There are 65 lighthouses scattered along the Maine coast. Some of them have had their photographs included in every single lighthouse calendar ever printed. Some haven’t. Some are stunningly beautiful. Some aren’t. Some are situated nearly a mile off the coast with a walkable breakwater connecting them to the shore. Some, well…okay, every single lighthouse isn’t, but one. The lighthouse that sits at the end of the breakwater is located in Rockland, Maine and that’s where I’m going to primarily place my focus during this post. I’ll tell you where the lighthouse is located, about a bit of its history, about the challenges walking to it, and then I’ll share far too many photos of the entire area with you. Before all that though, I’d like to tell you a quick story about a recent adventure. One that began in downtown Rockland, Maine.
Laura and I woke up bright and early on a mid-December morning. I had the trip planned, she knew nothing about it. She knew we were going somewhere, but nothing more than that. A few months ago, Laura mentioned that she would love to visit the Project Puffin Visitor Center in Rockland. I took note of that desire and decided to spring a visit upon her. I thought we’d also do some antique shopping at Antiques Etcetera and then walk the breakwater to the local lighthouse. I’m always in the mood for some good antique shopping and walking.
We were in the car by 9am. It was important to get an early start because of the limited daylight we were faced with. The sun goes down in Maine around 4pm during December, so if anything needs to get done outdoors, it needs to get done early. I figured a 10:30 arrival would be perfect. Spend a half hour in the puffin museum, a half hour in the antique store, and then few hours on the breakwater. After that, we’d visit Rockport and Camden. I’ll share those experiences in subsequent posts.
Upon arriving in Rockland, I became super energized. I had never visited the area and it was so much better looking and more interesting in person than Google Earth had led me to believe it would be. I suspect that Google Earth’s camera’s are weirdly wide angled, making the space they capture strange looking and somewhat barren. I also think their photography is dated, which doesn’t give the viewer all that much current information to go on. That’s neither here nor there. What is here or there is that we had arrived in Rockland and the town looked just about perfect. The Main Street was narrow and cozy and there were trees sprinkled about. There were also ample coffee shops, gift shops, art galleries, and other interesting stores to keep just about anyone busy for hours and hours. Since we were on a tight schedule though, we parked on Tillson Avenue, avoided the shops, and quickly made our way to the puffin visitor center.
Downtown Rockland, Maine
These are some photos I took along the way.
Project Puffin Visitor Center
After a few minutes, we arrived at our destination. Ahh, the Project Puffin Visitor Center. There at last.
Laura is a very gracious girl. She didn’t berate me. She didn’t strike me. She wasn’t even angry that the visitor center was closed. She knew it would be and she indicated as much. “If you only told me where we were going. I could have informed you last night that it would be closed. They hold shortened winter hours.” I expressed my dismay, but in my defense, I did check the internet the morning of and read on Google itself that the hours for the day of our visit would be 10am-5pm. The ordeal was hardly my fault. Hey, I got us out to Rockland, didn’t I? I suggested we not cry over spilled milk and move onto the antique store. Off we went, but not before snapping just a few more photos of the lovely town of Rockland.
Up and down the coast, you’ll notice a distinct “Maine” look among the residents. I’m not quite sure how to describe it. Take a quick stroll through L.L. Bean or Eddie Bauer and you’ll see what I’m referring to. The dogs have a look too. They’re generally cross-bred and have some sort of poo in them; Cockapoo, Affenpoo, Eskapoo, and the ever so popular Goldendoodle. All great dogs and very popular in towns along the Maine coastline.
Cottage Seagull Gift Shop
While we definitely needed to make haste to visit the antique store, we somehow ended up entering the Cottage Seagull Gift Shop right there on Main Street.
Inside the store, we met two of the sweetest and most helpful women. They both worked at the store and gave us just enough advice on where to visit for good photos. Apparently, carrying around 35mm cameras has that effect on people. They see us and we end up getting into conversations about lighthouses and hotels. This sort of thing is so very Maine. Mainers love conversations. Sometimes, long conversations.
The items in this gift shop were fairly high-end. Beautiful pieces of jewelry and home décor. We didn’t purchase anything because I’m not too much into their sort of style, but I can see why someone would. It was quite classy.
