WayfarrowMount Desert Light
Lighthouse · Maine
Mount Desert Light is a lighthouse in Maine. Maine has 70 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow.
It was built in 1847, in the first half of the 19th century, making it the 6th oldest of the 61 in Maine with a recorded construction date; the tower stands about 58 feet tall (7th tallest of 53 measured in Maine); its light sits 75 feet above the water; the light characteristic is recorded as Fl W 15s (a white flash every 15 seconds), with a range of about 20 nautical miles; it guards Gulf of Maine; the recorded designer or builder is Alexander Parris; the structure is built of granite.
Status check, 2026-11: Mount Desert Rock Light: the station opened in 1830, but the current granite tower dates from 1847 and was raised about 10 ft in 1857. College of the Atlantic owns it today. Mount Desert Light is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is not reachable by road: the nearest road is about 15 miles away, so it is seen from shore or reached by water. It stands at 43.9686° N, 68.1283° W.
Key facts
| Current structure built | 1847 |
|---|---|
| Tower height | 58 ft |
| Focal height | 75 ft |
| Light characteristic | Fl W 15s |
| Range | 20 nautical miles |
| Body of water | Gulf of Maine |
| Designer / builder | Alexander Parris |
| Material | granite |
| Heritage designation | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
| National Register | Listed |
| Coordinates | 43.96861, -68.12834 |
Nearby places
- Great Duck Island Lightlighthouse · Hancock County · 13.3 mi
- Baker Island Lightlighthouse · Hancock County · 19.2 mi
- Burnt Coat Harbor Lightlighthouse · Hancock County · 19.6 mi
- Bass Harbor Head Lightlighthouse · Hancock County · 20.4 mi
- Bear Island Lightlighthouse · Hancock County · 22.9 mi
- Egg Rock Lightlighthouse · Hancock County · 26.7 mi
- Blue Hill Bay Lightlighthouse · Hancock County · 26.7 mi
- Isle Au Haut Lightlighthouse · Knox County · 26.9 mi
- Saddleback Ledge Lightlighthouse · Knox County · 29.9 mi
- Petit Manan Lightlighthouse · Washington County · 30.5 mi
- Prospect Harbor Point Lightlighthouse · Hancock County · 30.6 mi
- Deer Island Thorofare Lightlighthouse · Hancock County · 30.8 mi
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wikidata — Wikidata item (CC0)
- National Register of Historic Places — National Register of Historic Places record (public-domain)
- Wikidata — Wikipedia article (linked as a source; text not used) (CC0)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.