Lighthouses of the Cape

Cape Cod, MA
October 19-24, 2008

 
   

October 19, 2008

I had to travel to Hyannis, Massachusetts back in October of 2008 for work. With this, I figured it would be crazy to not try and see a few lighthouses. I had never been to the Cape, but we had talked about it. While booking my flights to Boston, I decided to fly out early Sunday morning so that I would be ready for my training on Monday morning. This would give me all day Sunday for traveling. I had my GPS programmed for a bunch of the lighthouses in Massachusetts.

I arrived in around 8:30am Sunday morning. I was meeting a buddy for lunch at the Sunset Grille in Allston at 11:30am. So I was able to deplane, get my car, and make it down to the Scituate Lighthouse in Scituate, Massachusetts. It was so windy and cold that morning that it was hard to hold the camera steady to get the pictures. After climbing all over the rocks near the lighthouse, it was time to work my way back to Allston for lunch.

After having lunch with my buddy, it was time to work my way down to Cape Cod. After arriving on the Cape, my fist stop was a distant viewing of the Stage Harbor Lighthouse. Given my time frame, I knew that I would mostly be viewing some lighthouses from a distance instead of hiking out to them. From State Route 28, I followed Stage Harbor Road south to Cedar Street. I made right onto Cedar Street, and followed that to the end. At the end, I made a left onto Battlefield Road and followed that a short distance to Sears Road. I made a right onto Sears Road, and followed that to the end. It ended right at Stage Harbor. From here, with my telephoto lens, I could get a pretty good shot of the lighthouse.

From here, I left following Sears Road back up to Battlefield Road. I crossed over Battlefield Road and continued on following Champlain Road. This eventually changes names to Stage Harbor Road. I then turned right onto Bridge Street and followed this to the end in Chatham. This put me right at a parking area across from the Chatham Lighthouse.

After taking a bunch of pictures of the Chatham Lighthouse, I was on the move again. This time I followed State Route 28 north for quite a few miles until it met back up with State Route 6. I then followed Route 6 north to Nauset Road. I then followed Nauset Road north to Cable Road. I then made a right onto Cable Road, and followed that to the end. This put me at the parking lot for the Nauset Beach Lighthouse. I took several distance shots from the parking lot before I made the walk over to the lighthouse for some close up shots. From here, there was a .3 mile walking path to the Three Sisters Lighthouses.

Rather than walking to the Three Sisters Lighthouses, I walked back to the car, and then drove back up Cable Road. There was a parking area in front of the Three Sisters Lighthouses. So I parked the car, and walked back to photograph them. After taking a bunch of pictures of the three, I headed back to the car. By now, it was getting late, and I was loosing light fast. I still wanted to get to the Highland Lighthouse, and make it to Provincetown. From here, I worked my way back out to Route 6, and continued north.

Near Truro, I exited off of Route 6 on Highland Road. I took a right onto Highland Road, and followed that to the end. At the end, I made a right onto Aldrich Road. I followed that a short distance to Highland Light Road. On Highland Light Road, I parked in a parking lot, and walked up to the Highland (Cape Cod) Lighthouse. I took several photos of the lighthouse, and then followed the path to the ocean overlook. Again, the wind was still howling. It was picking up the fine sand and little pebbles, and pelting me with them. Needless to say, my stay here was brief.

By the time I left the Highland Lighthouse, it was almost 6pm. By now, almost all usable light of the day was gone, but I still drove up to Provincetown. I tried getting a few pictures of the Woods End Lighthouse, but by now, it was 6:10pm, and the shots were very dark and blurry. So I will have to try to visit those few lighthouses in the area another time.

October 21, 2008

After the training class ended for for the day, I set out to photograph the Hyannis Harbor Lighthouse. I was staying at a hotel next to the Cape Cod Mall, so I followed Lyannough Road to the rotary, and then followed Barnstable Road south. As I crossed over Main Street, I then followed Ocean Street south. At the intersection of Ocean and Gosnold Streets, I made a left onto Gosnold Street. I followed Gosnold Street to Ocean Ave / Sea Street. From here, I followed Ocean Ave to a parking lot with Beach Access. Having read in several books that the lighthouse isn't visible from any roads due to dense foliage, beach access was my best bet.

Once on the beach, I began to head east. A short walk through the sand brought me to a good viewing spot. From the beach, I was able to get many shots of the Hyannis Harbor Lighthouse. After that, it was back to the car for a quick ride to the West Dennis Lighthouse.

I followed Gosnold back to Ocean Street which brought me back to Main Street. From here, I made a right onto Main Street (Route 28) and followed that over to West Dennis. Once in West Dennis, I made a right onto School Street and followed that to the end, where it changes names to Lower County Road. I made a right onto Lighthouse Road, and then a left onto Lighthouse Inn Road. This puts you into the parking lot for the Bass River Lighthouse (West Dennis Lighthouse).

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