The sea has always fascinated humankind. As we reminisced in our previous series, “Dreams Down Under,” the ocean uniquely connects us with shared experiences. In this case, where the ocean meets land often creates spectacularly beautiful yet potentially harsh and dangerous terrain for people to encounter. For millennia, lighthouses have been built as tangible roadmaps, helping safely direct seafarers toward their destination, while also serving as noteworthy spires to both fascinate as well as inspire the land-bound. The seasonal transition to fall only enhances our longstanding attraction to the beauty of these architectural and technological wonders.

With many of the travel restrictions currently in place due to Covid, visiting some of these picturesque sites in person has some newfound challenges. Without needing to undertake a day-long drive (each way) into New England or potentially have to go into quarantine after the trip, we’ll be able to take in both picturesque ocean and lighthouse views while also reveling in some of the polychromatic tapestry of the seasonal foliage change.

MAINE

West Quoddy Head Light, Lubec

“West Quoddy Head Light” by Lee Bennett is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Set at the easternmost point of the contiguous United States, West Quoddy is our first stop. Surrounded by Quoddy Head State Park, the light tower has been in service since 1858. As probably the most iconic of Maine’s lighthouses, though not the tallest (that distinction goes to the Boon Island Light in York), West Quoddy was one of those chosen by the U.S. Postal Service in 1990 to grace the front of a 25-cent postage stamp. With its light operating at 83 feet above sea level, navigators can observe the beacon up to 18 miles distant. Check out the grounds and the first of many scenic ocean views yet to come in this two-part series. While there, you could take the opportunity to visit the 700-acre Boot Head Preserve with its two miles of hiking trails and fascinating coastal scenery.

Portland Head Light, Portland

“Portland-Maine-Lighthouse-at-Cape-Elizabeth-During-Sunrise” by Captain Kimo is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Now surrounded by Fort Williams Park, this collection of buildings is available for tours. The lightkeeper’s house has existed since 1891, and the tower (as it currently stands) was raised by twenty feet in the 1860’s after its original construction was completed in early 1791.  Take in an aerial tour of the nearby Cape Elizabeth lighthouse, then zoom over to do the same over Portland Head. Enjoy a rare opportunity to tour inside the fully operational tower. Don’t miss a live view (complete with current weather information) from Portland, with its 66,000 residents and abundant sightseeing opportunities both inside and outside town.

Bakers Island & Bass Harbor lights, Acadia National Park

“Bass Harbor Light” by RWShea Photography is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

The Bass Harbor Light, pictured above, along with the Bakers Island Light are two noteworthy lighthouses located on the Schoodic Peninsula of Acadia National Park. While Baker Island had been restricted to visitors for about seventy years, the grounds and the lighthouse buildings just recently opened to guests. Take a tour of Baker Island before crossing back to the mainland.  The buildings at Bass Harbor are set atop a prominent you-can’t-miss-this cliffside site that just screams “You have got to see this!” Take a virtual tour of the grounds, then take in the view from inside the light tower during Open Lighthouse Day in 2019. Watch your step as you descend! For a more wide-ranging tour of Acadia, one of America’s oldest national parks, enjoy this one-hour narrated visit. If you’re in a time crunch, swing by to hit some favorite spots to enjoy from afar.

To get the seemingly ever-transforming views of the fall foliage, we’ll want to travel inland. Hop aboard a drone for an overview flight during the height of a past fall season. To see current foliage conditions, which should be nearing peak in late September, check out the live webcams at the mid-state towns of Ebeemee and Brownville, or the four cameras at Sugarloaf Mountain (overlooking the Carrabassett Valley).  Time lapse video of today and/or previous days is often available!

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Portsmouth Harbor Light, Portsmouth

“Portsmouth Harbor Light” by ragingwire is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Just because the state has just eighteen miles of seacoast doesn’t mean its lighthouses are any less picturesque or worthy of a virtual stopover. Known by several names – Fort Point Light, New Castle Light, or Fort Constitution Light – guests can visit the Portsmouth Harbor Light from Fort Constitution State Historic Site in the town of New Castle. In existence since 1878, and freshly painted last year, the tower and lantern room are open to visitors on a seasonal basis. This “Flying Santa” aerial tour of the grounds after sunset is also enjoyable, with the station’s green beam clearly visible.  For a more in-depth experience to the lighthouse and its grounds, join the Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse for their virtual Fall Fling on September 26, complete with oral histories, music, and more. Registration is required to participate in the get-together on Zoom. In the meantime, enjoy a drone tour of the Portsmouth area during the Fall of 2019, or keep your land legs with a few land-based sightseeing options – complete with food!

White Island Light, Isle of Shoals

“OWC & the White Island Light” by Oldwoodchuck is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The Shoals sit about seven miles offshore, so getting to walk around the light or the grounds in person is only possible by air or sea. Despite that, we can still join a locally produced and narrated tour of the Isles, departing out of Portsmouth (and seeing the Portsmouth Light on the way out of the harbor). This light, originally built in 1859, was renovated and restored in 2005. Much of the work on the house and light was badly damaged by a nor’easter in April 2007, and it took several years to completely repair the damage. This short drone flight might be the easiest way for us to experience White Island.

