Standing at the northern tip of Pompano Beach where the Intracoastal meets the Atlantic, the Hillsboro Lighthouse has been guiding ships along the South Florida coast since 1907. It’s one of the most powerful lighthouses in the Western Hemisphere, and it’s in the backyard of one of the most underrated beach towns in Florida — yet most Pompano residents have never seen it up close.
The Hillsboro Lighthouse Preservation Society runs boat tours to the lighthouse on scheduled Saturdays throughout the year, and the spring months are among the best times to go. The water is calm, the light is ideal for photography, and the tours include a genuine history lesson about the lighthouse’s role in Florida maritime navigation.
The structure itself is a cast iron screw-pile design — relatively rare among Florida lighthouses — and has survived multiple major hurricanes over its 119-year history. The Coast Guard maintains the light; the preservation society ensures the public has access to it.
For those who want the view without the boat, the Hillsboro Inlet area accessible from A1A offers good sightlines of the lighthouse from shore, particularly in the late afternoon when the light begins to activate as dusk approaches.
The lighthouse is the kind of landmark that people move away from Pompano and only then realize they should have visited. Don’t be that person. It’s worth a Saturday morning.
