I have to attend a meeting in Boston in late June. I will be flying into Providence, RI on Wednesday afternoon. I have to be in Boston to check into the hotel, in downtown Boston, Thursday night. I will be finished with business at noon on Saturday. I fly back to Baltimore, from Providence, on Sunday evening. I would like to spend all day Thursday and Sunday visiting lighthouses in those areas. My plan is as follows. Drive from Providence towards Newport on Wednesday night and get a room somewhere along the way. Work my way north from Newport to Boston on Thursday and visit as many lighthouses as possible. I thought about taking the ferry from Boston to Provincetown on Saturday afternoon then driving back across the Cape on Sunday to catch my 7:30 PM flight home.

I would appreciate any recommendations on lodging for Wednesday and Saturday nights, which lighthouses I should visit and information on the Boston-Provincetown ferry.

Thanks,

Jim Thomas

I've stayed at the Holiday Inn on RT1 in Kingston and at the Best Western Monte Vista on Rt 1 in Norht Kingston. They are both nice motels. The Best Western is smaller and has a very nice breakfast cafe. It is also more reasonable priced.

Both are easy to find along RT 1. If you stay at either one you are not too far from Point Judith. You just follow Rt 1 south to RI 108 and take RI 108 to the end.
If you want to get to Newport from this area you go back up 108 to 1 to RI 138E towards Newport. This takes you first to Jamestown Island. As you go over the bridge you will be able to see Plum Beach LH to the left. It is difficult to get a closer view of this LH.

Take the exit for Main St and go south follow this to the end and you are at Beavertail. You will be able to see Castle Hill across the water if it is a clear day.

Go back up to 138 and continue over the bridge to Newport . As you go over the bridge you will be able to see Rose Island in the harbor below. If you want to go to it you can get there by a water taxi from Jamestown (on Jamestown Island) or from two other places in Newport- FT Adams and in the Marina area.

If you want to see Castle Hill close up you have to take the Ocean Rd drive past the Mansions. The LH is accessed by going thru the parking lot of a restaurant just past the Coast Guard station.

If you leavr the Newport area enroute to Boston take 138 towards Fall River . There is a LH visible from a marina . It is in the middle of the river with no access. (Borden Flats)

Once in Fall river get on I-195 E. Take this to the New Bedford area. There are several LH's in New Bedford. take Exit 15 and go on RT 18 til it turns into the JFK memorial Hwy just past RT 6. Get on South St and take it towards the river. this will get you near Palmer Island LH.

You then get back to the JFK and go until it changes to Water ST and take this to E Rodney French Blvd. This will take you down to Butler Flats LH. This also is in the middle of the river with no access.

There are several other LH's along the way between New Bedford and Buzzard's Bay but they are further off the main roads than these others.

The other LH's that I'm familiar with in this area are on the Cape . i can't give you anything on the Boston -Provincetown Ferry, but as you come into Provincetown on the ferry you should get a good view of both Wood End and Long Point LH's. These are both viewable from a breakwater in Provincetown.

You can get a long range view of Race Point by taking Rt 6 out of town and going down Race Point Rd near the airport. You can see it from the Race Point Beach. It is a long walk into the LH. It's not easily accessed by other means.

if you continue on Rt 6 you come to Truro. Take highland Rd to Golf Course and you will get to Highland (Cape Cod) LH. This is one you can get into . You can even get into the lantern room. You get a great view, including the Jenny Lind tower.

Continue on Rt6 to North Eastham. The Nauset LH and the Three Sisters are in this area.Take Nauset Rd and follow the signs.

Take 28 towards Chatham. Go to Main St and it will take you to Chatham LH. Go back out to 28 and take it to Woods Hole. You will see signs for Woods Hole just past Falmouth. Go towards the ferry to the Vineyard. You're going to turn left on Church St. This will take you to Nobska.

Go back up to 28 and follow the signs for Bourne. Take RT 6 to I 195 and that will take you back towards Providence.

I know I gave a lot of info, but if you have any specific questions send me an email and I'll give you more explicit info fom my trip. If you can get a book by courtney Thompson. She has three out one on Maine, Massachucetts and Atlantic Canada. There are great directions to all of the LH. You can get it from Amazon or the Lighthouse Depot of other places.

