Built in 1842, the St. Marks Lighthouse played a pivotal role during the Civil War, when the Union Blockading Squadron was actively attempting to prevent shipping and saltmaking along the coast of Florida.
Despite its light being quenched during the war, it remains a working lighthouse marking the location of the St. Marks River.
Resources
Resources for exploring the area
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Overview
Location: St. Marks
Length: 0.5 mile round-trip along beach
Trailhead: 30.074232, -84.180170
Address: 1255 Lighthouse Rd, St. Marks
Fees: $5 vehicle, $1 bicycle or pedestrian
Restrooms: at the visitor center and Tower Pond
Land manager: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Phone: 850-925-6121
Open sunrise to sunset. The gate on Lighthouse Rd opens at 6 AM and closes after dark. Be alert to alligators along the refuge trails as they are a common sight.
Directions
From US 98 in Newport, follow Lighthouse Drive south into St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and stop to pay the refuge fee at the iron ranger near the Visitor Center. Continue south slowly on the scenic drive to the end of the road. The trail shares the parking area with the Lighthouse Levee Trail.
About the Lighthouse
During the Civil War, Confederates removed the Fresnel lens and hid it the salt marsh to make the lighthouse useless by night.
It remained quite visible by day, so Union soldiers used it as a landmark for a landing point to march towards Tallahassee to force Florida to surrender.
The invading force was turned back at the Battle of Natural Bridge, a site now protected as a Florida State Park.
Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park Memorials and reenactments keep alive the spirits of the soldiers who perished at Natural Bridge during one of the last and largest battles of the Civil War in Florida.Lightkeepers and their families lived inside the lightkeeper’s home attached to the lighthouse until 1960, when the Coast Guard automated the beacon.
The lighthouse is only open for tours several times annually, including on Florida Lighthouse Day and other special events at the refuge.
An unmarked trail leads behind the lighthouse and is accessible at low tide. It follows a peninsula with a small but very pretty beach and views back towards towards the lighthouse and into the marshes.
Explore More!
Learn more about St. Marks NWR
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge Stretching across 86,000 acres in Florida's Big Bend, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge protects one of Florida's longest wild shorelines, more than 43 miles in three counties.Slideshow
See our photos from the St. Marks Lighthouse
Nearby Adventures
St. Marks Lighthouse Levee Trail A windswept walk along the Gulf of Mexico, the Lighthouse Levee Trail provides scenic panoramas of both the Gulf and marsh impoundments near the St. Marks Lighthouse.
Tower Pond Trail At St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, the Tower Pond Trail loops a mile through vast impoundments and marshes along the Gulf of Mexico, providing scenic panoramas and great birding. 
Florida Trail, Apalachee Bay 14.3 miles. Hugging the Big Bend coastline, this hike through Aucilla WMA and St. Marks NWR offers some of the most breathtaking panoramas you'll find along the Florida Trail, and a profusion of wildlife.
Plum Orchard Pond Trail Starting adjacent to the Visitor Center at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, the Plum Orchard Pond Trail is an easy half mile loop that takes you out along Plum Orchard Pond, a great birding stop.
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