Ed L.
Yelp
Exploring Maine with friends is certainly a delight. During my stay on Mount Desert Island on a recent mid October 2016 trip, we ended up taking our adventuring southbound and ended up at the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. It was nice to see a Maine lighthouse up close.
All those photos you've seen online doesn't do justice. You just need to see the lighthouse for yourself. First thing though, admission to Bass Harbor lighthouse is free. Definitely free. I like free. The Bass Harbor Head lighthouse is administered by the National Park Service and there was a sign at the parking area that told us that. My friends arrived here on a brisk Saturday morning after breakfast at Slip's in Southwest Harbor. The drive was not more than 15 minutes down Maine highway 102 South and the parking was already tight as it was, but managed to find parking. It was great to be able to see the sites and sounds of the Atlantic Ocean waves, crashing constantly along the shore. It was truly a nice day to be out and about in Maine. The purpose of the lighthouse back before modern ships technology was to warn boaters and mariners of the coastline and that they could seriously wreck their vessels if they strayed too close to the coast. These lighthouses were used prior to the turn of the 20th century when traveling by ocean was a relatively simple yet dangerous thing.
My experience here at the Bass Harbor Head lighthouse was as serendipitous, very unscripted, and lovely, as it ever was. While we do have a couple of lighthouses here and there in Hawaii, nothing more notable and iconic than those in Maine, so it was definitely a treat to be able to come here and visit. I had planned to see the lighthouse in Lubec, but this one at Bass Head harbor was definitely the shorter choice of the two. My friends and I spent about 1/2 hour here at the lighthouse before heading back to Southwest Harbor. We took photos of the lighthouse, as well as selfies with it and also ventured down the rickety stairs down to the rocky coastline for more photos and opportunities to take them. It was nice to see the water buoy dancing about on a nice autumn's day. This particular lighthouse seemed smaller than the ones I've previously in photos, but it's still a lighthouse that served its purpose and is an attraction today.
The lighthouse tower is painted white, while the house structure attached to it was boarded up. Too bad we can't see what was inside there. I'm sure that it was used by those who had operated the lighthouse in the past to make sure that the lights were on at all times for the ships that passed through Maine and Mount Desert Island area. For what it's worth though, the Bass Harbor Head lighthouse is a delightful tourist attraction that gets its fair share of people streaming in and out of here in a regular pace. It's one of Maine's prized treasures and the iconic lighthouses that Maine is famous for will live on for future generations. For me personally, I enjoyed this side adventure when I was in Maine. Sad to say that I already miss it and wished that I was there a little bit longer, but that's how I made my Maine schedule that way. Hope to be back though. It was fun seeing others take photos of the coastline and of the lighthouses. They seem to be enjoying themselves as well as we were.
4.0 stars for the lighthouse itself. 5.0 stars for the free parking and admission. 5.0 stars for the Atlantic Ocean views.
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