Nubble Lighthouse Webcam – See Maine’s 1879 Beacon

The Nubble Lighthouse Webcam looks out from the shore at Sohier Park in York, Maine, across to Cape Neddick Light on its rock: a white tower, a keeper’s house with a red roof, and a small red oil house on the slope below them. The camera sits beside Fox’s Lobster House at the end of Sohier Park Road, which is as close to the station as anyone gets, because the island itself is closed. The light stands about 91 meters (300 feet) off the mainland at the eastern tip of Cape Neddick. Sky fills the upper half of the frame, so weather is usually the first thing you notice, from pale flat haze on a calm morning to the low cloud that arrives with a nor’easter off the Atlantic.

About Nubble Lighthouse

Congress appropriated 15,000 dollars in 1878 for a light station at the eastern end of Cape Neddick, and the new tower was first illuminated on July 1, 1879. It was built of cast iron plate with a brick lining, a design that could be shipped in sections and bolted together on an island with no road to it. The tower is only 12 meters (41 feet) tall, but the rock it stands on lifts the light to 27 meters (88 feet) above sea level, which is why so short a lighthouse carries so far out to sea.

The formal name is Cape Neddick Light, and almost nobody uses it. The lighthouse is known instead by the name of the islet under it, the Nubble, a small rocky outcrop separated from the cape by a channel that fills and empties with the tide. Along with the tower came the keeper’s house with its red roof, the detail that makes the station recognizable in photographs. It is often described as one of the most photographed lighthouses anywhere.

The station joined the National Register of Historic Places on April 16, 1985, and was automated two years later in 1987, ending more than a century of resident keepers. The Town of York took ownership in 1997, and its Parks and Recreation Department maintains the site now. The light remains an active aid to navigation, showing isophase red on a 5 second cycle and burning around the clock rather than only after dark, with a fog signal that sounds once every 10 seconds when running.

Weather and Climate at Nubble Lighthouse

York sits on the southern Maine coast, and the year runs between two poles. July is the warmest month, averaging a high near 27 C (80 F) and a low around 16 C (60 F), though a sea breeze off cold water can knock several degrees off the air at the Nubble. Early summer is fog season here. Warm air over cold water condenses, and the camera can lose the island for hours before the bank lifts. Autumn brings the clearest air of the year and the tail of the Atlantic hurricane season, when distant storms send long swell onto the rocks in otherwise calm weather.

January is the coldest month, with an average high near 0 C (32 F) and an average low around minus 9 C (15 F). Spray freezes on the granite, ice collects in the channel, and on the coldest mornings sea smoke rises off the water and drifts past the tower. Nor’easters arrive between December and March and put heavy surf onto the islet. Spring arrives slowly here, cool and often foggy into May, because the ocean warms far more slowly than the land behind it.

Things to Do Near Nubble Lighthouse

Sohier Park, on Sohier Park Road, is the viewpoint the Nubble Lighthouse Webcam shares. It has roughly 50 free parking spaces, restrooms, picnic space and a seasonal gift shop open from early May to mid October, plus a low rocky shoreline people scramble over to line up the tower. A short drive west is Long Sands Beach, about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) of sand between the villages of York Harbor and York Beach, which draws three to five thousand people on a busy day from mid June to Labor Day. Short Sands Beach is smaller and more sheltered, a pocket of sand roughly 400 meters (a quarter mile) long between rocky cliffs in York Beach village, backed by Ellis Park with restrooms, seasonal lifeguards, a playground and a gazebo.

York’s Wild Kingdom, on Animal Park Road, combines a zoo and an amusement park across 10 hectares (25 acres) of woodland and wetland, with about 75 animal exhibits, close to two dozen rides and more than 200,000 visitors a year. In York Harbor, the Cliff Walk is one of the oldest footpaths in Maine, a cement and crushed gravel route of about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) along the rocks from near Harbor Beach. Check its status first: the record tide and storm surge of January 2024 washed out bedrock beneath the path, and sections have been closed since.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

Three more cameras worth opening if this stretch of coast interests you.

• York Harbor Beach Webcam
• Peggy’s Cove Webcam
• Ogunquit Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Nubble Lighthouse located?

It stands on a small rocky island off the eastern end of Cape Neddick, in York, on the southern coast of Maine. The mainland viewpoint is Sohier Park, about 91 meters (300 feet) away.

What can you see on the Nubble Lighthouse Webcam?

The white tower, the red roofed keeper’s house and the small red oil house below them, the grassy rock they stand on, and a wide stretch of sky above. Weather changes the picture more than anything, from clear blue overhead to fog thick enough to hide the tower.

Can you visit Nubble Lighthouse?

The island is closed to the public. The nearest access is the shoreline at Sohier Park, directly opposite, where the parking, restrooms and gift shop are.

How tall is Nubble Lighthouse?

The tower measures 12 meters (41 feet). Because it sits on a steep rock, the light is 27 meters (88 feet) above sea level.

When was Nubble Lighthouse built?

Congress approved funding in 1878 and the light was first lit on July 1, 1879. It was automated in 1987.

Is Nubble Lighthouse still working?

Yes. It is an active aid to navigation, showing an isophase red light on a 5 second cycle with a fog signal every 10 seconds.

Why is it called the Nubble?

The name belongs to the island, not the building. The Nubble is the small rocky outcrop off the tip of Cape Neddick that the station was built on, and the nickname displaced the official name, Cape Neddick Light.

What is the weather like at Nubble Lighthouse?

July averages a high near 27 C (80 F) and a low near 16 C (60 F), with frequent early summer fog. January averages a high near 0 C (32 F) and a low near minus 9 C (15 F), with nor’easters between December and March.

Source: Boston and Maine Live