Top 10 Lighthouses that You've Seen

Spectacle Reef
Chesapeake Tower
Cold Spring Harbor
Machaias Seal
Mispillion River (original location)


Bob :cool: ;) :D

The top ones I've seen are:

Point Sur, Ca.
Point Bonita, Ca.
Pemiquid Point, Me.
Cape Florida
Bodie Island, N.C.

It's so hard to only pick five!

Split Rock, MN
East Quoddy, NB (West Quoddy, ME)
Cape Flattery, WA
Old Point Loma, CA (New Point Loma, CA)
Key West, FL

Split Rock and the Four Corners, sounds sorta like a Sixties Rock n Roll Band...

If you had said top ten, the Outer Banks Lighthouses would fill out the top ten..

Bodie Island, NC
The other 4 OBX lights
Pt. Sur, CA Loved it so much I climbed it twice
Piedras Blancas, CA The inside of this tower is amazing.
Heceta Head, OR Would love to live there.

1. Split Rock, MN
2. Grosse Point, IL
3. Point Bonita, CA
4. Point Reyes, CA
tie
5. Seul Choix, MI
5. Navesink Twin Lights, NJ

1. Old Cape Henry
2. Carysfort (Hardest Florida Reef Light to see)
3. Price's Creek
4. West Rigolets (Had hoped to restore this one)
5. Old Cape Romain

In no order -

1. Statue of Liberty, NY
2. Point Reyes, CA
3. Point Sur, CA
4. Rock of Ages, MI
5. Castle Hill, RI
6. Heceta Head, OR

1. Warnemünde Rostock, Baltic Coast, Germany
2. Old Point Loma, CA
3. Point Loma, CA (new light)
4. St. Catherine's, Isle of Wight, UK
5. Lighthouse Kiel, Baltic Sea, Germany

We both liked a little inactive light in Germany called Brinkama Hof too.

You can see all of them on our pages

Point Conception CA
Destruction Island WA
Machias Seal CAN
Point Sur CA
Point Bonita CA

Ken

Cape Hatteras, NC (after the move)
St. Augustine, FL
Old Point Loma, CA
Portland Head, ME
Cape May, NJ

Anybody want to add or update?
Bob

CAPE MEARS, OR
HECETA HEAD, OR
ALKI POINT. WA
NOBSKA, MASS
ST. AUGUSTINE, FL

Point Bonita
St. Augustine
Statue of Liberty
Old Cape Henry
Heceta head

with New Point Comfort just missing

GRAVES, MA
MINOTS LEDGE, MA
GURNET, MA
CURRITUCK, NC
PORTLAND HEAD , ME

Heceta Head OR
Point Cabrillo CA
Point Sur CA
Portland Head ME
Saugerties NY

Cape Neddick "Nubble" York, Maine
Skellig Island, Ireland
Machias Seal Island, US/Canada
Heceta Head, Oregon
Spectacle Reef, Michigan

In no particular order:

Old Point Comfort, VA
New Dungeness, WA
Cape Henry's, VA
Assateague, VA
Ponce de Leon
Bodie, Cape Hatteras, Currituck, Ocracoke - OBX NC
St Augustine
St Simons
Seul Choix

That's more than 5, but I can't eliminate any of them.

This list will probably change after my upcoming Florida trip, but for the moment, these are my favorites:

Navesink, NJ
Sandy Hook, NJ
Port Isabel, TX
Assateague, VA
Cape Henry's, VA

Cape Hatteras, NC (before and after move)
Pass a l'Outre, LA (almost gone)
Cape Lookout, NC
Jupiter, FL
Fairport Harbor, OH
Old & New Presque Isle, MI

and another 553 in the US!!

Sandy

Bodie Island, NC
Ocracoke, NC
Pemaquid Point, ME
Portland Head, ME
Portsmouth Harbor, NH

Judy

Cape Hatteras
Bodie Island
Cape Disappointment
Heceta Head
Point Sur

Very hard to pick just 5

Barnegat Light, NJ (it started the whole thing)
Split Rock, MN
Rawley Point, WI
Ponce de Leon Inlet, FL
Heceta Head, OR

Tybee Island
Sullivans Island
Cape Romain
Bald Head Island
Cockspur Island

Sea Girt, NJ
Marshall Point, ME
Bodie Island, NC
Squirrel Point, ME
Point Reyes, CA

Pemaquid Point, ME
Key West, Fl
St. Augustine, Fl
Holland Harbor("Big Red"), Mi
West Quoddy, Me

It is very difficult to narrow it down to just 5....but here goes....In no particular order...