New Hampshire also has a unique reputation of having a (small-ish) lake with three lighthouses, on eight-mile-long Lake Sunapee. The original lights were constructed in 1893, and all have since been replaced or rebuilt. They are better known for their locations in Burkehaven, Herrick Cove and Loon Island, but none are open to the public. Though small, they are still mighty.

For fall foliage, there are lots of options throughout the state and region, with peak currently expected to occur between late September and the first half of October. Check in at the Yankee Magazine headquarters in Dublin, a camera overlooking the Weirs Channel (connecting Lake Winnipesaukee with Paugus Bay) along with Red Hill and the Sandwich Range of mountains, and Groveton in the Great Northwoods region for some impressive local scenery! And you can’t leave the state (online, at least) without checking out the conditions viewed from the seven webcams on or of the formidable yet stately Mount Washington.

VERMONT

Colchester Reef, Shelburne

“Colchester Reef Light (relocated)” by Larry Myhre is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

With no seacoast in need of lighthouses, the 125-mile-long freshwater Lake Champlain saw dramatic increases in maritime traffic after two commercial canals were completed before 1845 to link it to the Saint Lawrence and Hudson rivers. The massive growth of Burlington as a shipping hub furthered the need for navigational aids. The Colchester Reef Light originally served on a rock outcrop well into the lake. Put up for auction in 1952, it was saved from permanent destruction and was relocated to be part of the Shelburne Museum in the 1950’s. Now fully reconstructed and restored, you can learn a bit of the storied history behind this distinctive square-based lighthouse.

Juniper Island, Burlington

“File:Juniper Island Lighthouse – Oct 2019.jpg” by Greezens is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Construction of this light on Juniper Island culminated in 1826, with the island being just three miles off the burgeoning port of Burlington. As the oldest light location on the lake, the island has seen several lights serving there over the last two centuries, with the current automated light entered service in 1954. The keeper’s house was damaged by a fire in 1962 but was subsequently rebuilt in the 2000’s. The pictured iron tower underwent restoration work, which was completed by 2013. As the island and buildings are privately owned, access is difficult, and the thirty-foot tower is barely visible above the deciduous trees rising up from the shoreline. Of significantly easier access, you have the option to take a virtual lighthouse road trip around the shores of Lake Champlain. After this lengthy trip, if food is on your mind, just a click can transport you onto a narrated tour of the renowned Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory in nearby Waterbury. Or revel in some of the host of local eateries in a city-wide tour.

To take in some of the fascinating foliage, zoom on over to this video taken a couple years ago that included parts of both Vermont and New Hampshire. Then meander over to the six live webcams on the grounds of the Killington Mountain ski resort. And be sure to take in the current scene in the town of Middlebury from the Middlebury College Library.

Next week … we’ll continue traveling in a more southerly direction into New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. With lighthouses seeming to be around every corner, and panoramic landscape views to boot, choosing memorable sites to visit with you will be our continued goal. I hope you’ll join us – and the leaves and lighthouses too.

Recommended Reading

The Library has numerous items available about the history, people, and stories of these three states, either in fiction or in real life. Some e-resources are also available to borrow and enjoy.

Thread and Buried, by Lea Wait

Angie and Sarah, friends and sewing partners, have teamed up to help with designing the set for an upcoming movie being filmed in town. In the midst of it all, the mysterious on-set death of the director – combined with a locally catastrophic love story with lingering roots to the past – leads to plenty of intrigue and suspense in finding out “whodunit.”

Murder Most Maine: A Gray Whale Inn Mystery, by Karen MacInerne

Highly attractive trainer Dirk De Leon and his business partner, Vanessa Black, are holding a weight-loss retreat. Yet the atmosphere (but thankfully not the food) sours immediately on the discovery of skeletal remains – and Dirk’s dead body. Is a longstanding legend at play, or is there more to both deaths than meets the eye?

Brilliant Beacons: A History of the American Lighthouse, by Eric Jay Dolin

In this perhaps seminal work on American lighthouse and maritime history, Dolin interweaves the progressing narrative of America’s national history with the development of America’s lighthouses themselves. This work excellently recounts the ever-changing technological and political landscapes that round out the seemingly endless personal accounts of the vigilant light-keepers and average citizens.

Red Herring: A Joe Gunther Novel, by Archer Mayor

A cluster of seemingly unrelated deaths signals the arrival of Joe Gunther’s team from the Vermont Bureau of Investigation (VBI). The deduction that each crime scene has been staged, along with a lone drop of blood, initially brings seemingly endless questions. What is the connection between the deaths? And whose blood is evidence in this exploding investigation?

Pumpkin Everything, by Beth Labonte

Everything seems peachy in Autumnboro, New Hampshire. But a nixed wedding forces writer Amy Fox to re-evaluate much of her life, including pumpkin spice seasoning, as she revisits her hometown after her grandfather is injured in a horrible accident.  But unresolved issues from her past are hampering both her enthusiasm and her desire to return to the place of her first love. Will her “first flame” with Kit be rekindled?

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