The nights are crisp; the leaves are changing; and pumpkin spice is back. You know what that means! Not only is Halloween around the corner, but so is the annual Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey! This year, the event will take place on Saturday, October 19th and Sunday, October 20th.  

Through the challenge, participants will be able to experience 11 lighthouses, 3 lifesaving stations, and 1 museum. “The challenge route covers the Atlantic Coast from Sandy Hook to Cape May and the Delaware Bay and River Coast from Cape May to Paulsboro.” There is no pre-determined starting point, so you can plan your own route! Pre-registration is not required, so you also can go at your own pace!  

The goal of the challenge is to visit all 15 stops before the end of the weekend and to learn more about the history of these brilliant resources along NJ’s coastline. For a small fee of $5, challenge participants will be able to collect souvenirs from each location. Participants may also climb the lighthouses (for an additional fee)! If participants complete the challenge, they will receive a special sticker and will be entered to win 1 of 3 prizes! The grand prize is worth more than $500, this year!   

In addition to browsing Journey Through Jersey for a sneak peak of some of the luminous sites you will encounter during the challenge, check out some fun facts about lighthouses to brighten your day! 

1. The first lighthouse was Egypt’s Pharos of Alexandria, built in the third century BC. The lighthouse of Alexandria was made from a fire on a platform to signal the port entrance. 

2. The oldest existing lighthouse in the U.S. is in Sandy Hook, NJ. The beacon built in 1764 is still in operation. Part of the construction budget for the lighthouse was paid for by the sale of lottery tickets and the other part by shipping interests in New York City. 

3. The United States is home to more lighthouses than any other country. NJ is home to 23 of them! 

4. Lighthouse keeping was one of the first U.S. government jobs available to women, going back to the 19th century. In fact, the Sandy Hook Lighthouse is on the New Jersey Women’s Heritage Trail due to the contributions of Sarah Patterson Johnson, Assistant Lighthouse Keeper! 

5. Developed in 1822 by French physicist Augustin Fresnel, the Fresnel lens is a collection of glass prisms that bend light into a powerful beam that can be seen up to 28 miles away! The Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City still retains its original Fresnel lens! If you want an up-close view of a Fresnel lens, the original first order lens of the Cape May Lighthouse is on display at the nearby Cape May Museum! 

6. Lighthouses are often given distinctive characteristics such as different shapes, sizes, colors, and light patterns to serve as landmarks for ship captains seeking to identify their position along a coastline. Check out the Journey Through Jersey sites for a preview of some of the lighthouse styles you will encounter during the Lighthouse Challenge! 

7. To aid ships during foggy weather when visibility is limited, lighthouses are often equipped with fog signals such as horns, bells, sirens, or even cannons. To see the process of how foghorns are started and to hear what they sound like, check out this video: Sounding the Sumburgh Foghorn. 

8. The height of a lighthouse considers the curvature of the earth, so the higher light above MHW (mean high water), the further away it can be seen at sea. But the light should not be so high up that local sailors will not see it. This is why you will frequently get shorter lighthouses on the top of cliffs and taller lighthouses built nearer the water surface. 

Now that you are enlightened about lighthouses, are you ready to participate in the annual challenge? 

To learn more about the Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey including directions and site hours, check out their website: https://lighthousechallengenj....

Let us know if you joined the Lighthouse Challenge by tagging #JOURNEYTHROUGHJERSEY in your social media posts! Also, consider submitting your Lighthouse challenge photos to the Journey Through Jersey Fall for New Jersey History Photo Contest!