Massachusetts - Massachusetts Lighthouses in Cape Cod

Chatham Light at Chatham Harbor
Shore Road
Chatham, MA  02633
Phone: 508-430-0628

Location: Chatham Harbor, southeast corner of Cape

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Open: In 2007, open from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on June 6 and 20; July 4, 11, 18, 25; August 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; September 5 and 19; October 3 and 17; open from noon to 2 p.m. on December 31. Directions: From State Route 28, bear southwest at the Chatham rotary to Main Street. At the end of Main Street, turn right onto Shore Road.
The facility: This lighthouse is a U.S. Coast Guard station and an aid to navigation. The lighthouse and keeper’s house were built in 1808; it consisted of two lights to distinguish it from Highland Light in Truro. In November 1870 a nor’easter smashed the barrier beach and started a pattern of erosion that would later undermine 228 feet of land in front of the lighthouse. In 1877 two new lighthouses and a keeper’s house were built west of the road. Within the next four years, the earlier lighthouses toppled into the sea. In 1923, the north tower was moved to Nauset in Eastham to replace one of the Three Sisters lighthouses. During a nor'easter in October 1991 part of the overlook and parking lot washed away, but the overlook has been restored.

Cleveland Ledge Light
Cleveland Ledge Channel
Buzzard's Bay, MA  02532

Location: Cleveland Ledge Channel, Buzzards Bay

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Open: The lighthouse is not open to the public and is best viewed by boat. The facility: Active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation. Station established and current lighthouse tower built in 1943. Light flashes white every 10 seconds and fog signal is one blast every 15 seconds.

Long Point Light
Provincetown Harbor
Provincetown, MA  02657

Location: Cape Cod Bay / Provincetown Harbor

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Open: The grounds are open to the public, but the lighthouse is not. Accessibility: Long Point is accessible in summer from Provincetown via a boat shuttle run by Flyer's. The lighthouse can also be reached after a long strenuous hike across a breakwater to Wood End, then across sand to Long Point. The facility: This lighthouse is an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation. Station established in 1826; current lighthouse tower built in 1875. The lighthouse operates a fixed green light; the foghorn sounds once every 15 seconds.

Monomoy Point Light
Eastham, MA  02633
Phone: 508-945-0594

Location: South end of South Monomoy Island

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Accessibility:The Monomoy Island Ferry offers a variety of trips, including visits to the island. The Friends of Monomoy may offer programs that include an overnight stay in the keeper's house; call 508-945-0594 for current information.
The facility: Station established in 1823; present lighthouse and keeper’s house built in 1849; deactivated in 1923. The property is now managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Nauset Light
Ocean View Drive
Eastham, MA  02642
Phone: 508-240-2612

Location: Ocean View Drive

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Open: In 2010, open all Sundays from May 9 through October 31. Also open on Wednesdays in July and August. Tours held 1-4 p.m.
Directions: Take Route 6 to Bracket Road; turn right onto Bracket Road. Follow to end and turn left onto Nauset Road. Take first right onto Cable Road. At end of Cable Road, turn left onto Ocean View Drive.
The facility: The current beacon at Eastham was originally built in 1887 as one of the twin lights at Chatham. In 1923, it was moved from Chatham to replace the last of the Three Sisters Lighthouses. Erosion threatened the survival of the lighthouse, and in 1993 the Coast Guard proposed decommissioning it. The Nauset Light Preservation Society financed a project to move the lighthouse further inland. By 1996, the light was moved away to its present location. It is located in the Cape Cod National Seashore and managed by the preservation society.

Nobska Point Light at Woods Hole Harbor
Church Street
Woods Hole, MA  02543

Location: Church Street

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Open: The grounds are open year-round; the lighthouse tower is open in 2007 on April 14; May 19; June 2; July 5 and 19; August 2, 11, 16, and 30; December 1. Directions: Follow State Route 28 through Falmouth. From the north, turn right on Woods Hole Road (from the south, turn left and follow signs to Woods Hole). Travel three miles and turn left on Church Street. Parking in front of the lighthouse.
Information: E-mail Abtda@aol.com.
The facility: Tours offered from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Admission is free. Attendance is heavy and it is not uncommon to wait an hour or more to tour the lighthouse. Early arrival is recommended. Station established in 1829; present tower built in 1876. Light flashes white every six seconds; fog signal is two blasts every 30 seconds. The keeper's house is home for the commander of Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England.

Point Gammon Light
Great Island, entrance to Hyannis Harbor
West Yarmouth, MA  02673

Location: Entrance to Hyannis Harbor

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Accessibility: The land surrounding the lighthouse is privately owned and is not open to the public. The best views are from the water.
The facility: Station established and present tower built in 1816; discontinued in 1858

Highland Light on Cape Cod National Seashore
Highland Road
North Truro, MA  02652
Phone: 508-771-2144

Location: Cape Cod National Seashore, east side of Cape Cod

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Open: The grounds are open year-round; the lighthouse is open from May 1 to late October. Directions: From the south, take State Route 6 and turn right east on Highland Road. Watch for signs to Highland (Cape Cod) Light. Follow the signs to the lighthouse.
The facility: The building houses an Interpretive Room where guests can watch a 10-minute video showing the history of the lighthouse. An observation deck is located at the edge of a cliff 120 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Gift shop in the keeper’s house. Guided tours of the lighthouse tower are offered by the Truro Historical Society daily from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. This lighthouse is an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation, owned by Cape Cod National Seashore. Built in 1797 and reconstructed in 1857, Cape Cod Highland Lighthouse is the oldest and highest lighthouse on Cape Cod. Highland House (home of the Truro Historical Museum) is a short walk from the lighthouse.

Hyannis Harbor Light (South Hyannis Light)
Hyannis Harbor
Hyannis, MA  02601

Location: Hyannis Harbor

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Open: The lighthouse is privately owned and is not open to the public. The best views are from the water or from nearby Keyes Beach.
The facility: Station established: 1849; Present tower built: 1849; Deactivated: 1929

Race Point Light, northern tip of Cape Cod
Race Point Road
Provincetown, MA  02657
Phone: 508-487-9930

Location: Northern tip of Cape Cod

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Open: Public tours on May 19, 20; June 2, 16; July 7, 21; August 4, 18; September 1, 15; October 6. The grounds are open year-round. Accessibility: Visitors can reach the lighthouse by parking at Race Point Beach and walking to the lighthouse (about 45 minutes). Visitors can also use their own four-wheel drive vehicle or contact Provincetown dune tour operators.
The facility: Gift shop is open. The keeper's house is available for overnight stays from spring through fall. Oversand transportation to the lighthouse is offered to the public on May 20, 9 a.m.-3 p.m This lighthouse is an aid to navigation, maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard. Race Point Light began operating in November 1816 and was one of the earliest revolving lights. A keeper’s house was built in 1840 and another was added in 1876; a fog bell was installed in 1852.

Sandy Neck Light
Barnstable, MA  02630

Location: Entrance to Barnstable Harbor, Cape Cod

Accessibility: The lighthouse is privately owned and is not open to the public. It is best seen by boat and can be seen from whale watches leaving Barnstable Harbor. The facility: The station was established in 1826; present tower was built in 1857 and deactivated in 1931. The keeper’s house, built in 1880, still stands.

Stage Harbor Light
Chatham, MA  02633

Location: Stage Harbor, Harding's Beach, Nantucket Sound

Accessibility:The lighthouse is privately owned and is not open to the public. Good views are possible from Harding's Beach.
The facility: Station established and keeper’s house and tower were built in 1880; deactivated in 1933. Keeper’s house still stands.

Three Sisters of Nauset
Cape Cod National Seashore
Eastham, MA  02642
Phone: 508-771-2144

Location: Off Nauset Road

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Accessibility: The lighthouse grounds are open year-round as part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Ranger-guided tours of the buildings are offered during the summer months. Directions: State Route 6 to Eastham; turn right on Nauset Road. Follow signs to Nauset Lighthouse.
The facility:The original lighthouse at Nauset was built in 1837, and was constructed as three brick towers to distinguish it from the single light at Highland and the twin lights at Chatham. In 1892, three movable wooden towers were built to replace the original brick towers, which later were undermined by erosion and toppled into the sea. In 1911, because of continuing erosion, the central tower was moved and the north and south towers were taken out of service. The central tower served until 1923, when the north tower at Chatham Light – one of the original Chatham twins -- was moved to Eastham. It replaced the last of the original three sisters, which was sold. Between 1965 and 1975, the National Park Service purchased the three original sisters; in 1983, the three towers were moved to a site about a quarter mile from their original location and restored.

Wing's Neck Light
Pocasset (Bourne), MA
Phone: 508-460-0506

Location: East side of Buzzards Bay

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Accessibility: The lighthouse and grounds are not open to the public. It is best seen by boat. The facility: The lighthouse is available for rent. Contact Wing's Neck Lighthouse Trust at 508-460-0506. Lighthouse built 1890.

Wood End Light
Entrance to Provincetown Harbor
Provincetown, MA  02657

Location: West End of Provincetown

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Accessibility: The lighthouse is not open to the public, but the property can be reached by foot across the breakwater from Provincetown's West End. The facility: This lighthouse is an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation. Station established and present lighthouse built in 1872. Fog signal is a horn (originally a bell), one blast every 30 seconds