Haceta Head - Excellent scenery...so picturesque....1st order Fresnel....Wow!

Split Rock - What a complex and an excellent view to boot! Probably one of the best lighthouse gift shops period!

Whitefish Point - Excellent shipwreck museum...One would be hard-pressed to find one better. As lighthouses go, this is a huge complex. My only gripe......no tower entry.

Portland Head - Very picturesque, nice gift shop and museum.

Navesink - Visually, this light is one of the most appealing. The castle fortress is definitely a sight to behold. Adding to this is an excellent view (which just happens to include Sandy Hook!)and a nice museum. Tower access is the icing on the cake.

on the fringe....

Big Sable - I love the picturesque surroundings.....gift shop is rather small and I can't really comment on the museum (as I have never seen it) As I love hikes, I find this to be the best part. If only every 1 1/2 mi hike would reward me with a Big Sable.....

West Quoddy - The picturesque location and tower appearance alone was enough to put this one on the fringe. However, the privately owned gift shop isn't on the premises and there is no tower access. The museum is rather small as well and the cheaply made video features a man that mispronounces the word "Fresnel". To me, this lighthouse could have been better.

Cape Cod - Nice museum and gift shop. The highlight was being able to get up close and personal with the lens even though it wasn't a Fresnel.

Sandy Hook - Gift shop and museum are adequate. As with Cape Cod, the view from the top (and a close look at the Fresnel) is the high point (no pun intended :p ). Tour guide was very informative.

New Presque Isle - This light was just a hair's breadth from making my top 5. Had I been there when the museum and gift shop were open, I am satisfied that I would have had reason to include it on my short list. The light is truly a work and it's proximity to the Old Presque Isle light (which is also open for climbing) and range lights makes this a unique experience.

Had I seen Cape Hatteras, it probably would have been on my short list. Cape Henry's access problems would likely push it to the fringe though. Next year will hopefully see a revamping of my list. Perhaps I will be able to see both.

1)Bodie Island, NC - all time favorite
2)Portland Head, ME - just beautiful from any angle
3)Pemaquid Point, ME - just to sit out on the rocks and hold my daughter again to enjoy the view
4)New Point Comfort, VA (just an adventure to drive to for a distant view of the lighthouse- especially in the snow)
5)Cape Lookout, NC (along with the lighthouse you get to enjoy seeing the Shakleford Banks Wild Horses on the way out there and untouched beaches on the ocean side since the lighthouse is on the sound side of the island. It is an adventure..bring supplies and bug spray. Pray it is not too hot.

1. White Shoal, MI - I saw it on a crystal clear day on a tour boat out of Mackinaw. Beautiful!
2. Split Rock, MN - The view of the lighthouse from the road across the water is spectacular.
3. Marblehead, OH - I like the setting of the lighthouse.
4. St. Simons, GA - Beautiful lighthouse
5. Cape Neddick, ME - The first lighthouse I saw and the first HL I collected.

Others that were strongly considered: St. Augustine, Ponce De Leon, Point Iroquois, Grand Haven, Big Sable

It is very, very difficult to narrow the list to five so this is what I have:

1. New Dungeness Light Station, WA - Best place to be a keeper in the USA!
2. Tie: La Coruna, Spain & East Quoddy, Canada - Both worth the trip if you never see another lighthouse in your life!
3. Tie: St. Augustine & Ponce de Leon Inlet, FL - Florida's finest
4. Tie: Point Sur, CA & Split Rock, MN - Two of the best complete stations in the country.
5. Cape Hatteras, NC - Fabulous structure before and even after the move.

That was hard narrowing it down to five since there are so many others that are just as great!

Judy

Another year of travel begs a need to update the list.
Cape Neddick "Nubble" York, Maine 1999
Skellig Island, Ireland 2008
Machias Seal Island, US/Canada 2001
Anacapa Island, Ca 2009
Point Conception CA 2009
Punta Gorda, CA 2007
The adventure getting to these LHs almost exceeded the goal of arriving. AWESOME!

Let's HEAR from you?

Oh yeah got to agree with Bob on the Punta Gorda death march. This trip should be made on a rainy windy day, and one must start at the farthest gate not the cliff gate for best effect!!!

In 4 Years my favs haven't changed much.

1. Bodie Island
2. Other OBX lights
3. Pt. Sur
4. Heceta Head
5. Roche's Point Ireland

0. Old Michigan City, IN (It seems like home since we go there 3 or 4 times a year to help take care of it)

To Visit...
1. Split Rock, MN
2. East Quoddy, NB (West Quoddy, ME)
3. Cape Flattery, WA
4. Old Point Loma, CA (New Point Loma, CA)
5. Key West, FL

Why these 5, because on the way there or on the way back we get to visit hundreds of other lights..

