Lighthouses of Maine’s Acadia National Park Region
and
Mount Desert Area
Isle Au Haut, Mount Desert Island, Cranberry Islands, Trenton, Bar Harbor, Winter Harbor, Prospect Harbor
Photo Gallery of Maine's Acadia Lighthouses
Mount Desert Island became an international tourist attraction in the nineteenth century as a main component of the Acadia National Park system. To accommodate the influx of international and American tourists from the sea, as well as many leaving on tours from the harbor, and for the local mariners, a series of lighthouses were build on and around Mount Desert Island. There are many islands including the cranberry islands in this area, and lighthouses were built atop some of these to guide mariners through the Blue Hill and Frenchman Bays, and Somes Sound.
Note: For stories of famous lighthouse events and folklore, check out the Lighthouse Stories section of this website. There you'll also find info on my colorful book “New England Lighthouses: Famous Shipwrecks, Rescues, and Other Tales” of over 40 stories, which you can purchase from Schiffer Publishing. In the book, you'll find a story involving "Flying Santa(s)", Captain Wincapaw and Edward Rowe Snow, whose thoughtful gesture which started in Penobscot Bay to drop off presents by airplane to isolated keepers and their families at many of the islands during Christmas, spread all over the coast and cross country. There is also the story of the miracle baby rescue at Mount Desert Rock Lighthouse. |
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Maine’s Acadia Region and Mount Desert Lighthouses
You Can Drive or Hike To
Note: Some of the lighthouses mentioned below that you can drive to can also be viewed from various boat tours offered, see Boat Tours below.
Click any lighthouse link below to find out information about each lighthouse including links for places to visit, historic snapshots, boat tours, and more photos.
Maine’s Mount Desert, Acadia Region Lighthouses
Best Viewed by Boat
Click any lighthouse link below to find out information about each lighthouse including links for places to visit, historic snapshots, directions, boat tours, and photos.
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Places to Visit:
Maine’s Mount Desert and Acadia Park
Located in Acadia National Park, Bass Harbor Lighthouse is situated on top of a rocky cliff on the southwestern area of Mt. Desert Island.
| You can take the Swan’s Island Ferry to get to Swan’s Island and drive or take a long hike to Burnt Coat Island lighthouse. To stay overnight, reservations are limited at either Jeanie’s B&B, or the Harbor Watch Motel. There is also a quarry filled with fresh deep water to jump in on a hot day, and you'll also find a general store and a small beach nearby. |  |
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There are only two places to eat on Swan's Island, the Island Bake Shop (photo shown), for lunch and breakfast with great homemade meals, and the Boat House Restaurant, also excellent food. |
Bar Harbor is a major resort town of Mount Desert Island in the Acadia National Park system with plenty of specialty shops, activities and events, and restaurants.
| If you want to get away from the crowds and cars, hike or bike along the miles of carriage roads built by the Rockefellers with beautiful stone archway bridges inside secluded wooded areas of the island. |  |
Take the coastal routes all along the entire island and enjoy Acadia National Park with its scenic beauty. There are miles of hiking and biking trails. Most visitors to Acadia will drive, bike or hike up to the top of Cadillac Mountain and enjoy one of the first places in America to view the sunrise.
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In Acadia National Park, you can hike along Jordan Pond (photo shown), get great views from Champlain Mountain Overlook, or the Precipice, explore Thunder Hole, Otter Bluffs and many more sights. |
| Head over Route 186 towards Winter Harbor and enjoy the views of Schoodic Peninsula, Schoodic Head, and Schoodic Point. Here you’ll find an incredible display of ocean surf smashing against a 400-foot headland of rocks. |  |
Boat Tours: Maine’s Mount Desert,
Acadia Region Lighthouses
Cruises mentioned below may offer many types of adventures. While some may offer specific lighthouse cruises in the Acadia region, some will pass by certain lighthouses around Acadia and outside the Bar Harbor area during narrated wildlife and historic tours, while ferrying passengers, on various whale watching expeditions, fishing tours, and other types of excursions. Weather is also a major factor in New England, especially on sailing excursions. Contact info is provided to help you plan your special trips ahead of time and to answer questions before you arrive at any of New England’s destinations. Enjoy!
Maine Tours
Lighthouse and national park tours.
