The St. Augustine Lighthouse is swapping its usual nighttime beam for a glow of holiday lights this winter. Lighthouse Illuminations: Tides, Tidings, and Trees returns to the grounds on select evenings starting November 20 and running through January 16, bringing themed Christmas trees, festive decor and after-dark climbs to the 1874 tower.
Trees, Garland and a Climb With a View
According to Visit St. Augustine, the event decorates the lighthouse, keeper's house and museum grounds with garland, twinkling lights and holiday decor, with 20 themed Christmas trees placed around the grounds and inside the building. Visitors willing to make the climb can also catch St. Augustine's famed Nights of Lights display from the top of the lighthouse, the listing notes. As with regular lighthouse tours, only those at least 44 inches tall are permitted to climb.
The event marks the return of a seasonal tradition at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, as St. Augustine, Florida highlighted in a Facebook post announcing this year's Tides, Tidings, and Trees theme. The museum sits at 100 Red Cox Road, per the Visit St. Augustine listing, putting it within easy reach of the downtown Nights of Lights crowds.
How Many Trees, Exactly? Sources Disagree
Not every account agrees on the tree count. The current Visit St. Augustine listing puts the number at 20 themed trees for this year's event, while an official page from the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum describes the holiday showcase as featuring 21 uniquely decorated trees, each with its own theme. The discrepancy traces back at least to the 2024-25 season, when a report from Heritage Publishing also described twenty-one adorned trees, each telling its own distinct story.
Ticket prices have shifted since last season as well. The outlet's report on the 2024-25 event listed admission at $24.95 for adults and seniors alike, with children 12 and under paying $22.95. This year's listing separates those categories, setting admission at $26.95 for adults and teens, $24.95 for seniors, and $22.95 for children 12 and younger.
A Tradition Years in the Making
The nighttime climb-and-lights format isn't new. The same report on the prior season described visitors experiencing Nights of Lights from the top of the lighthouse during that run, which stretched across select days between November 22, 2024, and January 11, 2025. Years earlier, the museum's own event page described a simpler structure, with daytime general admission granting access to seasonally decorated grounds and buildings ahead of separate after-hours illumination tickets, and noted that spots were filling up quickly due to limited availability.
Whether this year's grounds hold 20 trees or 21, the draw remains the same: a historic working lighthouse dressed for the holidays, with a bay-view climb thrown in for those tall enough and willing to brave the stairs.
