Follow the light of the full moon on a rare nighttime climb up the 199 cast iron spiral staircase steps to the top of the Cape May Lighthouse. Lighthouse Full Moon Climb. You’ll experience a nighttime view nearly 156 feet above the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Interpretive panels located at landings along the way tell stories of Lighthouse Keepers, the surrounding area and how the lighthouse functioned historically. The 1859 Cape May Lighthouse is a state historic site and the third beacon on this site. Still an active aid to navigation, it was restored and is maintained by Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture). Since it opened to the public in 1988, more than 2.5 million visitors have climbed to the top, but far fewer have climbed at nighttime.