Top 10 Lighthouses in Massachusetts
Massachusetts has the densest concentration of lighthouse history in the United States. The colony of Massachusetts Bay was one of the first in North America to understand that commerce depended on safe navigation, and Boston Light, established in 1716, was the first lighthouse built on what is now US territory. The state's geography demanded it: Cape Cod hooks northward from the mainland in a sweeping curve that has trapped vessels since the Mayflower first struggled around it in 1620. The shoals that extend from the cape's elbow and the treacherous bars off its outer beaches — the Outer Cape, the Backside, the stretch the Portuguese fishermen called the Graveyard of the Atlantic's northern approach — required a chain of lights that the federal government built tower by tower through the nineteenth century. The Massachusetts coast also includes the rocky arms of Cape Ann to the north, the island dependencies of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket (themselves ringed by some of the nation's finest lighthouses), and the shoal-water passage of Buzzards Bay. Today Massachusetts's lighthouses are a mix of US Coast Guard active aids, federally transferred historic structures, and privately operated preservation successes, and they draw visitors in their hundreds of thousands each year.
1. Boston Light, Little Brewster Island
Boston Light on Little Brewster Island in Boston Harbour is the oldest lighthouse site in the United States. A light was first established here in 1716, making it the first American lighthouse; the British destroyed it in 1776 when they evacuated Boston, and the current rubblestone tower was rebuilt in 1783. It is 27 metres tall, the tallest lighthouse in Massachusetts, and has been continuously lit ever since. Its light character is a white group flash visible around 27 nautical miles. It is also the last staffed lighthouse in the US, maintained by a Coast Guard crew rather than automated — a status preserved by Congress in recognition of its historic significance. Access is by National Park Service ferry from Fan Pier in Boston; the ferry lands on the island and guided tours of the tower are conducted by a volunteer interpreter. The setting, with Boston's skyline visible across the harbour, is one of the finest of any lighthouse in America.
2. Highland Lighthouse (Cape Cod Light), Truro
The Highland Lighthouse in Truro, at the elbow of Cape Cod, stands on the highest ground on the Cape — a glacial cliff some 37 metres above the sea — and its 43-metre white octagonal tower makes it the tallest lighthouse on Cape Cod. A light was first built here in 1797; the current brick tower dates from 1857, built by the Army Corps of Engineers. It shows a white flashing light visible around 23 nautical miles, a critical light for vessels rounding the dangerous outer cape. The tower was moved inland in 1996 by the Cape Cod National Seashore and the Highland Light Preservation Trust, lifted by hydraulic jacks and rolled 143 feet back from the eroding cliff edge — one of the most publicised lighthouse relocations in US history. It is open for climbs during summer.
3. Nauset Light, Eastham
Nauset Light on the outer beach of Eastham has a distinctive red and white banded tower that has become the emblem of Cape Cod itself, used as the logo on bags of Cape Cod potato chips. The current 34-metre cast-iron tower was moved to Nauset in 1923 from the Chatham Twin Lights station, where it had stood since 1876. It shows an alternating red and white flashing light visible around 24 nautical miles, marking one of the most perilous stretches of the outer cape. The tower was moved back 150 feet from the cliff in 1996, like its neighbour at Truro, by the Nauset Light Preservation Society. It is within the Cape Cod National Seashore and open for climbing on weekend afternoons in summer.
4. Chatham Lighthouse, Chatham
The Chatham Lighthouse on the elbow of Cape Cod marks Chatham Bar — one of the most dangerous passages on the entire US East Coast, a breaking shoal that has wrecked hundreds of vessels and continues to shift unpredictably with every major storm. The present white cylindrical tower dates from 1877, built after the original twin lights established in 1808 proved insufficient. It is 26 metres tall, showing a white flashing light with a red sector over the bar, visible around 24 nautical miles. The Coast Guard still maintains an active station here; the tower is open for tours on limited afternoons during summer. The view from the light over the bar, Chatham Inlet, and the barrier beach is one of the most dramatic on the East Coast.
5. Nobska Point Light, Woods Hole
Nobska Point Lighthouse at Woods Hole marks one of the eastern entrance points to Vineyard Sound, the passage between the mainland and Martha's Vineyard used by the ferries that serve the island year-round. The current white cast-iron tower, approximately 14 metres tall, was built in 1876 to replace an earlier structure, and shows a white light with a red sector over the dangerous Hedge Fence shoal, visible around 13 nautical miles. The lighthouse is on an active Coast Guard base; the grounds are open and the tower is accessible for tours on limited occasions organised by the Association for the Preservation of Cape Cod. The setting — green lawns, white tower, the sound beyond, and a view to the Vineyard — is one of New England's most photographed.
