No matter where along theMaryland coastline you are, there is a Maryland lighthouse with a fascinating history nearby. Some lighthouess in Maryland are the classic tower reaching into the sky, while others, like the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse in Baltimore, are completely unexpected.
So, whether you want to stick to the lighthouses on the Chesapeake, go to see Maryland’s most famous lighthouses, the Thomas Point Shoal, Maryland’s most famous lighthouses, or you want to learn more about the Lightship Chesapeake, Maryland has the lighthouses that have been guiding sailors to shore for centuries.
How tall are Lighthouses?
Your expeditions will take you to beacons that are just 18 to nearly 200 feet in the air, across short and long hikes, to both convenient and out-of-the-way destinations, but no matter what one you go to, each lighthouse is sure to be one of the Mid-Atlantic’s most scenic sites.
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Lighthouses in Maryland You Can Visit
Choptank River Lighthouse
- Address: 100 High St, Cambridge, MD 21613
- Open: May – October 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM, November – April – by appointment only
- Cost: Free
Along Cambridge’s Long Wharf Park sits the replica of the historic Choptank River Lighthouse. The model was built in 2012.
Inside the lighthouse, find a museum that you can explore at your own pace.
Friday through Sunday volunteers are available to answer all your questions and explain more about the lighthouse that once guided sailors up and down the Choptank River.
Concord Point Lighthouse
- Address: 700 Concord St, Havre De Grace, MD 21078
- Open: April – October
- Cost: Free
- Website
The 1827 Concord Point Lighthouse overlooks the Chesapeake Bay and the Susquehanna River. The 36-foot tall lighthouse is the oldest in Maryland that is available to visit.
The Keeper’s Dwelling’s first floor has a gift shop and interpretive exhibits to explore.
Drum Point Lighthouse
- Address: 14200 Solomons Island Rd., Solomons, MD 20688
- Website
- Cost: Calvert Marine Museum Admission
The hexagon screw-pole cottage-style Choptank River Lighthouse was one of three left along the Chesapeake Bay before it was removed from its pilings and moved two miles to its current resting place.
The 46 foot, 1½ story structure now sits outside the Calvert Marine Museum, where you can visit the lighthouse throughout the year.
Take a guided tour through the sitting room, bedrooms and kitchen before spiraling up the staircase to the second-floor bedroom and the fog bell. From there, you can climb higher to see the lens.
Lightship Chesapeake
- Address: Pier 3, Baltimore, MD 21202
- Website
After spending over 50 years guiding maritime ships through the Chesapeake Bay, the lightship became one of the Historic Ships in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
Visit the Chesapeake at Pier 3 and explore the over 50,000 objects and photographs that tell the lightship’s and sailor’s stories.
Piney Point Lighthouse
- Address: 44720 Lighthouse Rd, Piney Point, MD 20674
- More Information
- Open: Daily 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM April – December
Along the Potomac, you will find the 33-foot tall Piney Point Lighthouse at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The lighthouse was built in 1836, making it the oldest Potomac River light.
Take time to climb the 20 steps up the spiral staircase and ladder to the lantern room. Here you will be able to look out over the six-acre park, historic boats, museum, and boardwalk.
Next door to the lighthouse is the keeper’s cottage which houses the museum filled with local history and exhibits on the WWII Black Panther German submarine that is just off the shore.
Spend the day enjoying the park. There is a picnic area, sandy beach and a kayak launch.
Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse
- Address: 301 E. Pratt St., Baltimore, MD 21202
- Website
- Open year-round: check website for hours
Relocated from the Patapsco River to Pier 5 in the Baltimore Inner Harbor, Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse is Maryland’s oldest screw-pile lighthouse museum.
The 165-year-old lighthouse offers visitors a fantastic view overlooking the Baltimore Harbor and wonderful exhibits that includes information about the area’s lighthouses and artifacts from them.
Turkey Point Lighthouse
- Address: Turkey Point Lighthouse Trail, North East, MD 21901
- Open: May – October weekends from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- Cost: Free
The Turkey Point Lighthouse has a 35-foot tower that sits 100-feet up on a bluff above the Chesapeake Bay. The Elk Neck State Park bluff site makes it the bay’s third-highest light above the water.
To get to the lighthouse, you will have to walk 0.8-miles from the parking lot to the lighthouse.
At the site, there are port-a-potties during open months, but no running water or electricity. There also are several benches to sit on around the lighthouse.
Bethel Bridge Lighthouse
- Address: 815 Bethel Road, Chesapeake City, MD 21915
Before the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal was deepened, widened, and the locks removed, the original 30-foot tall Bethel Bridge Lighthouse warned sailors of the Bethel Bridge.
Today outside the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Museum, you will find a full-sized replica of this lighthouse.
Cove Point Lighthouse
- Address: 3500 Lighthouse Blvd., Lusby, MD 20657
- Open: May through September, Wednesday and Sunday 12:00 – 4:00 PM
- Website
The 51-foot stucco and brick tower of Cove Point Lighthouse was built in 1828 and is still working to navigate ships through the Chesapeake Bay.
During the summer months, pay a visit to the lighthouse base, ring the fog bell, and explore the grounds, including views of Calvert Cliffs.