Phone: (888) 794-8289
Fax: (888) 478-1464
Lighthouses: Baker Island Light, Bear Island Light, Egg Rock Lighthouse, Great Duck Light, Winter Harbor Light
Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company
Lighthouse and Park Tour to Baker Island allows you to walk to the lighthouse. There is also the Lighthouse tour to view five lighthouses.
1 West Street
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609
Phone: (207) 288-2386 or 1-888-WHALES-4
Lighthouses: Baker Island Light, Bear Island Light, Great Duck Island Light, Egg Rock Light, Winter Harbor Light
The Swan’s Island Ferry
Operated by the Maine State Maine Ferry Service
(207) 624-7777
(800) 491-4883
(207) 244-3254
Lighthouses: Bass Harbor Light, Burnt Coat Harbor Light
Island Cruises
Harbor cruise that passes by Bass Harbor Lighthouse.
Little Island Way
Bass Harbor, Maine
Phone: (207) 244-5785
Lighthouses: Bass Harbor Light
Bar Harbor Ferry
Tours along Mount Desert Island from Bar Harbor to Little Cranberry Island to Southwest Harbor.
PO Box 28
Cherryfield, ME 04622
Phone: (207) 288-2984 or (207) 546-2927
Lighthouses: Egg Rock Light
Islesford Ferry
Passes by Bear Island Light from Northeast Harbor.
Box 451 RFD 2
Ellsworth ME 04605
Phone (207) 276-3717 or (207) 422-6815
Lighthouses: Bear Island Light, Baker Island Light
Robertson Sea Tours
Lighthouse cruises and nature trips along the shores of downeast Maine and Schoodic Peninsula area aboard a classic downeast lobster boat. Special 4-hour lighthouse cruise covers Narraguagus (Pond Island) Light, Nash Island Light, and Petit Manan Light, along with natural wonders and hauling up a lobster trap.
Contact: Captain Jamie Robertson
Home Phone: (207) 483-6110 o,r Cell: (207) 461-7439
Email: info@robertsonseatours.com
Lighthouses: Pond Island Light, Nash Island Light, Petit Manan Light
Sea Venture Custom Boat Tours
Very specific boat tours you can enjoy with a minimum of passengers.
Capt. Winston Shaw
Phone: (207) 288-3355
Bar Harbor, Maine
Email: info@svBoatTours.com
Lighthouses: Pond Island Light, Petit Manan Light, Prospect Harbor Light, Mark Island Light, Egg Rock Light, Baker Island Light, Bear Island Light, Bass Harbor Head Light, Great Duck Light, Burn Coat Harbor Light, Blue Hill Bay Light, Pumpkin Island Light
Schooner Mary Day
Windjammer sailing that included 4 and 6-day lighthouse cruises.
P.O. Box 798, Camden, Maine 04843
Phone: (800) 992-2218
captains@schoonermaryday.com
Lighthouses: Curtis Island, Indian Island, Rockland Breakwater, Owls Head, Browns Head, Goose Rocks, Heron Neck, Saddleback Ledge, Deer Isle Thorofare (Mark Island), Robinson Pt (Isle Au Haut), Bear Island, Baker Island, Egg Rock, Bass Harbor Head, Blue Hill, Pumpkin Island, Dice Head, Eagle Island, Fort Point, Grindle Point
Marine Environmental Research Institute
Provides educational eco-excursions that pass by the island.
55 Main Street
PO Box 1652
Blue Hill, ME 04614
Tel: 207-374-2135
Fax: 207-374-2931
Email: info@meriresearch.org
Lighthouses: Blue Hill Bay Light
Schooner Margaret Todd
Two-hour windjammer cruise from Bar Harbor passes by the lighthouse.
Downeast Windjammer Cruises
P.O. Box 28
Cherryfield, Maine 04622
Summer Phone: (207) 288-4585 or (207) 288-2373
Winter Phone: 207-546-292
Lighthouses: Egg Rock Light
Scenic Flights
Acadia Air
Lighthouse tour includes Schoodic Peninsula, the community of Winter Harbor, the Cranberry Islands, Southwest Harbor, Bass Harbor and four area lighthouses.
Bar Harbor Airport
Trenton, ME 04605
Phone: (207) 667-5534
E-mail: acadiaair@acadia.net
Island Soaring
Email: info@islandsoaring.net
Lighthouses: Winter Harbor, Egg Rock Light, Baker Island Light, Bear Island Light, Bass Harbor Head Light, and Blue Hill Bay Light.
Additional Resources
For All You Maine Visitors