Hoping to visit some Maine lighthouses during your vacation? Great idea – Captain Nickels Inn is surrounded by them!
Viewing and touring lighthouses is a popular activity for most of the guests to our Searsport bed and breakfast, and who can blame them? We love lighthouses, too!
Few structures are as iconic as a lighthouse. For the enthusiast, nothing is as majestic. The architecture is so striking, even fully automated and privately owned lighthouses remain a sight worth seeing.
Maine is known for its lighthouses. Our rocky coastline bristles with more than 65 of them. The Penobscot Bay area alone, which we call home, has over 20. There is even an annual, statewide event celebrating them: Maine Open Lighthouse Day is held every September.
Surrounded by lighthouses as we are, a casual jaunt is all you need to see one or two. It’s also easy to plan out a Maine lighthouse trail day trip! Whatever suits your style, below is a list of lighthouses within an hour of our Searsport bed and breakfast.
Maine Lighthouses South of Captain Nickels Inn
Grindle Point Lighthouse – 615 Ferry Rd, Islesboro, ME 04848 –
The 1874 Grindle Point Lighthouse is located on Islesboro, accessible via ferry from Lincolnville Beach, just half an hour from Captain Nickels Inn. The lighthouse and the Sailor’s Memorial Museum in the keeper’s house are quite near the ferry landing.
Curtis Island Lighthouse – Camden Harbor, Camden, ME
Curtis Island is a public park, accessible only by boat. The Curtis Island Lighthouse, built in 1896, is not open to the public. Camden Harbor offers the best views.
Indian Island Lighthouse – Rockport Harbor, Rockport, ME 04856
The Indian Island Lighthouse was built in 1875 and is best seen from Rockport Marine Park or from the water. The privately owned light is not open to the public.
Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse – Jameson Point, Rockland Harbor, Rockland, ME
The unique, 1902, Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse is located at the end of a 7/8-mile-long breakwater in Rockland Harbor. Tours are available in summer and the grounds are open from sunrise to sunset, year ’round.
Rockland Breakwater Southwest Lighthouse – 26 Shearmans Lane, Owls Head, ME 04854
The Rockland Breakwater Southwest Lighthouse is one of Maine’s newest lighthouses and the only privately built lighthouse in New England. Lighthouse enthusiast Bruce Woolet built the privately owned, active light in 1985.
Owls Head Lighthouse – 186 Lighthouse Rd, Owls Head, ME 04854
The 1825 Owls Head Lighthouse is located in Owls Head Light State Park. While The light and keeper’s house are not open to the public, the park, with large parking lot, is.
Marshall Point Lighthouse – 178A Marshall Point Rd., Port Cyle, ME 04855
The lighthouse property includes the light tower, accessible via a walkway, a restored 1880’s Keeper’s House, summer kitchen and reconstructed 19th century barn and the original oil house. There is a lovely museum on site. Interesting fact, the lighthouse has been featured in many commercial photo shoots and in the movie Forest Gump whose main character concluded his cross-country run on the runway of Marshall Point Lighthouse. Visitors to the museum will find documentation on the filming of the movie.
Maine Lighthouses North East of the Inn
Fort Point Lighthouse – 180 Lighthouse Rd, Stockton Springs, ME 04981
The 1857 Fort Point Lighthouse is an active U.S. Coast Guard light located in Fort Point State Park, on the mouth of the Penobscot River. The light is not open to the public except by prior arrangement.
Dyce Head Lighthouse – Castine, ME
The Dyce Head Light (aka Dice Head) was built in 1829. The lighthouse is not open to the public but the grounds are open during the day.
Blue Hill Bay Lighthouse – Green Island, Blue Hill Bay, Brooklin, ME 04616
Privately owned Blue Hill Bay Lighthouse (1857) and Green Island are not open to the public. The best views of this historic lighthouse are from the water.
Pumpkin Island Lighthouse – Eggemoggin Rd, Little Deer Isle, ME 04650
Pumpkin Island and the 1854 Pumpkin Island Lighthouse are private. Turn right on Eggemoggin Road after crossing onto Little Deer Isle and follow it to its end for the best views of the lighthouse.
Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse – Tremont, Maine
Bass Harbor Light, guarding the entrance to Blue Hill Bay, on Mount Desert Island, in Acadia National Park, may be the most popular light on our list. It is one of the most historic Maine lighthouses around, with a distinctive fourth-order red lens, dating back to 1858.
Honorable Mention
Winter Harbor Lighthouse – Mark Island, Winter Harbor, ME
The 1856 Winter Harbor Lighthouse is well outside an hour’s drive of the Inn and not open to the public. So why is it on the list? The lighthouse’s iconic tower is readily visible from various points on the Schoodic Loop Road. Ask us what our favorite day trip is, and we will tell you visiting the Schoodic Peninsula!
Maine Lighthouses Near Our Searsport Inn
So, there you have it: 13 different lighthouses within an hour or less of our Maine coast bed and breakfast.
It is very simple to go a little farther and see even more historic Maine lighthouses. Maine’s Lighthouse Trail is practically endless in either direction. With Captain Nickels Inn in the middle, the opportunities for fun and unforgettable day trips are equally boundless!
Updated March 2024