Sandy Hook Lighthouse
open for daily tours
This summer, the Sandy Hook Lighthouse is open for tours every day as a result of a grant from the Sandy Hook Foundation for an intern to be trained to lead the tours.
The Sandy Hook Lighthouse is the oldest continually operating lighthouse in the nation. The lighthouse was declared a National Historic Landmark on June 11, 1964, the 200th anniversary of its first lighting. Brian Fahy and Katie Fonte, both residents of Pennsylvania, are the two Student Conservation Association interns giving weekday lighthouse tours.
The lighthouse is open for tours every day in July and August, and tours will be offered on weekends this fall from September to December. Summer hours are weekends from noon to 4:30 p.m.; weekdays 1-4 p.m. and Thursday evenings from 6-8 p.m., through Aug. 19.
Reservations are not needed for the tours, which can accommodate up to eight people. For safety reasons, visitors must be at least 4 feet tall to climb to the top. A tour takes 30 minutes, and visitors can sign up at the Lighthouse Firehouse (just a few steps away from the light tower) on weekends, or at the Fort Hancock museum on weekdays. A special morning weekday tour may be arranged by calling Tom Laverty, president of the Twin Lights Lighthouse and the N.J. Lighthouse Society, at (732) 872-1814.