Take Part in the Lighthouse Challenge of NJ This Weekend

How many lighthouses can you see in one weekend? This is something great to conquer with your family!

The NJ Lighthouses and select museums will once again be hosting The Lighthouse Challenge of NJ this weekend, Oct. 15th and 16th, 2016. Visitors will enjoy an opportunity to tour our great state and visit each lighthouse over the weekend, and help raise needed funds for the continued preservation of these treasured landmarks.

Hours of operation and location for each lighthouse can be found by CLICKING HERE!

These majestic beacons have played an important role in NJ history, guiding mariners and protecting our coasts for over a century. Lighthouses serve as a reminder of American ingenuity while honoring the values of safety and heroism. Visit the lighhouses and museums on the Challenge for an opportunity to step back in time and learn more about our state and country's history.

Here are the lighthouses of Monmouth County -- which is the only county in our state that has three working lighthouses!

-- Sandy Hook Lighthouse -- This is the oldest operating lighthouse in the U.S. and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located in Highlands at the northern end of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. Beautifully well-preserved, this unique octagonal tower dates back to the 18th century and has been in service since 1764. Except for being darkened during the Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I and World War II, the beacon continuously operates. The Lighthouse is located on the post grounds of Fort Hancock and is just one of the many interesting tourist attractions at Sandy Hook. Visitors enjoy climbing the 95 steps and the nine-rung ladder to the lens room at the top. (84 Mercer Road, Highlands (in Sandy Hook) 732-872-5970.

-- Twin Lights of the Navesink -- Towering 250 feet above the Sandy Hook Bay, the Twin Lights remain one of the highest points along the coast, while also marking the location of our country's first Fresnel lens. Guglielmo Marconi demonstrated the first practical use of the wireless telegraph from Navesink in 1899; the first lamp to be fueled by kerosene were used here in 1883, and it was one of the first electrically lit seacoast lighthouses in the country in 1898. The present day brownstone double lighthouses were built in 1862 on the original site of the 1828 lighthouses. The building houses a museum of lighthouse and lifesaving station artifacts. Lighthouse Road, off Rt. 36, highlands. 732-872-1814.

-- Sea Girt Lighthouse -- An L-shaped Victorian building, the Sea Girt Lighthouse first shone in 1896, projecting its flashing beacon for 15 miles. Like most lighthouses of its time, its fourth-order Fresnel lens revolved on ball bearings driven by clock works. Originally built to bridge the 45-mile gap between Barnegat Light and Twin Lights, the square red brick tower attached to a keeper's dwelling was decommissioned in 1945. Located at 9 Ocean Ave. & Beacon Blvd., Sea Girt. 732-974-0514.