Cape Canaveral Lighthouse

In 1523 Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sailed down the Florida coast from St Augustine and encountered rough currents at one point and named the area Cape Canaveral, which means Cape of Currents.   The Cape is home to the Kennedy Space Center, the Space Force station and the Cape Canaveral lighthouse.   Built in 1848 to warn ships of the shallows off the coast,  the original lighthouse was 65 ft tall with a brick tower.   Nathaniel Scobie was the first Lighthouse Keeper but soon abandoned his job from the threat of a Seminole Indian attack.   The lighthouse was erected further inland in 1868 and is as it stands today at 151 ft tall with a Fresnel lens and was automated in 1967 and retired in 1993.  The lighthouse light flashed twice every 20 seconds and had a range of 24 miles.

The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse was witness to the launch of The Capes first rocket “Bumper 8” in 1950 and had an historic seat at the Gemini, Mercury and Apollo launch missions.   Wernher Von Braun used to stand on the rail gallery outside the lantern room to observe early launches.

You cannot drive your own vehicle on the Cape and it’s a 4-Hour van tour of the lighthouse and the historic space flight sites.  There are 167 steps to the top of the tower so no flip-flops and you do have to have a pre-approved security clearance.  It’s closed to all foreign visitors.  Only US citizens