Race Point Lighthouse, Provincetown

This light was built in 1876 to replace one established in 1816.  Dangerous currents and offshore shoals cased many shipwrecks off Race Point. The Race Point Lighthouse has been completely restored– just as it was in the early 1950’s—thanks to generous donations and the efforts of very dedicated group of volunteers.  You and your family can spend up to four nights as guests at this historical site located within the Cape Coed National Seashore in Provincetown.  Directions:  Inaccessible by road.  From Route 6, turn at lights onto Race Point Road and follow to its end.  Park in lot at Race Point Coast Guard Station.  Walk along beach about two miles to Race Point Light.  www.racepointlighthouse.net. 

Wood End Light, Provincetown

This unusual, square lighthouse, established in 1873, was the center of a thriving fishing community until the late 1800s.  It is a twin to Long Point Light guarding the entrance to Provincetown Harbor.  The lighthouse is now solar-powered.  Directions:  Inaccessible by road.  Park at Rotary at west end of Commercial Street.  Walk across breakwater, then bear straight across neck about one-half mile to Wood End Light.  Summer boat service is available from MacMillan Wharf.

Long Point Light, Provincetown

This light was established in 1827 at the isolated tip of Cape Cod.  Two Civil War harbor-defense batteries stood nearby.  In 1952 the lighthouse was automated and solar panels were installed in 1982.  Directions:  Walk across Provincetown breakwater.  Turn left and follow Long Point approximately one and one-half miles to end.  Summer boat service is available from MacMillan Wharf.

Highland Light (Cape Cod Light), Truro

Cape Cod Light has the distinction of being the only one of four Outer-Cape lighthouses listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  In 1794, Reverend James Freeman of the Massachusetts Historical Society, noted that there were “more ships wrecked near the eastern shore of Truro than on any other part of Cape Cod.”  In 1776, 10 acres of land were acquired for the princely sum of $110 from Isaac Small of Truro who became the first lighthouse keeper.  The original 45-foot wooden tower was built in 1797 at a distance 500 feet from the bluff.  The location was chosen “because the lands here are pretty good and are not so sandy as to be liable to be blown away by the high gales of wind too often experienced on the Cape.”  The original tower contained 24 whale-oil lamps.  To distinguish it from Boston Light, Highland Light was equipped with a rotating eclipsor, making it the nation’s first “flashing” light. 

A new brick tower was constructed in 1831 because the wooden one was “easily wracked by winds, which shakes the lantern so much as to break the glass very frequently.”  In 1857, the lighthouse got a “modern” Fresnel lens. It was one of the brightest lights in America when it was made electric in 1932, reportedly visible for 75 miles in clear weather.  Today the tower contains a rotating beacon with twin 1000-watt light bulbs.

In 1996, due to action initiated by the Truro Historical Society, Highland Light was saved from the sea by moving it 450 feet from the edge of its rapidly eroding cliff.  Thus, the lighthouse once again sits a comfortable distance from the bluff.  An adjacent light-keeper’s house has been turned into an interesting museum.  The lighthouse is open daily from May through October and the grounds are open year-round.  Directions:  From Route 6 in North Truro, turn onto Highland Road, which is over three miles north of Truro Center.  At the end of Highland Road, jog right onto Lighthouse road and parking lot.  For information, call 508-487-1121.

Nauset Light, Eastham

The lighthouse site, established in 1838, originally had three stone towers, called the “Three Sister.”  These stone towers collapsed from erosion in 1892 and were replaced by three wooden towers.  The wooden towers, also threatened by erosion in the early 19^th century have been moved inland.  The Three Sisters can be reached via a walkway leading from the parking lot.  The current town was moved from Chatham in 1923.  Directions:  Turn right off Route 6 at Salt Pond visitors Center, Cape Cod National Seashore.  Continue to Coast Guard Beach, then turn left onto Ocean View Drive.  Drive one mile to Nauset Light Beach parking lot.

Three Sisters Lighthouses, Eastham

These lighthouses were built in 1892.  Tow of the three lights were sold to become summer cottages in 1922, and the third one was replaced in 1923 by one of the two Chatham Lights.  The Three Sisters are now located safely back from shorefront erosion in the Cape Cod National Seashore.  Directions:  Same directions as to Nauset Light Beach.  Short walk inland on Cable Road from parking lot to Three Sisters.  Limited parking at Three Sisters.