Split Rock and the Four Corners, sounds sorta like a Sixties Rock n Roll Band...

If you had said top ten, the Outer Banks Lighthouses would fill out the top ten..

very hard to choose
in order seen...
Point Fermin nearest to my home
Point Cabrillo love the iron work
Cape Lookout the island is lovely
Heceta Head the B&B is amazing
Navesink castles are part of a girl's dreams

For 2009-2010, top five I've visited (not including ones listed in my prior list that I revisited):

1)Ponce de Leon, FL - lots of artifacts in various structures, nice working lenses on display..well done
2)Cape Neddick (Nubble), ME - was very cold when I went but an awesome setting made for some great pictures
3)Wood Island, ME - viewed from a distance from a rocky shore line after walking down a nice nature trail, very tranquil setting..all alone with nature.
4)St. Augustine, FL - very tourist focused and very crowded but I did purchase a Harbour Light in the gift shop
5)St Simon, GA - a very nice setting..currently undergoing a rennovation

500* lighthouses and lightships begs me to update this Topic and increase the LIST to the Top TEN!

Cape Neddick "Nubble" York, Maine 1999
Skellig Island, Ireland 2008
Machias Seal Island, US/Canada 2001
Anacapa Island, Ca 2009
Point Conception CA 2009
Punta Gorda, CA 2009
Cape Ann Twins climbed 2011
Boston Harbor 2011
Burrows Island 2009
Montauk all the time

Old Cape Henry
Makapu'u Point
West Quoddy Head
Cape Lookout
Portland Head

So many to choose from!

L.A. Harbor
Point Fermin
Point Vicente
Fort Point
Alcatraz Island



When I lived in NC, of the Outer Banks Lights, Cape Hatteras was a favorite haunt before the move, which happened after I returned to California.

Owl's Head
Chatham
Nobska Point
Pemaquid Point
Ned's Point
Nubble
Barcelona
Rockland Breakwater
Butler Flats (my first lighthouse)
Duxbury Pier

Squaw Island, MI
Split Rock, MN
New Point Loma, CA
Fox Island Lights, MI
Toledo Harbor Light, OH

Mine top ten is mostly in Europe:
Gibraltar, Victoria tower at Europa point
Netherlands, Scheveningen
Portugal, Cabo da Roca
Russia, Baltiysk rear
Russia, Lomonosov channel lighthouse, near Saint-Petersburg
Spain, Cabo Villano
Spain, Cabo Trafalgar
And non-European:
South Africa, legendary Cape Point
Indonesia, Tanjung Emas lighthouse
and
Thailand, Bangkok Pilot station LH in open sea

Very nice Dmitry, especially with the websites. A very new prospective for the Forum!

Very nice indeed!

Especially the links to all of the pictures. I enjoyed looking at them.

Rick

I tend to remember lights we've seen not just for the light, but for the light and ... something. For instance.

Pemaquid Point - and some evidence that this was the first light I saw, way back when.

Barnegat - in February and the Harlequin ducks in the inlet.

New London Ledge - from the sailplane of a submarine.

East Brother - and the adventure in navigation to find a view from land.

St. Marks - for how close to the shoreline and sea level it is, yet not seemingly in danger of falling in.

Cuckolds - from the window of a very cold coastal Maine cottage in December.

Point Reyes - for those stairs!

Cape May - for the Hawk Watch at the other end of the parking lot.

Fort Jefferson - for the seaplane ride to get there and back.

Biloxi - for being in the median of US 90. Who puts a lighthouse in the middle of the road? (yes, I know the light was there first, but still ...)

Rick

My 2011 updated list (now top 10)
Bodie Island, NC
Ocracoke, NC (and Currituck, Hatteras, Bald Head, Price's Creek, & Cape Lookout, NC)
Pemaquid Point, ME
Portland Head, ME
Portsmouth Harbor, NH
Race Point, MA
Point Judith, RI
Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia
Gay Head, MA
Thomas Point, MD

All of these make up my "top 10" because of the adventure of either getting there, or the beauty encountered once there. And I had to include ALL the NC lights, just because.

Nice job Rick and Judy!

Rick's post brought back this "memory" Seguin Island with a world class outhouse!
Rick

Hudson Athens
Saugerties
Rondout
Esopus Meadows
Portland Head