Good luck. Dennis

Hi Dennis,

Thanks for all of the information. I will certainly use it to plan my trip. I did check on the web after I posted on the forum and found that the ferry from Boston to Provincetown is only a passenger ferry. I will have to drive to Provincetown and then back to Providence if I want to see all of the lighthouses on Cape Cod.

Again, I thank you for the info. As I get farther into planning the trip I may contact you via E-Mail for some more local information.

Thanks,

Jim Thomas

Jim: I am not an expert but driving to P'town from Boston, trying to see all the lights on the Cape and returning to Providence for your flight seems a bit much.

An alternative would be to go for Boston Light. There is a tour to the light Sunday at 10am. Boston Islands phone # for info and res is 617-223-8666. The tower is open for climbing and I would imagine you would get to see the "keepers" unless they all hide out when the tourists show up! Depending on the route the boat takes you may also be able to see Graves Light. Deer Island and Long Island Light are on the way.

Then you could drive to Cohasset for a very distant view of Minots and continue south to Scituate which you can walk up and touch.

Or you could head back to Providence and try to catch a glimpse of Pomham Rocks from Route 103. Warwick Lighthouse is off Route 117 southwest of Providence.

I'm sure you will get more advice from some more knowledgeable folks than I.

By all means, I would get the Courtney Thompson book, "Massachusetts Lighthouses, A Pictorial Guide". It features histories, photos and directions to all the Mass Lights. Much of the information in this book was furnished by Jeremy D'Entremont. He has a wonderful website on all the New England Lights. His site also has a bulletin board feature which allows you to ask questions and receive replies. You may also email Jeremy directly with specific questions.
http://lighthouse.cc/

A good general purpose book is "American Lighthouses - A Comprehensive Guide" by Bruce Roberts and Ray Jones". This book has brief descriptions and photos of the more popular lights and mentions others located nearby, as well as directions.

Mombo,

Thanks for the advice. I will sit down with all of the information that I have been given and try to set up an itenerary that will fit into my time frame.

Thanks,

Jim Thomas

I agree that going to and from Provincetown won't work in a day. I was basing my thoughts on a car ferry to Provincetown. You could drive down the coast from Boston to Sciatuate and Plymouth and get back to Providence that way. I'm not sure of how much time it would take as I had to cut that portion off my trip and detour inland to Albany, NY.

I also agree with the other book ideas they have good info for what you want. Also just go to the links on the HL website. This covers much of this right there.

Thenyou can play with either Map quest or Expedia maps or get a good mapping program. I've used the Delorme Strrt Atlas and the Delorme AAA Map & Go. Both are great programs to use. The AAA program has the database of Accomadations and attractions in it. If I can be of any assistance just email me direct. Dennis

If you have never driven in the Boston area you are in for a real treat but on Sunday it shouldn't be as bad as during the week. Driving on the Cape wouldn't be quick either. Just to keep in mind when planning your route(s). The maps are fine but allow for traffic.

I agree with Mombo. It is a weekend in june. Don't try and get too far. Also i just read the latest issue of Lighthouse Digest and there was a story on Port Judith. It is under renovation and will be until sometime in July. The picture showed the LH completely covered. It might be best to skip that one or check just before you go with someone in the area as to if it is done yet.
Beavertail is open to get into, Rose Island is open to get into but you should check the hours for each. Dennis

Dennis, I just received the latest issue of Lighthouse Digest. I saw that it was being renovated. I guess I wiil scratch that one off of my list.

Thanks to all for the information and advice.
It will certainly help me to plan my trip.

Jim Thomas

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions for my Cape Cod / Newport lighthouse tour.

We arrived in Providence on Wednesday night and drove to the Holiday Inn in Falmouth, MA. We drove down to Woods Hole Thursday morning and stopped at Nobska. It was foggy that morning, I could barely see the ferry departing for Martha's Vineyard even though it was less than a mile away!

We drove from there to Chatham Lighthouse. With the 16x zoom on my viewcam I got a pretty good view of a lighthouse a couple of miles to the south of Chatham Lighthouse. According to my map it was Monomy Point.

We next stopped at Nauset. I again got great video (the light was lit and flashing white and red). We walked down a paved path to the three sisters lighthouses. It is hard to believe that they were once visible from tne ocean. The trees between them and the beach are now a good 20 feet higher than they are!