Chatham Light, Chatham

It was first built in 1808 as two brick towers with a keeper’s house.  Two lights were used to distinguish it from the single light at Truro’s Highland Light.  Erosion claimed the original lightshouses and they were replaced with metal ones in 1877.  One of these two lights was then moved to Nauset in 1923.  Chatham Light has breathtaking panoramas of Chatham Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean.  Here you can view the famous Chatham Break, a division in Nauset Beach created by a fierce winter nor’easter in 1987.  Directions:  Drive east on Main Street, Chatham, to the junction with Shore Road.  Turn right and drive one-half mile.  Lighthouse is opposite overlook parking lot.

Stage Harbor Light, Chatham

This lighthouse was erected in 1880.  It was the last lighthouse built on the Cape.  It was closed in 1933 and sold to become a private residence, which it remains today.  It is not open to the public, except on specially scheduled occasions.  D:  Inaccessible by road.  Off Route 28 in Chatham, turn right at Barn Hill Road and continue one-half mile to Harding Beach Road.  Turn right and continue to Harding Beach parking lot.  Walk over one mile along beach to Stage Harbor Light.

Bass River Lighthouse, Bass River

Bass River Light was established in 1850 and completed in 1855 at the mouth of the Bass River, which separates the southern end of Dennis and Yarmouth). It consisted of lamp on the roof of the keeper's house, and was equipped with a fifth-order Fresnel lens.  It is now in private ownership and operates as an Inn.  They serve lunch and dinner.

Nobska Lighthouse, Woods Hole

First Nobska Light was built in 1828.  The present structure was built in 1876.  It was automated in 1985. Nobska ("Nobsque") Light is located at the southwestern tip of Cape Cod, between Buzzard's Bay and Vineyard Sound. The first lighthouse on the site was built in 1828. The original structure was a design common at the time - a light installed flawed, as the stress of the heavy lantern room on the roof caused it to leak. (Clark, p. 73)

In 1876, the original structure was replaced with a 42-foot high structure of cast iron shell lined with brick. A fifth-order Fresnel lens was installed in the new light. The new tower was painted red, and keeper's house was dark maroon-brown. In 1888 the lens was upgraded to fourth-order. A second keeper's house was built in 1907. In 1939 the Coast Guard took control of the site, and repainted the keeper's house in classic Coast Guard design - white with a red roof.

The light was automated in 1985, and the two keeper's houses merged. The fourth-order lens is still intact, and houses a 1000-watt lamp. The keeper's house now serves as the quarters for the Commander, Coast Guard Group Woods Hole. The light has the distinction of appearing red from the east, due to a red section on the east side of the lantern house. This phenomenon warns ships away from the Hedge Fence and L'Hommedieu Shoals south of the Cape.

 Directions:  From intersection of Route 28 and Woods Hole Road, follow Woods Hole Road about three miles to Church Street.  Turn left and Nobska Lighthouse will appear about one-half mile on left.  Parking opposite Light is limited.

South Monomoy Lighthouse, South Monomoy Island

First Monomoy Light was erected in 1823 and rebuilt in 1849 with cast-iron plates lined with brick.  The Monomoy Point Light was decommissioned in 1923 because the Chatham Light covered the area.  It is now part of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster offers guided bird watching tours to Monomoy Island including overnight stays at the restored lighthouse on South Monomoy.  508-896-3867   Directions:  The island is accessible only by boat.  Light is at south end of five-mile-long South Monomoy Island.

Brant Point Lighthouse, Nantucket

At the entrance to Nantucket Harbor is Brant Point Lighthouse.  After Boston Light, this 1746 structure was the second lighthouse built in the country, and from its small beach area you get a great view of the harbor.  The current lighthouse at Brant Point is the tenth structure at Brant Point Station. The original structure was built in 1746, making Brant Point the second oldest lighthouse after Boston. The light was built due to the importance of Nantucket to the local whaling industry. The original light was maintained by the town itself.

