General ADA Info: The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and Museum and Constance D. Hunter Historic Pacetti Hotel Museum welcome guests with accessibility needs and provides ADA compliant accommodations throughout both historic sites when possible. NOTE: Some areas of the Ponce Inlet Light Station and Pacetti Hotel are not ADA accessible due to the negative impact making such alterations would have on the authenticity and integrity of the historic structures. We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause during your visit.
Please contact us via email at lighthouse@ponceinlet.org or by phone at (386) 761-1821, ext. 10 for more information regarding museum accessibility for people with disabilities.
Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and Museum ADA Accessibility:
- Parking: ADA-compliant parking spaces are located in the lower parking lot directly in front of the main entrance and gift shop.
- Main Entrance: Guests must pass through the gift shop to gain entry to the historic light station and museum. A wheelchair ramp is located at south end of the gift shop’s front porch for those in need.
- Restrooms: All museum restroom facilities are ADA compliant. Restrooms can be found inside the gift shop and on the historic grounds in the Restroom/Group Entrance building.
- Building Accessibility: All of the light station’s publically accessible buildings are wheelchair accessible. Ramps are installed on all three keeper dwellings as well as the Woodshed Theater and Gift Shop. Ramps are not needed to access the Restroom Building, Cuban Raft Exhibit Area, Tool Shed/Radio Room Building, Ayres Davies Lens Exhibit Building, or Oil Storage House. Please refer to the map below for ramp locations.
- Walkways: Brick walkways link all of the light station’s publically accessible historic structures.
- Ayers Davies Lens Exhibit Building: Two stairways provide direct access to the second floor observation platform inside the lens exhibit building. Disabled access to this upper area is provided via a wheelchair lift located in the east stairwell. A mural of the view looking south from the top of the lighthouse is featured on the second level to provide those who cannot climb the tower the opportunity to see what it is like. Please notify a gift shop sales associate of your need to utilize the lens building’s wheel chair lift and a staff member will be provided to assist you.
- Tower: The lighthouse is not equipped with ADA conveniences. People often ask why there isn’t an elevator. The Ponce inlet Lighthouse is not alone in this regards. Of the approximate 700 surviving lighthouses in the U.S., only Sullivan’s Island Lighthouse in Charleston, NC has an elevator. Installing an elevator in the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is simply not feasible given its structural design, overall height, and historic nature. Visitors must therefore climb 203 steps to reach the top the lighthouse. Both the granite steps leading into the tower and spiral staircase leading to the top feature handrails. Landings are located every 21 steps for those who need to rest.
- Coastal Hammock Trail: The light station’s coastal hammock is a primitive area. The hammock’s trail system winds its way through trees and native undergrowth. The cleared trails consist of both soft and hard-packed sand as well as vegetation covered soil.
- Service Animals: Trained Service Animals are permitted. A service animal is one trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. Service Animals should remain on a leash or harness at all times and remain under the handler’s control.
Historic Pacetti Hotel Museum ADA Accommodations:
- ADA Parking: Dedicated ADA parking slots are located directly behind the historic Pacetti Hotel.
- Driveway and General Parking: The surface of the Pacetti Hotel Museum’s entry and exit driveways and general parking area consists of compressed shell and is not paved. However, an uninterrupted concrete walkway does provide ADA access to the hotel from the street.
- Restrooms: The Pacetti Hotel Museum’s public restroom facility is ADA compliant.
- Pacetti Hotel Interior Accessibility: People with disabilities may access the hotel’s main entrance via a paved pathway along the west side of the building that is connected to an ADA ramp at the front porch. An additional ADA ramp is located at the rear of the hotel near the back door. The first floor of the hotel is fully ADA-accessible; however, the second floor can only be reached by climbing a flight of stairs and is not wheelchair accessible. The hotel is not equipped with an elevator or lift.
- Pacetti Hotel Dock: Although typically closed to the public, portions of the hotel dock are ADA accessible.
- Pacetti Hotel Walkways: Solid surface walkways provide ADA-compliant access to the hotel, restroom facility, and dock, and river walk area.
- Pacetti Hotel Historic Grounds: Most of the Pacetti Hotels are covered with sod. Other areas consist of uneven surfaces featuring occasional patches of both soft and hard-packed sand, soil, and vegetation.
- Service Animals: Although pets are not allowed on the museum’s grounds, the Association recognizes that some guests may require the assistance of a service animal while visiting. A “service animal” is defined as a dog that is specifically trained to assist, do work, or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. Service animals are by legal definition, not pets. In accordance with Florida Statute F.S.A. 413.08, any visitor with a disability may be accompanied by a service animal while visiting the museum. Service animals in training are also allowed.
