Come Visit

[ Hours ]  [ Admission ]

Port Boca Grande Lighthouse & Museum... "where history and nature opens minds.”

Are you looking for a fun, day trip on a beautiful island?
Do you enjoy learning about history or nature?

Then, you need to visit Port Boca Grande Lighthouse & Museum. It is a place where history and nature opens minds to the past and the future.

Set inside a state park at the southernmost tip of Gasparilla Island, the lighthouse is the oldest structure on the island and a beacon to mariners since 1890. The house-dwelling style lighthouse is home to the comprehensive museum that first opened in 1999.

Today, it is host to a multitude of activities from educational programs like Wading Adventures to special events like the Annual Holiday Lighting of the Lighthouse. The well displayed five-room museum located inside the lighthouse was once home to five families of light keepers. Set in chronological order, each room displays a place in local Charlotte Harbor history spanning from 12,000 A.D. to current day.

Family friendly, the museum offers a “please touch” area with local bones, fossils and shells, and, docents willing to give customized tours only a phone call away.

Come Visit the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse & Museum!

Delight your mind and spirit, and let history and nature take you away.

Hours

Port Boca Grande Lighthouse & Museum hours of operation:

November 1st thru May 31st
Monday thru Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sunday 12noon to 4:00 p.m.
Closed Major Holidays
Free Docent Tours: Monday and Thursday at 11:30am.

Customized tours welcome upon request – please call to schedule.

June 1st thru October 31st (Please see exception for August)
Wednesday thru Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sunday 12noon to 4:00 p.m.
Closed Mondays, Tuesdays, and Major Holidays

August
Closed entire month for maintenance and repairs

Admission

Port Boca Grande Lighthouse & Museum (as of January 2012):

Museum fees: Recommended $3 per person; children under 12 free

The museum receives no state or federal support (no tax dollars) to maintain and keep it in operation.

Bridge fees: Gasparilla Island: $5.00 per vehicle

Call Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority to confirm current rates 941.697.2271

Park Fees: $3 per vehicle

Park fee good for same day entrance to the following four state parks:
Cayo Costa
Don Pedro
Gasparilla Island
Stump Pass Beach