Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse — Attraction in Hillsboro Beach

First and foremost, this lighthouse is not available to just randomly visit. You must go on the lighthouse tour that is held one Saturday a month. Please make sure you visit their website for more information on the tours. The tours are put on by volunteers. I paid $35 for my ticket and felt that was fair. This is the 7th lighthouse that I've climbed and I'm trying to get that number higher, so I'll pay any amount to be able to visit!

I visited on April 12th, 2025. I drove down from Orlando and arrived around 11am. I parked in the public parking lot across from Sands Harbor Resort & Marina. You pay for parking on an app on your phone. I used the cross walk to walk across the road and you can either enter the main doors of the resort, or walk to the right side where you will see cars parked for valet parking. There will be a gated entrance that you can go through and then on the dock you'll see the tent for the lighthouse, to the right, and volunteers there to help you. There is also a taxi boat that picks up passengers in the same location.

There was a 2 hour wait to go to the lighthouse. The boat can carry 50 passengers, so it was a busy day for them. I didn't mind waiting, as I had nothing else to do and didn't want to lose my parking spot. There is a restaurant at the marina if you get hungry.

The boat road over was great and relaxing. Any climb up a lighthouse is going to feel a little difficult but it was nice that they limited the number of people that went inside at one time to ensure that it wasn't crowded. The view from the top is absolutely gorgeous...that blue water!! All of the volunteers I spoke with were nice and helpful. There is a little gift shop table where you can get a souvenir before getting back on the boat to head back to the marina. The time spent at the lighthouse was an hour and the boat ride took 40...

The Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse is a must-visit for anyone interested in history, lighthouses, or simply stunning views. The lighthouse was built in 1874 and is the tallest lighthouse in Florida. It stands 175 feet tall and projects a beam that can be seen for 28 nautical miles. It offers panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean, the Hillsboro Inlet, and the surrounding area. It

The lighthouse is open to the public for tours and offers a variety of educational exhibits. Visitors can learn about the history of the lighthouse, the role it played in navigation, and the marine life that can be found in the area. There is also a small museum on-site that houses artifacts related to the lighthouse and its history.

In addition to the lighthouse itself, the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse Park is a beautiful place to spend an afternoon. The park has a beach, a playground, and a picnic area. There are also hiking trails that lead to the lighthouse and the surrounding area.

Here are some of the things that make the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse a 5-star attraction:

The stunning views from the top of the lighthouse The educational exhibits on the history of the lighthouse and marine life in the area The beautiful park setting The friendly and knowledgeable staff

I highly recommend visiting the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse. It is a truly unique and special place that offers something...

BE AWARE!!!

This federally owned lighthouse has NO PUBLIC ACCESS via land!

We were staying at a hotel on Pompano Beach and could see the lighthouse from our balcony. I looked up the lighthouse on the Internet and saw it was a lighthouse owned by the federal government. However, what neither the lighthouse website nor Google Maps mentions is that the lighthouse is not accessible to the public!

We walked half an hour one way, following Google Maps, to get to the lighthouse. We approached the guard house and asked politely where the public path to get to the lighthouse is. The guard was EXTREMELY rude to us, practically threw a schedule of monthly visits at us and slammed the door in our faces.

I understand that he must get many people asking how to get to the lighthouse every day, but surely they must understand how confusing it is for people that a publicly owned lighthouse has no access because a country club has decided to block people from getting to it!

If you have access to a boat, you can get there yourself. We saw several boats pulling up to the beach. But unless you have a boat, don’t waste your time.

And the website for the Lighthouse needs to make this situation very clear! I could not find any information about it on...