Extend your stay by renting the beautiful keeper’s house that sleeps up to 16 for a night.
Fort Washington Lighthouse
- Address: Fort Washington, MD 20744
Although Light 80 only stands 18½ feet tall, it guided ships past Digges Point on the Potomac River for over 100 years before becoming inactive in 2020.
View the lighthouse from inside the fort or take the paved path from the fort entrance to the river.
Point Lookout Lighthouse
- Address: 11175 Point Lookout Road, Scotland, MD 20687
- Open April – November during monthly Open House Events only
- Website
The Point Lookout Lighthouse Complex offers visitors a chance to explore this lighthouse after traveling through the woods to the tiny peninsula surrounded by the Chesapeake Bay on Point Lookout State Park.
The two-story cottage with the lantern room on top boasts a 300o scenic water view.
The lighthouse complex is popular with ghost hunters, and the lighthouse society hosts paranormal nights.
Blackistone Island Lighthouse
- Address: St. Clements Island State Park, 38370 Point Breeze Rd., Coltons Point, MD 20626
- Website
- Water Taxi Runs March 25 – October 31, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM.
On the backs of Saint Clements Island State Park, you will find the Blackistone Island Lighthouse replica. The island and lighthouse are only reachable by boat.
If you are not sailing the Saint Mary’s or Potomac Rivers, head to the St. Clement’s Island Museum. They have a water taxi that will shuttle you to the island to see the lighthouse, walk the island trails, enjoy a picnic, and see the memorial to the first Maryland colonists looking for religious freedom.
Hooper Strait Lighthouse
- Address: 213 N Talbot St, St Michaels, MD 21663
- Website
Since the Hooper Strait Lighthouse’s move to St. Michaels in 1966, the 19th-century lighthouse has become part of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.
The lighthouse exhibits provide guests a sense of being offshore in the middle of the bay.
A climb to the top of the lighthouse provides a terrific view of the St. Michaels’ harbor and Miles River.
Before heading to the museum, visit some of the St. Michaels restaurants and merchants. $20 worth of receipts will get you a $3 discount at the museum.
Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse
- Address: Thomas Point Shoal, Annapolis, MD 21403
- Tours: Several Saturdays from June – October 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM
- Website
Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse is Maryland’s most famous and last screw-pile lighthouse in its original Chesapeake Bay site.
Tours leave from the Annapolis Maritime Museum at 723 Second St Annapolis, MD 21403 and travel 1½ miles into the Chesapeake Bay to the South River’s mouth before tying up to the moorings at Thomas Point.
Lighthouses in Maryland to See from Afar
Lazaretto Point Lighthouse
- Address: 3100 Mertens St, Baltimore, MD 21224
In 1985 the 31-foot Lazaretto Point Lighthouse replica was built using the original plans and honors Norman G. Rukert Sr. who loved the local waterfront and was a historian.
Now located on the Lehigh Cement Corporation property, you can either view the lighthouse from across the river at Fort McHenry or ask permission at the cement office to walk or drive to the lighthouse.
Maryland Lighthouse Cruises
Sawyer Charters
- Address: 1747 Hoopersville Road, Fishing Creek, MD 21634
- Website
Hop aboard the Sawyer Charter boat and sail past six lighthouses, including:
- Hoopers Island Light
- Point No Point Light
- Point Lookout Light
- Smith Point Light (VA)
- Solomons Lump Light
- Holland Island Bar Light
Chesapeake Bay Tours
- Address: Queen Anne Marina, 412 Congressional Dr, Stevensville, MD 21666
- Website
- Times: 2:30 – 5:30 PM or 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Chesapeake Bay Tours offers charter boat tours seven days a week from April through December.
Their scenic Chesapeake Bay tour will take you past the following lighthouses:
- Baltimore Lighthouse
- Bloody Point Lighthouse
- Sandy Point Lighthouse
- Thomas Point Lighthouse
Watermark Journey
- Address: Annapolis City Dock, 1 Dock Street, Annapolis MD, 21401
- Website
Sit back and relax on Watermark’s 3-hour Chesapeake Bay Lighthouses Cruise.
This cruise will take you past:
- Baltimore Harbor
- Sandy Point Shole
- Thomas Point Shoal lighthouses
Galloway Charters
- Address: 1121 cold Spring Road, Middle River, MD 21220
- Tours: weekdays
- Website
Join Captain Bob Krausman on the water for a lighthouse tour. The trip passes Pooles Island Lighthouse.
If someone in your party is active duty military, let them know when you book your cruise for a discount.
Island Chill Yacht Charters
- Address: 832 Shore Dr · Edgewater, MD 21037
- Website
Island Chill has a 4-hour powerboat lighthouse tour that glides you past:
- Bloody Point Bar
- Sandy Point Shoal
- Thomas Point Lighthouses
Kayak Training
- Address: 908 S Washington St, Havre De Grace, MD 21078
- Website
Launch a kayak from the Millard Tydings Marina for a day of paddling.
Take to the northern Chesapeake Bay waters as you paddle between 8 and 18 miles to three islands to see:
- Concord
- Fishing Battery
- Turkey Point Lighthouses
