area. An unusual leisure option is the yoga classes conducted on the lighthouse deck.

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Colchester Reef Lighthouse, Vermont - Of considerable architectural merit, the structure was constructed in 1871 off Colchester Point, and served to warn shipping of the hazardous “Middle Bunch Reef” until its deactivation in 1933. In 1956, the building was moved to the Shelburne Museum, where it still shines as a star exhibit.

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Grosse Point Lighthouse, Illinois - The keeper’s house is Chicago’s only maritime museum, although the light is still operational. Visitors to this 1873 landmark can also explore the tower and dwellings during summer weekends.

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New London Ledge Lighthouse, Connecticut - Rising out of the Thames River, at the mouth of New London Harbor, is one of the country’s most extraordinary lighthouses. Resembling a county mansion that’s somehow drifted into the sea, the property is equally celebrated for its ghost, the benign spirit of an early keeper named Ernie.

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Battery Point Lighthouse, California - Registered as a California Historical Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this utterly charming lighthouse was built in 1856 as one of the first lighthouses on the California coast. It’s open to the public at low tide.

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Eldred Rock Lighthouse, Alaska - The beautifully stark but brooding Alaskan wilderness provides a fitting backdrop for this remote, automated lightstation moored in the middle of the Lyn Canal. Its rare octagonal architecture is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Old Point Loma Lighthouse, California - No longer operating as a lighthouse, but open to the public as a museum, Old Point is situated in the grounds of the Cabrillo National Monument near San Diego. The tower is only open for public viewing two days a year, on August 25 and November 15.

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Tybee Island Lighthouse, Georgia - One of seven surviving colonial-era lighthouse towers, Tybee’s bold monochrome brickwork is a standout feature of the Savannah River Entrance region. The current tower is the fourth at this station: the first was built in 1736. The site is open to the public.

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Sanibel Island Lighthouse, Florida - Unique on this list for its 98-ft (about 30 m) iron skeleton tower, the lighthouse was constructed in 1884 to mark the entrance to San Carlos Bay. Keepers would have to negotiate a central spiral staircase to access the light, but it became automated in 1949. The grounds are open to the public, but the lighthouse is out of bounds.

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Au Sable Point Lighthouse, Michigan - Au Sable Point is a well-known hazard on Lake Superior’s “shipwreck coast,” and the Au Sable Light remains vital to aid in navigation. The whole area is frequently shrouded in fog. The lighthouse tower is open to the public in summer.

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Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Maine - Commissioned in 1827 by President John Quincy Adams, picturesque Pemaquid features the absorbing Fisherman’s Museum on the first floor. The station is set at the entrance to Muscongas Bay and Johns Bay, near the town of Bristol.

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Point Pinos Lighthouse, California - Lit in 1855, this is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States. Even the lens is original! The station sits on manicured grounds overlooking the Monterey Peninsula, and is open year round to visitors.

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Point Judith Lighthouse, Rhode Island - Built originally in wood, the first tower fell victim to a hurricane in 1815. The present octagonal brownstone tower stands to warn shipping of the very cold and dangerous waters around Point Judith. Interestingly, the last German U-boat sunk in World War II was two miles (about three kilometers) away from the light.

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Presque Isle Lighthouse, Michigan - One of the oldest surviving lighthouses on the Great lakes, the lighthouse is notorious for its collection of ghosts and other unworldly visitors. A popular apparition is George Parris, a former caretaker who habitually returns to the light even though it’s long been deactivated. Incidentally, Presque Isle’s last keeper was personally appointed by President Lincoln.

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Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, Maryland - It’s unusual saucer-like shape distinguishes this rolled-iron lighthouse from 1856 as the oddest in the gallery. This is the oldest screw-pile lighthouse in Maryland, and once stood atop Seven Foot Knoll in Chesapeake Bay. It now sits on Baltimore’s inner harbor walls as a museum exhibit.

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Point Fermin Lighthouse, California - Built in an attractive stick style Victorian design in 1874, the station’s gabled roofs, horizontal siding, decorative cross beams and hand-carved railings make it look like anything but a lighthouse. In fact, it’s now a museum and a very desirable visitor attraction.

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Old Point Comfort Lighthouse, Virginia - Built in 1803 and automated in 1972, the lighthouse is the second oldest on Chesapeake Bay. In the Anglo-American War it was seized by British forces during their advance on Washington, but survived serious damage. Likewise, it remained unscathed during the Civil War.

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Seguin Island Lighthouse, Maine - A glorious location in stunning surroundings makes any visit to this scenic lighthouse a memorable day out. The island is noted for its marine and environmental history. The lighthouse itself dates from 1795 and is now a museum.

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Point Iroquois Lighthouse, Michigan - Yet another lovingly maintained lighthouse property given a new lease of life as a marine museum. The present station dates to 1870, and is open to the public. The original light, however, is now in the Smithsonian Institution.

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Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, North Carolina - With its black and white candy-cane stripes, this is one of the most famous and recognized lighthouses in the world. At 208 ft (about 63 m), it’s the tallest brick lighthouse in America, and the second tallest in the world. It was built in 1870 and is still active.

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Heceta Head Lighthouse, Oregon -

The brightest beacon on the Oregon coast, Haceta is often described as the most photographed lighthouse in the United States. The former lightkeeper’s cottages now serve as upscale B&B accommodation, and the romantic setting is indeed suitably alluring.

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