Saturday, August 8, 2020

Kennebec River Lights

Saturday August 8th was another good weather day so Kate, Wesley, & I decided to head out for a short adventure.  We made our way down to Arrowsic to check out two of the four lighthouses on the Kennebec River.  Technically there are five light towers but the two towers of the Kennebec River Range Lights are counted as one.

All the towers on Kennebec River were constructed in 1898 once the US Lighthouse Board determined that the river needed additional navigational aids as fifteen years prior Bath Iron Works opened.

Our first stop was at Doubling Point Light, located at the end of Doubling Point Rd the house and other outbuildings are privately owned, however the owners grants access to the lighthouse daily from 9am - 5pm.  There is parking for a few vehicles and you can easily walk across the lawn to the tower.


Doubling Point Lighthouse is an octagonal wood tower that stands 23 feet tall and is connected to land by long catwalk it is still an active lights that can be seen up to 9 nautical miles.  It was placed on the National List of Historical Places on January 21, 1988.
  

When we arrived that was already two people on the catwalk to the light.  Because of the narrow walkway and the Covid we waited for them to leave before walking to the light.  In the interim we followed a trail that lead down the shore that lead to nothing.  However along the way we found a statue that was a bust of Jesus with a snake wrapped around the bottom.
  


It was beautiful out at the light with a nice breeze and wonderful ocean smell and a wonderful view.  Of course we took a selfie.  Another couple arrived and they waited for us to comeback to land before they went down to the lighthouse.




A short drive down Rte 127 we turned down Bald Head Road, at the end of the road is a parking area for both trails that lead to Squirrel Point Light and Bald Head.  The trail to the light house is about two-thirds if a mile one way and is easily navigated.  There is some difficulty to it but we didn't have an issue.





The grounds of the lighthouse consist of the keepers house, oil house, now electric house, and the boathouse.  There is also a boardwalk leading from the keepers house to the light and oil house.  Built in 1898 the white octagonal tower stands 25 feet above the water and the light can be seen 8 nautical miles.







The only down side to the visiting the light is that we were attacked by mosquitoes, even though we sprayed ourselves with bug spray it evidently wasn't enough.

Wesley was a real trooper so of course we rewarded him with ice cream.  We stopped at a place in West Bath called Witch Spring Hill Ice Cream who serve Round Top Ice Cream out of Damariscotta.  A few miles down the road we came across a Fielder's Choice, we didn't realize they had a location in Brunswick.

It was a short excursion but we had a lot of fun and got some time outside.  

Until Next Time! 

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