Last Friday, I discovered the true meaning of lighthousing. Buoyed by my Tuesday sighting, another baseball game, additional research and my daughter, Kerri, home from college to share my trip; we ventured back to Cedar Point in search of a way to reach the LH.
We arrived at Cedar Point Park at 1:30 pm and virtually had the park to ourselves. After talking to an attendant and getting a map to find the LH, we were offered two ways of getting there. One, take the trail from the check-in house or two, drive through the campsite, park, etc, to a small dirt parking lot about 2 miles away. The length of the trail was not mentioned.
We made the correct decision to drive as far as we could get.
This route took us to a small dirt parking lot from which you cannot see the LH, so make sure you have the map and head in the right direction which is a left out of the parking lot when facing the water.
The trail along the water took us over very rocky beach, then a small strip along protected "piper plover" nesting areas, and finally to open beach. (This was at low tide so going at another time probably will mean slippery rocks and wet feet. I would not suggest doing this barefoot, we both wore sneakers.) It seemed like we walked 15 minutes before we could see the top of the LH. The adventure was about 35 minutes of brisk walking to the lighthouse.
Cedar Point LH is not an operating light, a steel tower and light are adjacent to the lighthouse at the point of the peninsula.
It is still very impressive, with it's granite stucture rising out of the dune on the point. My earlier comparisions to Old Field or Great Captains' Island were premature as the structure is very different even though it is granite. All the windows are sealed with cinder blocks but the structure is still beautiful and majestic as it claims its place on the point surrounded on 3 sides by the bays it oversees.
This remote location is rarely visited by foot a this time of year as evidence by the abundance of fist sized scallop shells and thousands of those nautilis type shells.
Our adventure took about 2 hours from the gate of the park. About 35 minutes each way walking briskly. (I guess it was about a mile and a half each way.) Bring a lunch to eat (on the rocks that prevent eroision at the point), and your camera. The view and is quite outstanding. If your into seashells, bring a pail - this is heaven for LI!!
I now know that lighthousing is not just driving up to the LH, parking and walking a couple hundred feet. Even though we could not enter or climb the light there was a great sense of adventure and accomplishment in finding and getting to Cedar Point Lighthouse.
Hopefully pictures will follow.
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Long Island BOB
[This message has been edited by rscroope (edited 05-17-99).]
