Bass Harbor Head Light

Congress funded the lighthouse in 1855, and it was completed and lit in 1858 to mark the entrance to Bass Harbor and the passage into Blue Hill Bay, a stretch of ledges and islands that had long troubled mariners.

The station has a modest cylindrical brick tower attached to the keeper's house, standing on the granite headland above the water. Its light and fog signal warned the fishing fleet and coasting traffic that worked these waters.

Like most American lighthouses it was automated in the twentieth century, ending the era of resident keepers. The light remains an active aid to navigation maintained by the Coast Guard, while the National Park Service manages the grounds as part of Acadia.

There are two ways to take in the light. From the top, a short paved path leads to the fence line beside the tower, where you look out over the water and the working harbor. Because the keeper's house is a residence, this view is respectful and close but limited.

The famous photograph comes from below. A set of wooden stairs and a scramble over granite ledges lead to a spot where the tower rises on its cliff with the sea beyond. This is where the sunset crowds gather.

The site is small and the parking lot tiny. The best strategy is to arrive early in the morning or well before sunset, and to bring patience and good footing for the rocks.

The southwestern corner of Mount Desert Island is often called the quiet side, and it earns the name. The villages here, Bass Harbor, Bernard, Southwest Harbor, and the road up to Tremont, are working fishing communities where lobster boats outnumber tour buses.

This side of Acadia has its own trails, ponds, and coastline, including the Ship Harbor and Wonderland trails nearby, both easy walks out to the rocky shore with tide pools to explore at low water.

For visitors willing to cross the island, the quiet side offers the scenery of Acadia at a gentler pace, with lobster shacks where you can eat on the dock and watch the harbor work.

Summer brings the biggest crowds and the longest days, with warm evenings that make the sunset visit a highlight. Expect company at the ledges.

Fall is arguably the finest season, when the island's forests turn color, the light softens, and the crowds thin after the summer rush.

Winter is stark and beautiful, with the granite dusted in snow and the sea gray and cold, though services on the quiet side largely close and roads and trails can be icy.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.