The United States of America is a federal union of 50 states and a capital district. Most of the state of Florida occupies a long peninsula separating the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico; the state's western "panhandle" extends westward along the Gulf coast. As a result Florida has by far the longest coastline of any state of the eastern U.S. Nearly all of the coast is low and sandy, broken occasionally by narrow inlets. For visibility at a distance the Florida coast requires tall lighthouses. Florida has about three dozen lighthouses including several of the country's most famous light towers. The Florida Lighthouse Association (FLA) works for preservation of all the light stations. Nearly all the onshore stations are now supported by local lighthouse societies. Efforts of FLA and local associations have led to restoration projects undertaken or planned at most of the onshore lighthouses. Few states have worked as hard on lighthouse preservation as Florida in recent years. This page covers lighthouses of Florida's west coast, facing the Gulf of Mexico. Lighthouses of the Florida Keys and the east coast are on separate pages. Navigational aids in the United States are operated by the U.S. Coast Guard but ownership (and sometimes operation) of historic lighthouses has been transferred to local authorities and preservation organizations in many cases. Florida Peninsula west coast lights are the responsibility of the Coast Guard's Sector St. Petersburg, a unit of the Seventh District based in Miami; those west of the Appalachicola River (from Carrabelle westward) are the responsibility of Sector Mobile in Alabama, a unit of the Eighth District based in New Orleans. Sector Mobile has Aids to Navigation Teams based at Panama City and Pensacola. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. USCG numbers are from Volume III of the U.S. Coast Guard Light List for lights of the peninsula and from Volume IV for lights of the state's western panhandle.
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![]() Gadsden Point Cut Range Rear Light, Tampa Bay photo copyright Capt. Peter Mosselberger; used by permission |
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![]() Cedar Keys Light, Levy County, November 2023 Google Maps photo by Adner Verdecia |
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![]() St. Joseph Point Light, Port St. Joe, March 2021 Google Maps photo by Kathy Miller |
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: East: Eastern Florida and the Keys | West: Alabama
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted 2000. Checked and revised October 3, 2024. Lighthouses: 31. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.