Great Point Lighthouse, Nantucket

This provides an interesting four-wheel drive excursion to the lighthouse at the northern tip of the island.  A permit is necessary and can be obtained at the Nantucket Police Department.  Great Point Light (also known as Nantucket Light) was built in 1785, to help mariners navigate the passage between Great Point on Nantucket Island and Monomoy Island at Cape Cod. The original wooden tower had no keeper's house at the site - the keeper had to travel seven miles to and from the lighthouse! Jonathan Coffin, one of the keepers, petitioned directly to the Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, and was granted hardship pay for the arduous journey (Clark, p. 147).

The original tower was destroyed by fire in 1816. A new stone tower was built in 1818. A keeper's house was not constructed until 1825. In 1857, Great Point received a Fresnel lens. An assistant keeper's house was built, and the tower lined with brick. The keeper's house was replaced in 1889.

The presence of the lighthouse failed to prevent shipwrecks. Between 1863 and 1890 there were 43 wrecks off Great Point. Mariners were apparently unable to distinguish Great Point with the Cross Rip Lighthouse - both fixed lights. The problem was finally remedied in 1889 when a red panel was placed in the lantern room at Great Point. The red sector marked the Cross Rip Shoal area. (Clark, pp. 148, 149; Thompson, p. 106)

Great Point Light was automated in the 1950's. In 1968, a suspicious fire destroyed the keeper's house. Erosion brought the sea closer and closer to the lighthouse, and on March 29, 1984, the lighthouse was destroyed in a storm. A new lighthouse - a replica of the stone tower - was erected three hundred yards west of the previous tower. The cost (appropriated by Congress) was over one million dollars. The window in the front of the lighthouse has been replaced with a solar panel in the new light.

Sankaty Lighthouse, Nantucket

Perched on a bluff overlooking a golf course is Sankaty Lighthouse.  The lighthouse was unique for its time in that it had not only a fixed light but also flashing lights to distinguish it from the numerous other lighthouses on the East Coast.  The original 1850 lens was illuminated by a single-wick lamp that consumer 395 gallons of whale oil per year and was visible 20 miles out to sea. 

Gay Head Lighthouse, Martha’s Vineyard

Located on Gay Head Cliffs, a national historic landmark and the Island’s major tourist attraction. Overlooking the Aquinnah (Gay Head) cliffs, this light house is now owned and preserved by the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society. Sunset tours are offered on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays at the Gay Head Lighthouse from mid June to mid September. Tours are available from 1 1/2 hours prior to sunset to 1/2 hour after. Adults $3. Call the Society for special dates.
Aquinnah
Tel: 508-627-4441

Cape Pogue Lighthouse, Martha’s Vineyard

This remote location is situated on the northernmost tip of Chappaquiddick.

If you are up to it, you may walk to the lighthouse, but it is over three miles one way through loose sand. Otherwise, there are two options to get there with a land vehcile. By purchasing a permit for > $100, you can drive your own four-wheel drive vehicle to the lighthouse. However, if you are not going to be on the Vineyard for an extended period, a more economical way to visit the lighthouse is on a lighthouse tour offered by the Cape Pogue Wildlife Refuge. The tours last 1.5 hours, and depart at 9 AM, 12 Noon, and 2 PM, from Memorial Day to Columbus Day. Call for ticket prices. There is a free shuttle that will pick you up from the Chappy Ferry, or you can take your vehicle to Chappaquidick Island and drive to Mytoi Gardens, from where the tours start. For reservations or more information, call (508) 627-3599.
Located on the northeastern tip of Chappaquiddick Island
Tel: (508) 627-3599

Edgartown Harbor Light, Martha’s Vineyard

The Edgartown Lighthouse stands at the entrance to the Edgartown Harbor. It is owned and preserved by the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society.   508-627-4441

West Chop Lighthouse, Martha’s Vineyard

The station is located in Tisbury, on the west side of the entrance to Vineyard Haven harbor. The light can be easily seen from the road, but the grounds are private property
Tisbury

East Chop Lighthouse, Martha’s Vineyard

Take Commercial Ave to East Chop Drive and follow to the lighthouse. Park your bike or car and stroll to the cliff's edge to watch the sun setting over West chop and Vineyard Sound. This light house is now owned and preserved by the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society. Sunset tours are offered on Sundays by the MV Historical Society from mid June to mid September. Tours are available from 1 1/2 hours prior to sunset to 1/2 hour after. Adults $3. Call the Society for special dates.  Telegraph Hill East Chop, Oak Bluffs
508-627-4441