Accessibility

General ADA Info: The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and Museum welcomes guests with disabilities and provides numerous accessible features throughout the historic grounds. Please contact the lighthouse via email at info@ponceinlet.org or by phone at (386) 761-1821 ext. 10 with any questions you may have regarding museum accessibility for people with disabilities.

Accessibility and ADA Accommodations:

Parking: ADA-compliant parking spaces are located in the lower parking lot directly in front of the main entrance and gift shop.
Main Entrance: Guests must pass through the gift shop to gain entry to the historic light station and museum. A wheelchair ramp is located at south end of the gift shop’s front porch for those in need.
Restrooms: All museum restroom facilities are ADA compliant. Restrooms can be found inside the gift shop and on the historic grounds in the Restroom/Group Entrance building.
Building Accessibility: All of the light station’s publically accessible buildings are wheelchair accessible. Ramps are installed on all three keeper dwellings as well as the Woodshed Theater and Gift Shop. Ramps are not needed to access the Restroom Building, Cuban Raft Exhibit Area, Tool Shed/Radio Room Building, Ayres Davies Lens Exhibit Building, or Oil Storage House. Please refer to the map below for ramp locations.
Walkways: Brick walkways link all of the light station’s publically accessible historic structures.
Ayers Davies Lens Exhibit Building: Two stairways provide direct access to the second floor observation platform inside the lens exhibit building. Disabled access to this upper area is provided via a wheelchair lift located in the east stairwell. A mural of the view looking south from the top of the lighthouse is featured on the second level to provide those who cannot climb the tower the opportunity to see what it is like. Please notify a gift shop sales associate of your need to utilize the lens building’s wheel chair lift and a staff member will be provided to assist you.
Tower: The lighthouse is not equipped with ADA conveniences. People often ask why there isn’t an elevator. The Ponce inlet Lighthouse is not alone in this regards. Of the approximate 700 surviving lighthouses in the U.S., only Sullivan’s Island Lighthouse in Charleston, NC has an elevator. Installing an elevator in the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is simply not feasible given its structural design, overall height, and historic nature. Visitors must therefore climb 203 steps to reach the top the lighthouse. Both the granite steps leading into the tower and spiral staircase leading to the top feature handrails. Landings are located every 21 steps for those who need to rest.
Coastal Hammock Trail: The light station’s coastal hammock is a primitive area. The hammock’s trail system winds its way through trees and native undergrowth. The cleared trails consist of both soft and hard-packed sand as well as vegetation covered soil.
Service Animals: Trained Service Animals are permitted. A service animal is one trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. Service Animals should remain on a leash or harness at all times and remain under the handler’s control.
Large Print Text: Visitors with visual impairment may request a large print version of our self-guided tour map.