The Nubble Lighthouse
The Nubble, formally Cape Neddick Light Station, is the most photographed lighthouse in Maine and the closest one to the Anchorage Inn. Built in 1879 on a small rocky island just off the tip of Cape Neddick, the white tower and its red-roofed keeper's house have stood about 300 feet offshore for nearly 150 years. The view from Sohier Park is so iconic that NASA included a photograph of the Nubble in the Voyager spacecraft's gallery of Earth's greatest images.
Address
NUBBLE LIGHT / SOHIER PARK, Sohier Park Rd, York, ME 03909, United States
From the Anchorage Inn
By Car: 6 Minutes
From the Anchorage Inn, it is a 6-minute drive north on Long Beach Avenue and Nubble Road. Sohier Park is open year-round, free to the public, and managed by the town of York. The viewing area sits directly across from the lighthouse with around 60 parking spaces, picnic tables, restrooms open seasonally from mid-April through mid-October, and a small gift shop. There is no public access to the island itself; the Coast Guard's automated light still operates; and the keeper's house is preserved but closed to visitors. The 300-foot sightline gives you photographs that look like they were taken with a much longer lens.
The lighthouse has a rich history. The 41-foot brick-lined tower sits 88 feet above sea level and was first lit on July 1, 1879, with a fourth-order Fresnel lens. The light is visible for 13 nautical miles in clear weather. The red-painted oil house and covered walkway between buildings are part of what gives the station its distinctive silhouette, and the small cluster of structures has changed remarkably little since the late 19th century. In 1987, it became the last lighthouse in North America to be automated and was added to the National Register of Historic Places shortly after.
Nubble Lighthouse
6 Min
42 Min
Address
NUBBLE LIGHT / SOHIER PARK, Sohier Park Rd, York, ME 03909, United States
Carefully Selected Journeys
Why Visit
An estimated half a million people visit Sohier Park every year to take in the view, and it is easy to understand why. Whether you catch it at sunrise, golden hour, or lit up after dark, the Nubble delivers one of those rare scenes that looks exactly like the postcard, and somehow still manages to feel personal.
- One of the most photographed lighthouses in the world, perched on a rocky island just 300 feet offshore and viewable for free year-round from Sohier Park.
- A NASA-selected image of the Nubble was included aboard the Voyager spacecraft as one of Earth's greatest images.
- Free parking, a seasonal gift shop, restrooms, and picnic tables make it an easy, no-fuss stop for the whole family
- Worth visiting at multiple times of day, sunrise is the quietest and most photogenic, sunset draws a crowd for good reason, and the lit-up lighthouse after dark is something else entirely
Day 1 What To Do
