Wood Island Lighthouse Webcam – See the 1839 Granite Tower

The Wood Island Lighthouse Webcam looks along the light station on Wood Island, at the mouth of the Saco River off Biddeford Pool in southern Maine. The granite tower sits near the center of the frame, its black lantern room set against the sky, the keeper’s house to the left, and a covered passage between them. A raised wooden boardwalk crosses the foreground. On the right the mown grass gives way to bare rock and open water, with the mainland a low line on the horizon. Fog is common on this stretch of coast, so a clean horizon can close down to almost nothing inside an hour. The light is still an active aid to navigation, alternating green and white every ten seconds.

About Wood Island Lighthouse

Congress authorized a light on Wood Island by an act of March 8, 1806, and the government bought eight acres (3.2 hectares) of the island for 140 dollars that same year. Benjamin Beal and Duncan Thaxter took the contract in June 1807 for an octagonal wooden tower and a single story keeper’s dwelling. The station was finished that year and first lit in 1808, with Benjamin Cole of Saco as keeper. It was the thirteenth lighthouse completed in the United States, authorized under Thomas Jefferson.

Wood proved a poor material on an exposed island. An 1833 inspection found the tower rotten and unlikely to stand another season, and in 1839 it was replaced by the granite tower the camera shows today, reworked again in 1858. The tower rises 14 meters (47 feet), and because the ground beneath it is already high, the focal plane sits 22 meters (71 feet) above mean high water. The white beam carries about 33 kilometers (18 nautical miles) and the green about 30 kilometers (16 nautical miles). The keeper’s house on the left of the frame dates from the late 1850s.

A fog bell cast in Sheffield, England in 1872 hung at the station for most of a century, weighing 596 kilograms (1,315 pounds), until the Coast Guard swapped it for an electric horn in 1967. The bell was recovered in 1976 and now stands at Vines Landing on the mainland. The station was automated in 1986. Maine Audubon holds 11 hectares (28 acres) of the island’s 14 hectares (35 acres) as a sanctuary, leaving the Coast Guard about 2 hectares (5 acres) around the light. The Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse, formed on April 6, 2003 as a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation, maintain the buildings and run this camera, and the boardwalk in the foreground carries visitors about 800 meters (half a mile) from the island landing to the tower.

Weather and Climate at Wood Island Lighthouse

Winter is the hardest season out here. January averages a high of 0 C (32 F) and a low of -12 C (11 F), and it is the snowiest month, with about 45 centimeters (17.7 inches) in a typical January out of roughly 160 centimeters (63 inches) across the year. Snow usually starts in November and is done by April. On camera, winter turns the grass white, spray breaks over the rocks on the right of the frame, and sea smoke can hang over the water on the coldest mornings.

July is the warmest month, with a high near 26 C (79 F) and a low near 14 C (58 F). Over the year the temperature usually runs between -9 C (15 F) and 26 C (79 F), so spring and fall sit between those ends rather than reaching either. Summer brings the fog this part of the Gulf of Maine is known for, warm air over cold water, and the tower can disappear and come back inside an afternoon. Fall clears the air again, and the low light through October and November is when the granite reads most sharply.

Things to Do Near Wood Island Lighthouse

East Point Sanctuary, at the tip of Biddeford Pool, gives the best free view of the island from the mainland. Maine Audubon manages it, and the trail is a short out and back across rocky shore and coastal scrub, with Saco Bay on one side and the open Gulf of Maine on the other. Parking is the catch: shoulder room for roughly six cars. The sanctuary is open sunrise to sunset, on foot only, no bikes and no dogs.

Vines Landing, the gravel boat launch in Biddeford Pool, is where the 1872 fog bell now sits, with the Stage Island Monument in sight from the same spot. Goldthwaite’s, a general store and lobster pool, is a few yards up from the launch. The Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse run tours to the island in July and August, on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, leaving Vines Landing aboard the LightRunner for a crossing of about 15 minutes, then the boardwalk up to the keeper’s house and the tower, which can be climbed. Across Saco Bay to the north, Old Orchard Beach runs 11 kilometers (7 miles) of sand, the longest beach in Maine, with its amusement pier at the middle.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More cameras on the same coast, plus an Atlantic light farther north.

• Nubble Lighthouse Webcam
• Old Orchard Beach Webcam
• Peggy’s Cove Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Wood Island Lighthouse located?

On Wood Island at the mouth of the Saco River, off Biddeford Pool in York County, southern Maine. The boat crossing from Vines Landing takes about 15 minutes.

What can you see on the Wood Island Lighthouse Webcam?

The granite tower and its black lantern room, the keeper’s house and the covered passage between them, the raised boardwalk in the foreground, and the rock shoreline dropping to open water on the right.

What is the weather like at Wood Island Lighthouse?

Cold and snowy in winter, with January highs near 0 C (32 F), and mild in summer, with July highs near 26 C (79 F). Fog is frequent from late spring onward, and annual snowfall is around 160 centimeters (63 inches).

How tall is Wood Island Lighthouse?

The tower is 14 meters (47 feet) tall. Because it stands on high ground, the light itself sits 22 meters (71 feet) above mean high water.

Is Wood Island Lighthouse still working?

Yes. It remains an active aid to navigation, alternating green and white on a ten second cycle, with the white sector visible about 33 kilometers (18 nautical miles). It has been automated since 1986.

Can you visit Wood Island Lighthouse?

Yes, in season. The Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse run boat tours from Vines Landing in July and August on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, including the keeper’s house and a climb of the tower.

What happened at Wood Island Lighthouse in 1896?

An island resident, drunk at the time, shot a local lobsterman, then killed himself after keeper Thomas Orcutt urged him to give himself up. It remains the best known story attached to the station.

Who runs the Wood Island Lighthouse Webcam?

The Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse, a nonprofit chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation established in April 2003, which also maintains the buildings and runs the summer tours.

Source: Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse