Fenwick Island Lighthouse

Overview

In the 1850s the U.S. Lighthouse Board pushed for a light to help mariners avoid Fenwick Shoals about six miles offshore. Congress funded the station; the lamp was first lit August 1, 1859. The plastered brick tower stands about 87 feet with a conical outer tower, inner cylinder, and originally a third-order Fresnel lens (white tower with black lantern).

The U.S. Coast Guard automated the light in 1940 and decommissioned it in 1978—the Fresnel lens was removed and the light went dark. Public pressure helped transfer ownership to the State of Delaware; a symbolic electric light returned in the early 1980s, and the third-order Fresnel lens was later restored. Today the State leases operations to the New Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse; the site functions as a museum and private aid to navigation and is listed on the National Register.

The New Friends (organized 2007 under Winnie Lewis, granddaughter of a former keeper, continuing work begun by Paul Pepper’s Friends group in 1982) staff seasonal visiting hours with donations and volunteers. The State of Delaware does not allow public climbing of the tower—plan for grounds, exhibits at the base, and photos, not a spiral-stair ascent.

The lighthouse grounds also hold the eastern Transpeninsular Line marker (1751), the stone that helped fix the Delaware–Maryland boundary and the peninsula’s midpoint—Calvert arms on the south face and Penn arms on the north.

At a glance

Summarized from operator and park listings—confirm fees, hours, and closures before you go.

Address

146th Street, Fenwick Island, Delaware (west of Coastal Highway / state-line corridor)

Operator

New Friends of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse (State of Delaware owner)

Tower climbing

Not allowed — State of Delaware policy

Rain policy

Closed on rainy days (per Friends visiting-hours page)

Season pattern (verify live)

Typically April–October with month-by-month day windows; closed ~November–March

Summer peak windows (2026 Friends schedule — verify)

July–August often Thu–Mon 9 a.m.–1 p.m.; shoulder months often shorter morning windows

Passport program

Participating U.S. Lighthouse Society Passport stamp location

Anniversary

First lighting August 1, 1859 — Friends celebrate midsummer anniversary / National Lighthouse Day events

Getting there from Ocean City

Drive Coastal Highway north to the Maryland–Delaware line. Turn west on 146th Street; the lighthouse is a short distance on the right. Keepers’ dwellings nearby are private homes—stay on public access and do not block residential drives on Lighthouse Lane / Gray’s Lane approaches.

What a visit is like

• Volunteer-hosted seasonal access to the light-station museum area at the base—not a climbable tower tour.
• Photo stop + short history visit; donations support volunteer stewardship.
• Pair with DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum a few minutes away on Coastal Highway, or continue north to Fenwick Island State Park.
• Special anniversary and National Lighthouse Day programming can change hours—check the Friends visiting-hours page.

FAQ