Sandy Point Shoal Lighthouse

The Sandy Point Shoal Lighthouse is the red brick lighthouse standing in the Chesapeake Bay about 1,000 yards east of the beach at Sandy Point State Park, roughly a mile and a half north of the Bay Bridge. It was built in 1883 and guided ships past the sand shoals off the point until 2019. It is privately owned and not open to the public, but you can see it from the park's shore at any time the park is open.

Can You Visit the Lighthouse?

No. Maryland DNR says the lighthouse is privately owned and closed to the public. There is no tour, and it stands in open water. The way to see it is from Sandy Point State Park: from the beach or the jetties.

Where to See It From

The lighthouse sits in 5 to 7 feet of water east of the beach. Walk out along South Beach or stand on one of the rock jetties for a clear view across the water.

The park opens at 7 a.m. Anglers can be in the park around the clock while fishing, but anyone just looking must keep to park hours. See hours.

How the Lighthouse Is Built

The 1883 station is a caisson lighthouse, a type built in many places around the Chesapeake Bay. A wooden foundation holds a round cast iron cylinder, 35 feet across and filled with cement. A two-and-a-half-story brick house, 24 by 24 feet with cut corners, sits on top. The brick was not painted at first; it is red now. The first two floors were the keepers' living quarters, the third level was the watch room, and the space inside the iron cylinder stored water, coal and oil. The lantern held a fourth-order Fresnel lens.

A Short History

• 1850s: The first Sandy Point light was a brick tower on land, where the park is today. It was in a poor spot and did not do the job well.
• 1883: The offshore caisson light station replaced it.
• 1929: Electrified.
• 1963: Fully automated.
• 2002: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a good surviving example of a Chesapeake caisson light.
• 2019: The light station stopped serving as an active aid to navigation.
• Today: Privately owned.

There is an interpretive sign about the lighthouse in the park, one of several waysides on Sandy Point's history. Read more on the park history page.

Nearby

The lighthouse is part of the view that makes the beach and the fishing jetties worth a visit outside swimming season. Pair it with a walk on the Symbi or Blue Crab trails.