We stopped at Highland next. There was a pretty long wait to climb it so I passed. I bought a really great lighthouse map there. It is a roadmap of all of coastal MA. It shows all of the more than 50 MA lighthouse that are still standing. On the back it has the history of each along with the best viewing spots and driving directions. It also has pictures of most of them. It is published by Harnett House Map Publishers of Freeport, Maine. It really is a great map and only cost $5.95.

We drove from Highland to Provincetown. Got pictures of Race Point, Wood End and Long Point from different vantage points in town.

After eating a late lunch in town we headed for our hotel in Boston but we were not finished lighthousing yet. We drove off the Cape and took RT 3 towards Boston. Got off on RT 3A and stopped at Scituate. Visited the lighthouse and got some more great video. The Harbor there is beautiful. We drove from Scituate to Cohasset, along the coast. There are certainly some beautiful (and expensive) homes along the coast there. From the beach at Cohasset I got some great shots of Minot's Ledge lighthouse just offshore.

From Cohasset we drove to Hull. I got up on a steep hill on a street in a residential area and got some great shots of Boston Harbor Light. According to the map it was only a mile offshore from that spot. Could also see the Graves Lighthouse about another mile out.

We left Falmouth at 8:00 that morning and arrived at our hotel in downtown Boston at 9:30 that night having visited and viewed 13 lighthouses. Talk about a whirlwind day!!!!

My meetings in Boston were over at 12:30 on Saturday. After eating lunch we departed for Newport RI. We stopped at Borden Flats in Fall River, MA on the way. Got a great view from the marina that is close to the lighthouse. We spent the rest of the evening seeing the sights and eating dinner in Newport. On Sunday morning we drove around Ocean Drive in Newport. We stopped at the Castle Hill Inn. We parked in the lot and made the short hike out to the lighthouse. It was certainly beautiful looking out over the harbor from that vantage point at the base of the lighthouse. From there we could see Beavertail flashing in the distance. As we drove back around the harbor we stopped at Ida Lewis. It is a shame that the tower is no longer there!

After a quick lunch we took a 2 hour harbor cruise on a 65 ft catamaran. Got some great pictures of Castle Hill from the boat. We also went very close to Rose Island and got some more great shots. After the boat docked we crossed the bridge to Jamestown and drove down to Beavertail. The museum there was interesting (and the Fog Horn sure is loud).

By then it was 4:00 PM. Our flight home from Providence was not untill 7:30 that night and the airport was less than a hour away. I thought about driving down to Point Judith. Knowing that is surronded with scaffold right now and my wife being "lighthoused out" I did not go. We saw one more lighthouse as we crossed the 2nd bridge after leaving Newport. I am not really not sure what it's name is. Possibly Plum Point? As we drove north on Rt 1A we stopped in Wickford RI, a really nice little seaside town, to kill some time. There was an air show going on about 5 miles upriver. We sat out on a deck over the water at a restaurant sipped on a couple of cold ones and had a really great view as the Blue Angels performed overhead!

If I counted correctly in the 2 1/2 days that we drove around we visited and/or viewed at least 20 lighthouses! It was really a great trip. I know it sounds like a lot for 2 1/2 days but I never felt rushed but if I go up that way again I think I will allow more time. It certainly is a beautiful area.

Jim Thomas

It sure sounds like you had a great trip, Jim, and got to see lots of lighthouses. Regarding the Three Sisters of Nauset - they are not where they used to be when they were active lights. They had been sold off to private owners and then were repurchased and reassembled at their current location. And if you were looking for a tower at Ida Lewis, it is just an itty bitty one that was incorporated into the corner of the house.

Hi Mombo,

Thanks for the information on The Three Sisters Lighthouses. It just seemed that as far from the beach as they were located and as short as they are they could not have been very effective.

After I posted my message about Ida Lewis I went to my curio and took a look at the HL piece and saw that there is a very short light tower on the side. Because it is on the grounds of a private Yacht Club I only saw it from a distance and could not see the light on the harbour side.

Jim Thomas

Jim: That was certainly an impressive lighthouse marathon you were on. I think you have seen more lights than us "natives"! I am sorry I did not see your post here before your trip; but thought the following comments might be of interest to you for a return trip, and to all forum readers who would like to go to the Cape for a more in-depth chance at lighthouse touring.

