On Sept. 19 and 20, the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society and the Maryland Lighthouse Organizations will host the 2009 Maryland Lighthouse Challenge – “Celebrating Maryland’s 375th Birthday!”

Throughout that weekend, the public is invited to participate in this fun-filled event showcasing the state’s historic sentinels, including: the Chesapeake Lightship, Concord Point, Cove Point, Drum Point, Fort Washington, Hooper Strait, Piney Point, Point Lookout, Seven-Foot Knoll and Turkey Point.

This award-winning driving tour will take participants to some of the most picturesque spots in the state along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary, the Potomac River. At the first lighthouse visited, participants will receive the event brochure, which includes driving instructions to all the lights.

At each lighthouse stop along the route, they will receive a complimentary souvenir depicting that lighthouse. It is not necessary to visit all the lighthouses to participate and they can be visited in any order.

Those who visit all ten lights within the allotted twenty hours will receive a special commemorative souvenir to mark their accomplishment. In celebration of Maryland’s 375th Birthday, organizers are also planning to promote the state and its iconic symbols along this year’s Challenge route—The Blue Crab, Black-eyed Susan, Chesapeake Bay Retriever and Maryland Skipjack among them.
 
For participants’ added viewing pleasure and to really put the “challenge” into the seventh annual event, organizers are again offering two BONUS lights--offshore Sandy Point Shoal (to be viewed offshore from the coast of Maryland’s capital, Annapolis), and the recently constructed Blackistone Lighthouse Replica on St. Clement’s Island.

The island marks the spot of Maryland’s birth where the first colonial landing occurred in 1634; a fitting location to celebrate the state’s 375th birthday. See the brochure here.