Bass Harbor Lighthouse - Acadia National Park

While at Acadia National Park in October 2013, we visited the Bass Harbor Head Light Station.  This is a working lighthouse operated by the U.S. Coast Guard and its predecessors since September 1, 1858.  The lighthouse is 32 feet high with a focal plane 56 feet above mean high water.  It originally was equipped with a 5th order Fresnel Lens and now has a 4th order Fresnel lens.  The station was automated in 1974, but a keeper still resides on site.The original light was a brass lamp fueled by whale oil and covered by a red shade that was visible for 13 nautical miles.  In 1933, a kerosene lamp was installed to produce a better light.  The station was electrified in 1949 and the light was changed from solid red to occulting red with a cycle of four seconds on and one second off.  The current light is a 1,000 watt bulb.  Because this is an operational lighthouse, all of the buildings are closed to visitors.  However, a short path at the driveway end of the parking lot leads past the light keeper's residence to the base of the tower.  A slightly longer path at the far end of the parking lot leads to a set of stairs down to the rocky shore.  

The former lightkeeper's residence is now the home of the commander of the local Coast Guard unit

Lighthouse

Blake Bell Co.
U.S. Lighthouse Establishment
1891

Sunlight on calm water

Trailhead

A gravel trail leads to...

...a set of stairs descending to the rocky shore

Iconic view of the Bass Harbor Head Light

Little Duck Island, Great Duck Island and Great Gott Island

In 2012, the lighthouse was the thirteenth subject of the America the Beautiful Quarters® program. A description of the coin is available at http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/atb/?local=Acadia.


An entrance fee of $20 per vehicle is collected at Acadia National Park.  The vehicle pass is valid for seven consecutive days.  Another option is to purchase the America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass valid for one year for $80.  A lifetime Senior Pass is available for $10 for those 62 years of age or older.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm.