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Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse Fun Facts
Location: Mount Desert Island
Closest City: Bass Harbor, Maine
Latitude: 44.22215 Longitude: -68.3369
Body of Water: Blue Hill Bay
Open to Public: Site: Yes
Tower: No
Station Established: 1858
Present Tower Activated: 1858
Status of Light: Operational
Tower Height: 32 ft.
Optic: Fourth Order Fresnel, 1902
Fifth Order Fresnel, 1858
National Register Reference #: 87002273
Listing Name: Bass Harbor Head Light Station
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Built in 1858 on the southwest point of Mount Desert Island where it tenaciously clings to the face of a steep cliff, the Bass Harbor Head light was designated to guide traffic entering Blue Hill Bay and Bass Harbor.
A keeper's residence was erected at the same time and is connected to the 32 foot, white, brick, cylindrical tower via a passageway. The tower originally housed a fifth-order Fresnel lens that was updated with a fourth-order lens in 1902 which is still in use today despite being automated in 1974. The light is active day and night and is occulted every four seconds (occulted lights are always on but obscured from view on a regular frequency.) This site also hosts a square pyramid-shaped brick bell tower (1898), brick oil house (1902), and a barn (1905). The bell has been removed from the bell tower.
Bass Harbor Head is considered one of the most scenic and photogenic lighthouse sites in Maine. Located in Acadia National Park, the site is visited by tens of thousands of tourists each year. While the tower is closed to the public, the grounds are accessible and only a short walk from a nearby parking lot. The site is owned and managed by the Coast Guard and the keeper's house is still used for housing by Coast Guard personnel.
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Lighthouse Accessibility
While the tower is closed to the public, the grounds are accessible and only a short walk from a nearby parking lot.
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View the Interactive Map
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