When does the season start at the south end of Gasparilla Island? The state's answer is November. That's when the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse Museum moves to its winter schedule and opens on Sundays again. But the Barrier Island Parks Society calendar already has both of the island's lighthouses booked for climbs in the last full week of October.
For anyone living near Hill Tide Estates, the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse is close by. The Gasparilla Island Lighthouse, better known as the Range Light, stands farther up Gulf Boulevard. The two run on different days, different hours and different prices, and the group that schedules both isn't the state.
Two lighthouses, two addresses, one friends group
The Port Boca Grande Lighthouse sits inside Gasparilla Island State Park at 880 Belcher Road. It was built in 1890 to guide ships into Charlotte Harbor, and it's an iron screw-pile design with a wood frame. Florida State Parks calls it one of only six lighthouses in Florida open to the public, and the only one on the west coast. The state operates it with help from its friends group, the Barrier Island Parks Society.
The Range Light stands at 220 Gulf Blvd. The same society lists climbs there too. One nonprofit sets the climb calendar for both towers, so the society's event page is where the fall schedule actually comes together.
The museum inside the Port lighthouse runs on a simpler rule. Admission is free with park entry. Volunteer docents walk visitors through Calusa history, the island's phosphate era and Boca Grande Pass tarpon fishing, and a "please touch" area holds local bones, fossils and shells. Here's how the hours change with the season:
- June through October: Tuesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Sundays and Mondays
- November through May: Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Mondays
- Year-round: closed on major holidays
That's one extra day a week, and it arrives on the first Sunday of November. The climbs to the top are a separate program, and they start sooner.
The climb calendar, October through December
The society runs history-tour climbs at the Port lighthouse on Fridays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Range Light climbs fall on Wednesdays and Saturdays and usually run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. These are the dates on the society's calendar as of mid-October:
| Date | Lighthouse | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 23 | Port Boca Grande, history-tour climb | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Gasparilla Island Range Light | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Wed., Oct. 28 | Gasparilla Island Range Light | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Port Boca Grande, history-tour climb | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Gasparilla Island Range Light | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Wed., Nov. 4 | Gasparilla Island Range Light | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 6 | Port Boca Grande, history-tour climb | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Gasparilla Island Range Light | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Wed., Nov. 11 | Gasparilla Island Range Light | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Port Boca Grande, history-tour climb | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Gasparilla Island Range Light | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Port Boca Grande, history-tour climb | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Gasparilla Island Range Light | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Wed., Nov. 25 | Gasparilla Island Range Light | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Port Boca Grande, history-tour climb | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Gasparilla Island Range Light | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Wed., Dec. 2 | Gasparilla Island Range Light | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Port Boca Grande, history-tour climb | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Gasparilla Island Range Light | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Wed., Dec. 9 | Gasparilla Island Range Light | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | Port Boca Grande, history-tour climb | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 18 | Port Boca Grande, history-tour climb | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
Prices differ between the two towers. A Range Light climb costs $15 for adults and $5 for children under 12, and the fees support the society's historic lighthouses. The Port lighthouse climb costs $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12, with proceeds going to lighthouse preservation. Both are listed as dated events, so the Range Light opens for climbs on those days, not as a daily attraction. The society's events page is the place to check before driving down, because dates can be added to the schedule as the season goes on.
The Wednesday hours change too. The Range Light climbs on Oct. 28 and Nov. 4 end at 2 p.m. Every other Range Light date on the calendar runs until 4 p.m.
Pirate Day and the first Brew With A View
Two events this fall aren't climbs, and both happen at the Port lighthouse.
Pirate Day runs Saturday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 880 Belcher Road. The society bills it as a treasure-and-adventure morning at the lighthouse. It's the same day as a Range Light climb, so on that Saturday both towers have something going on.
A Brew With A View is a monthly morning gathering at the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse & Museum. It pairs local coffee with a short talk on coastal topics. The November session is Wednesday, Nov. 4, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Ashey Cook of the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center will speak on vertical oyster gardens. The listing doesn't give a price or ask for an RSVP. The coffee ends at 10:30, and that morning's Range Light climb runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Gulf Boulevard, so both fit into one late morning.
The society's fundraising calendar ties back to the towers too. Its charity golf tournament, The Light Keeper's Open, is set for Nov. 2 at Coral Creek Club and benefits the preservation and protection of the Gasparilla Island Lighthouse. The society asked golfers and sponsors to RSVP by Oct. 19. Climb fees, coffee mornings and a golf day all pay for the same two towers.
Paying at the gate changed on Oct. 5
Any visit to the Port lighthouse starts with park entry, and that changed this month. Since Oct. 5, 2026, Gasparilla Island State Park entrance fees at the Dunes parking lot are paid at a Remote Off Grid Kiosk that takes credit and debit cards on a touchscreen. Here's how the first visit of the season works:
- At the Dunes lot, pay at the kiosk by card.
- Put the printed receipt on your dashboard as proof of payment.
- At any of the other lots, keep using the QR code or the website, as before.
The fee is still $3 per vehicle. The park is open 8 a.m. to sunset, every day of the year. The park has five parking lots, and two of them, Sandspur and the Boca Grande Lighthouse lot, have picnic pavilions. Florida State Parks also notes that shelling along the Gulf is particularly good in the winter months, and the climb calendar runs into that stretch. A Friday climb, a picnic at the Lighthouse lot pavilion and an hour on the beach can all go on one $3 receipt.
The other museum on the south end
The lighthouse museum isn't the only place to see the island's history near the south end. On the front dock at Whidden's Marina, the Gasparilla Island Maritime Museum fills the Red Gill Fish House, and the Whidden family opens it daily for visitors. That's according to an August column in the Boca Beacon. The same column says the marina is now run by Isabelle Whidden Joiner's children: Wayne, Melissa, Donna and Leslie. It also describes a front dock where dolphins work the Bayou for mullet.
The marina's centennial weekend has already happened. The Boca Beacon reported a family fish fry with music by Michael P. Haymans and the Hibiscus Band on Saturday, Oct. 17. Our earlier post on Whidden's hundredth year and the state park's plans has the longer background. Unlike the climbs, the maritime museum in the fish house is open every day.
Maryjo has lived on the island for years and pays attention to these small seasonal schedules all through the year. If you'd like to talk about what life near the lighthouses is like, from the climb dates to the quiet weeks after season, LiveBocaGrande is glad to share what she knows over coffee. Schedule Your Free Consultation.