Antiques Etcetera
Antiques Etcetera isn’t much to look at from the outside.
Inside, however is where the action is. I’ll tell you, I’ve been to a fair number of antique shops, but I’ve yet to see such interesting items for sale. If you’re into the nautical theme, you may want to stop by this establishment. I took many photos and I’ll display them below. I especially liked the lights and antique diving helmets. I’ve never seen items like this in my life and now that I’ve seen them, I can’t unsee them. Especially the lights. I’m going to assume they were to be mounted on an old ship or something. They were heavy and made of brass or copper. Such quality. They cost hundreds of dollars each, so they were out of my price range, but I can see them being conversation starters in someone’s home.
Here are a bunch more photos from the inside of the antique store.
Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse
The trek to the lighthouse really was the impetus for the entire trip. I’ve been wanting to walk the mile into the sea for years. Ever since I first glimpsed some photos of the breakwater online some time ago, I planned on one day gearing up for a windy winter’s walk. I’ll tell you that our little adventure didn’t disappoint. Embarking on this challenge in December certainly is something to remember.
Normally, taking a walk like this wouldn’t be something to overthink or even prepare for. If we decided to do it in July, the winds wouldn’t be anything to write home about and the temperature would most likely be somewhere in the 80s. It isn’t like that in December. In December, you never know what you’re going to get. Case in point: yesterday was forecast to be sunny and in the mid-30s. Low winds. And it was like that when we first began making our way to the lighthouse. Funny thing happened just as we rounded the bend at the end of the breakwater and began to head back toward the shore. The sun disappeared, the winds kicked up, it began to snow, and I swear the temperature dropped 10°. Needless to say, my fingers and ears paid the price. At least I was wearing my Eddie Bauer hooded windbreaker to slay the elements. The jacket is about 20 years old and I’ve been waiting to put it to the test since the day I bought it. Money well spent.
What is the Rockland Breakwater?
Essentially, it’s a bunch of rocks sitting in Rockland Harbor. Back in 1890, members of the United States Army Corps of Engineers got together and decided to use big chunks of granite that were quarried right in Maine to make a nearly mile long path from the shore to a lighthouse. I’m assuming the lighthouse actually arrived after the breakwater because it’s sitting on top of the granite. The breakwater is 4000 feet long, or .82 miles. From the parking area, the walk is exactly one mile. If you’re looking for a two miles walk, I encourage you to try this one out.
The distance across the harbor is approximately 1.6 miles. The breakwater spans half that and its purpose is to “break” waves that might otherwise damage infrastructure and ships that are located inside of the harbor. The lighthouse at the end of the breakwater is meant to warn ships that might be coming and going to stay away from the rocks. The lighthouse was manned by humans up until 1962 when it was automated.
How to Get to the Rockland Breakwater
If you’re standing in the middle of Rockland on Main Street, or Route 1, head north for just over one mile. At the light, take the right onto Waldo Avenue. Continue on for about 3/4 of a mile until you reach Samoset Road. Take that right and continue on for another 3/4 miles. The road is a dead end and you’ll see a parking area on the left.
After you park, continue walking to the end of the road. From there, you’ll see a path that veers to the left. You’ll need to traverse down the rocky path onto the breakwater. After that, you’re on your own. You’ll see the lighthouse in the distance.
At this point, I’d like to simply post my photos of the breakwater and the lighthouse. I took far too many, but I’m sure I can pare them down so this page maintains a decent load time. Hopefully I’ll keep them at a manageable number. If you have any questions or anything to add, please use the comment form down at the bottom of this page. Thanks and enjoy!
Pictures of Rockland Breakwater & Lighthouse
As you’ll notice, it was quite cloudy when we arrived, but the sun came out shortly thereafter. Our walk was pleasant for the first half, but took a turn for the worse the second. I didn’t catch any photos of that as I was walking quite briskly to make my way back to the shore. Laura didn’t seem to mind. She was procrastinating because she was taking photos of the pipers on the rocks. Although, she was wearing a headband that kept her ears warm. My ears were naked and afraid.
In the final photo, you can actually see Rockland and Camden getting pummeled by snow in the distance. I’ll describe those photos below.
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