Tour Pomham Rocks Lighthouse

Located on an island just offshore from Riverside, RI, Pomham Rocks Lighthouse is the last standing historic lighthouse on the Providence River.

The Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation, offers public tours from mid-June through September.

Tour Information:

Enjoy a tour of the historic 1871 Pomham Rocks Lighthouse. The last of five lighthouses situated on the Providence River, this lighthouse is still a working navigational light and has been beautifully restored both inside and out.

To get to Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, you will take a 10-minute boat ride to the island from the Edgewood Yacht Club in Cranston and sail across the Bay to the lighthouse.Our tours will also give a nod to the other lighthouses that lit the way for mariners since the nineteenth century at the northern end of the Bay.

After a brief outdoor introduction to the lighthouse and its history, guests may enter the house where you will learn more about how a lighthouse operated and how the keepers and their families lived. Our knowledgeable docents will share stories and there are numerous storyboards throughout the lighthouse to help guide you through the history that also includes other local lighthouses and their keepers.

In 2021, as part of the 150th anniversary of its first lighting on December 1, 1871, the fourth-order Fresnel lens was returned to the lighthouse from the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport, MA. Step into the parlor where you will see this absolutely stunning artifact of lighthouse history. Throughout the lighthouse you will be able to view many authentic artifacts including brass items that were used during the United States Lighthouse Establishment, Service and Coast Guard periods.

After touring the historic interior, there is an optional climb to the lantern room where you will enjoy beautiful views of Narragansett Bay and the working port of Providence. With luck you will experience one of the huge tankers going by, seemingly so close you could almost touch it!

While on the island, don’t miss a visit to the gift shop located in the former oil room!

Visit pomhamrockslighthouse.org/tours for more details and to book your tour today!

Tour FAQs:

• Tours offered late-May through August
• Duration: 1.5 hours
• Reservations required
• All tour participants must be at least 6 years of age
• Due to the location, we are not handicap-accessible