My husband and I scout out sites and lead tours for club Outings for our New England Lighthouse Lovers HL club (NELL).We have been down to the Cape in mid-May for their annual Maritime Week, which emphasizes lighthouse history, cruises, and tours/climbs at all the lights the last weekend of the festival. You might want to try this some year when you wish to spend more time and do slower and in-depth coverage of the Cape's lights. Come about Thursday as some lights open before the weekend and there were no lines. It is impossible to see it all on just a Sat. and Sun.

We got to climb to the top of Nobska, Highland, and Nauset. A Coast Guardsman let us walk inside the fenced grounds to photograph Chatham on a mid-week day. We missed the open house there as we went to Race Point which took a whole afternoon. Of course, we saw the three Sisters also. There was another "private" light which was open, but it entailed a longer hike in which we could not do at the time.

Because of their schedule and the length of the Cape, one needs to be a strategist to be able to get to all the lights --- if you come only for a Sat. and Sun. and especially if you want to partake of the other offerings like cruises and lighthouse history lectures, not to mention other interesting historic homes open and programs -- all relating to maritime history in general on the Cape.
I strongly suggest additonal days before the weekend.

There are/were two cruises on Friday and Saturday evenings which went over to Martha's Vineyard, allowing you to see lights at sunset and their beacons at dark. Bring WINTER clothing out on the cold water in May at night.

There was a wonderful slide lecture by Doug Bingham on lightships the time we were there, held at the Salt Pond Visitor Center of the Nat. Park in Eastham. Unfortunately it was poorly publicized and nobody knew about it and only about 10 people showed up. Hopefully next year there will be a better showing for whatever is scheduled there.

The most interesting activity was getting a ride out through the sands to Race Point. The RP Society sponsored an open house and free rides out to see the light (no climb) and tour of the keeper's house. Air had to be let out of their jeep's tires to get out there. You can NOT drive your own vehicle out there unless you get a quite expensive permit from the Nat. Parks. The light sits nestled in the dunes. You can see the water by climbing to the top of very low dunes or just hiking a few blocks to the shore. This activity though will take a couple of hours out of your schedule. You can stay overnight in this keeper's house (has 3 bedrooms upstairs, bath, use of living room and kitchen. You need to bring all linens, towels, food, water, and all trash goes back out with you. The fee is around $150 per room per night. You need advance reservations ----- way, way in advance for good weather months. I do not know if they rented rooms for this open house weekend though. It would be fun to get three couples and rent the entire house. You can get more about this on Jeremy D'Entremont's site (who is also our club webmaster) at www.lighthouse.cc

As mid-May is off-season for the Cape, motel prices were more reasonable; very uncrowded mid-week and not that bad on that weekend. (Driving times on Sunday for the Memorial Day weekend and other busy weekends have been as long as 4 hours just trying to get across the bridges to the mainland going off the Cape. The police were trying out what they thought was a better traffic control scenario !!!!! Better to go down on a Thursday and leave on a Monday if a work schedule allows).

There is a unique resort there called the Lighthouse Inn, which has a lighthouse as part of its building. It is right on the water. There are many nice individual cottages to stay at, a pool, tennis, big dining room, relatively expensive, and advance reservations needed. I don't have a map handy, but it is on the Nantucket Sound side, around S. Yarmouth area. The Chamber could tell you where.

For anyone who is interested in going, I would contact the Chamber next winter to get the website for the Maritime week. It is part of the Cape's series of Heritag events. A complete schedule eventually appears on a website.

I have asked Harbour Lights about having a regional here, but they said there are not enough dealers within the Cape to sponsor it. But it would make a wonderful site and time frame to hold a wacko gathering some time in the future, if there is any interest. A great HL dealer down there on the Cape is Chris Alex of Collectors World in Eastham. He also has retired HL's in inventory at shelf prices. His number is 1-800-421-4270 and he can give you directions of how to find his store on your next visit to the Cape.

I hope this info on the Maritime Week will motivate some of you to attend it next year. If so, e-mail me next winter at my ***winter address ladylightkeeper@dixie-net.com
It would be fun to meet you there.

Keep the Flame
Barbara Hupp, NELL President



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ladylightkeeper

Jim,

Glad you could get to so many lighthouses. the light you saw coming over the bridge from Jamestown was Plum Beach. There is a road you can drive down off of Rt 1A that gets you a better view of it. there is also a former LH in Wickford . It's a private residence and you can't get too close or too good a view of it.

It's a shame you could not get to Rose Island. As nice as the outside is the inside is even nicer.

Glad you and your wife enjoyed your trip.

Dennis