6. Gay Head Lighthouse, Aquinnah, Martha's Vineyard
The Gay Head Lighthouse at Aquinnah at the western tip of Martha's Vineyard stands on the dramatically coloured clay cliffs — stripes of red, orange, white, and grey — that are among the most distinctive landforms on the New England coast. The current red brick tower, built in 1856, is 17 metres tall and equipped with a third-order Fresnel lens that shows a white, red, and green light visible around 24 nautical miles, marking the passage between Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay. The lighthouse was moved back from the eroding cliff in 2015. The Gay Head Cliffs are on tribal land of the Wampanoag Aquinnah tribal nation, and the lighthouse grounds are managed by the Martha's Vineyard Museum. Summer tours include climbing the tower.
7. Minot's Ledge Lighthouse, Scituate
Minot's Ledge Lighthouse is the most technically formidable lighthouse ever built in the United States, a wave-swept granite tower rising from a submerged rock barely a metre above low water in the approaches to Boston Harbour from the south. The first iron pile tower erected here in 1850 collapsed in a storm the following year, killing two assistant keepers — an event that gave the ledge its grim reputation. The replacement, a solid granite tower designed by the Army Corps of Engineers under Captain Barton Alexander, was built stone by stone between 1855 and 1860 at enormous difficulty and expense, dovetailing each course of granite into the one below. The result, at 30 metres, was one of the engineering marvels of Victorian America. It shows a characteristic one-four-three flash — which local lovers long ago decoded as "I love you" — and remains active. It is not accessible to visitors; the view from boats or from Minot Beach in Scituate is as close as most will get.
8. Race Point Lighthouse, Provincetown
Race Point Lighthouse at the very tip of Cape Cod marks the dangerous Race Point Shoal — a shallow bar extending westward from the cape's tip across which tides run at three knots or more, creating a confused chop that has wrecked many a vessel attempting to round the cape. The white rubblestone tower, 15 metres tall, was first built in 1816 and rebuilt to its current form in 1876. It shows a white flashing light visible around 10 nautical miles. The lighthouse is reached by a three-mile walk or 4WD track through the dunes of the Cape Cod National Seashore, one of the finest walks in New England. The American Lighthouse Foundation manages visitor overnight stays in the keeper's quarters.
9. Long Point Lighthouse, Provincetown
Long Point Lighthouse at the inner tip of Provincetown Harbour marks the end of the Cape Cod peninsula from the harbour side, a squat white tower of 16 metres built in 1827 and rebuilt in 1875. It shows a green light visible around 8 nautical miles. The Pilgrims first landed near here in 1620 before sailing across to Plymouth. The lighthouse can be reached by a very long walk along the breakwater from Provincetown centre, or by kayak or water taxi across the harbour. The breakwater walk, stepping from boulder to boulder, is a popular if demanding excursion.
10. Brant Point Lighthouse, Nantucket
Brant Point Lighthouse is the second lighthouse established in America (1746) and the most moved: the current white cylindrical tower, just 11 metres tall, is the ninth structure to stand on this site at the entrance to Nantucket Harbour. It is certainly the shortest lighthouse of note in New England, but its iconic white tower with red lantern has been the first and last sight of Nantucket for arriving and departing ships since the eighteenth century. The tradition of throwing a penny into the water when leaving the island to ensure a return is kept alive by the thousands of Nantucket-lovers who pass the light each summer. The lighthouse is operated by the US Coast Guard, the grounds are open, and it is easily walked to from the Nantucket ferry dock.
Visiting Massachusetts's Lighthouses
Massachusetts offers some of the finest lighthouse touring in America. Cape Cod alone justifies a multi-day trip; the Cape Cod National Seashore encompasses several towers and offers superb walking. Boston Light's National Park Service ferry operates in summer and should be booked in advance. The islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, reached by ferry from Woods Hole and Hyannis respectively, have their own remarkable lighthouse landscapes. The lighthouse climbing season runs broadly from late May to mid-October; some towers are open year-round on their grounds but not for climbing. Open the map to explore the full extent of Massachusetts's extraordinary lighthouse heritage along every arm of its complex coast.