Portland Lighthouses & Lobster

- June 08, 2023

Would you venture to guess that most people, if asked "What comes to mind when the US state of Maine is mentioned?", would have lighthouses and lobster on the list?

We recently drove about an hour and a half to Portland with the intention of seeing lighthouses. It was cold (high of about 47), windy, and rainy on this Sunday in June, and that only helped to make it feel all the more authentic. We decided to check off our list of five of these illuminating marvels. Four of the five afforded an up-close view, while one, Ram Island Ledge Light, considering it is sitting on a small island, is included in the picture above, but with Portland Head Light in the forefront.

Here are a few interesting facts about those first two. Portland Head Light is Maine's oldest lighthouse. It was constructed in 1791 of rubble stone with brick lining and is the tallest we saw coming in at 80 feet high. Ram Island Ledge Light comes in second in the height category at 72 feet. It, in 1905, was built of granite blocks.

We drove now to Cape Elizabeth Light, and what spectacular scenery was waiting for us there!

Built in 1828 of cast iron and standing 66 feet tall, Cape Elizabeth Light offers amazing views.

Beautiful Portland Breakwater Lighthouse, aka Bug Light, was next on our list. It stands 25 feet high and was constructed of cast iron in 1875 replacing the first one, a wooden structure which was fashioned in 1855.

The fifth and last for that day was Spring Point Ledge Light. It was made of cast iron with brick in 1897 and is 54 feet tall. This one is a spark plug lighthouse. You can see why it is known as such in the picture below.

Another interesting fact about this unique beacon:
Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse is the only one in this caisson-style in the United States giving visitors the ability to walk to it.

After these excursions, our thoughts turned to dinner. It was time to scope out the Portland, Maine area for possibilities.