Finns Point Rear Range Light

Finns Point looks almost nothing like the coastal towers that dominate lighthouse calendars. It is a tall, open-frame wrought-iron range light built to work as part of a paired navigation system on the Delaware River.

Range lights solve a different problem from seacoast lights. Mariners line up a front light and a taller rear light; when the two appear vertically aligned, the vessel is on the intended channel line. Finns Point was built in the 1870s as part of a system marking the approach from Delaware Bay into the river.

The rear light now stands within Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists the 2026 Lighthouse Challenge weekend as one of the tower's special public opening dates and notes that openings can be weather dependent.

Project-management note

This is a schedule checkpoint. If you reach Finns Point around 3 p.m. Sunday, the project is healthy. If you are arriving after 4:30, stop doing anything optional. Tinicum is still roughly 29 miles away by the Challenge route.

Worth noticing nearby

Fort Mott State Park is nearby and is one of the best historical pairings in the state: late-nineteenth-century Delaware River coastal defense, gun batteries, trails and river views. In October the park closes at 4 p.m., which makes it a poor Challenge-day add-on and a very good return-trip destination.

Stop facts

SOURCE NOTES

• USFWS — Supawna Meadows / Finns Point
• NJDEP — Fort Mott