At the south end of the Daytona Beach strip, where Ponce Inlet cuts between the barrier island and New Smyrna Beach, stands the tallest lighthouse in Florida: 175 feet of red brick, 203 steps to the gallery deck, and a light that is still an active aid to navigation, visible some 18 miles out to sea. The grounds are a National Historic Landmark — one of only eleven lighthouses with that distinction — kept as they were in 1887.

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse Day Trip | Everything You Need to Know

Salty Sarah Travels

Salty Sarah Travels' complete Ponce Inlet Lighthouse day-trip guide (2026): the climb up Florida's tallest lighthouse — 175 feet, 203 steps, with resting landings — for views over the Atlantic, the Intracoastal and the inlet, then the self-guided museum village of keeper's dwellings below. She times the descent at about five minutes, prices the visit as filmed, and advises pairing the lighthouse with beach time or another Ponce Inlet stop rather than making it the whole day.

Key takeaways
  • Florida's tallest lighthouse: 175 ft, 203 steps, resting landings on the way up
  • Views: Atlantic, Intracoastal Waterway and Ponce Inlet
  • Keeper's-dwelling museum village included on the grounds

Ponce De Leon Lighthouse and Museum

Themeparkfanatic

Themeparkfanatic's 2013 walk up the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse, filmed step by step from the grounds to the gallery deck — dated in style, but the climb and the views have not changed. (Transcript not stored — transcript-unavailable on two attempts.)

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse in Daytona Beach, Florida - Review

Marina Kuperman Villatoro

A family climbs the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse in this short 2014 film: up the 203 steps past the keeper's-village exhibits to a windy gallery deck, where the light — still an active aid to navigation — sits above them. Lightly narrated and heavy on wind and views, it captures exactly what the climb feels like with kids in tow.

Key takeaways
  • The full 203-step climb with a family
  • The light at the top is still active
  • Keeper's village exhibits line the grounds below

The climb: 203 steps, honestly filmed

The fullest guide on this page climbs it step by step: resting landings come about every 22 steps, the descent takes around five minutes, and the payoff at the top is a full-circle view — Atlantic to the east, the Intracoastal Waterway and the inlet below, the Daytona skyline up the coast. A family film from the same climb captures the wind at the gallery deck better than any brochure.

The keeper's village below

The climb is only half the visit. The keeper's dwellings at the base are furnished as period museums, and the lens exhibits explain how the great Fresnel lenses threw the light those 18 miles. The CVB's narrated film tells it from inside the story: a working light station preserved as a village, not just a tower.

Making a day of Ponce Inlet

The day-trip guide on this page gives the local advice plainly: the lighthouse pairs best with another Ponce Inlet stop rather than standing as the whole day. The Marine Science Center's turtle hospital is minutes away, Lighthouse Point Park wraps around the inlet jetty, and the town's waterfront restaurants sit along the river — the films on those pages complete the day.

Sources: the 6 videos on this page, filmed at Ponce Inlet between 2013 and 2026 — the climb and the views have not changed.

Watch: Ponce De Leon Inlet Lighthouse, guided

3 videos · summaries from the actual guides

Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse | Part 1

You Me And The Dock

Part one of You Me And The Dock's Ponce Inlet Lighthouse visit (2017): the grounds and the start of the climb at Florida's tallest lighthouse. (Transcript not stored — transcript-unavailable on two attempts.)

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse in Ponce Inlet, Florida

DaytonaBeach

The Daytona Beach CVB's short Ponce Inlet Lighthouse film (2017), a postcard cut of the tower and grounds. (Transcript not stored — transcript-unavailable on two attempts.)

Ponce de Leon Lighthouse

DaytonaBeach

The Daytona Beach CVB's lighthouse film is narrated from inside the story: a National Historic Landmark — one of only eleven lighthouses with that distinction — tallest in Florida at 175 feet and second tallest in the country, its grounds kept as they were in 1887. Keeper's dwellings are furnished as period museums, the lens exhibits explain how the light was seen 18 miles out to sea, and rest landings come every 22 steps or so on the 203-step climb.

Key takeaways
  • National Historic Landmark; grounds interpret the year 1887
  • 175 ft / 203 steps, rest landings about every 22 steps
  • Lens exhibits explain a light visible 18 miles out

More Daytona Beach essentials

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