A Guiding Light


Standing at the mouth of the Boca Grande Pass, the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse provides a guiding light for ships transitioning from the Gulf of Mexico into Charlotte Harbor. Since 1890, the lighthouse have navigated ships into the harbor and the nearby Port Boca Grande. Over the years, the need for the lighthouse diminished as a newer lighthouse was installed nearby and the port was eventually closed, but the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse survived demolition by both natural means (hurricanes, coastal erosion) and human means (decay and demo). Today the restored lighthouse is a museum and part of the Gasparilla Island State Park. 

Gasparilla Island State Park is a barrier island park featuring several miles of coastline and beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. Within the boundaries of the park, both lighthouses are preserved. Visitors can tour the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse as it is one of only six lighthouses in Florida that the public can tour. The taller Gasparilla Island Rear Range Light is located a few miles away near the beginning of the park. You can not tour that lighthouse but can walk the grounds of it. 

Taken: March 27, 2010 at Gasparilla Island State Park (Boca Grande, FL)
Location: Gasparilla Island State Park, 880 Belcher Rd, Boca Grande, FL 33921, USA

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