Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse - Rockland, Maine

Sabrina L.

Casi 2 km de caminata y vistas increíbles!!

Nos encantó, estuvimos caminando sobre piedras durante casi 2 km de distancia, pero ves todo, estás como en medio del mar. Es una pasada de paseo, con brisa y vistas increíbles.

Ojalá hagan del faro un museo para poder visitarlo.

Maria P.

Muy agradable paseo, me encantó, el clima estaba perfecto, la caminata estuvo genial, solo quería aventarme a nadar al agua, se veía maravillosa, un lugar que no te puedes perder

Silvia J.

Deben mejorar el faro, está muy abandonado, ya ni pintura tiene 🙁

Edward M.

WHEN WE DID IT: My wife and I walked out to and back from the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse starting at about 7:45 am on the morning of October 11, 2024.
TIME REQUIRED: The entire round trip hike out and back along the breakwater took us about an hour, BUT we are regular walkers, in good physical shape, and we walked rather briskly at a medium-fast pace because we had a lot of other sites to see that day. The weather was absolutely beautiful (perfect), with no clouds and almost no wind blowing. I would allot at least 2 hours of your day to do this hike, so you don't get rushed and hurt yourself.
ADMISSION FEE: There is ZERO admission fee, parking fee, nor even a gate that controls entrance to this 100% FREE tourist attraction.
PARKING LOT: Located near the north end of the breakwater on the east side of and near the very south end of Samoset Road. It's a dirt and gravel lot (unpaved). I would estimate it will hold about 50 cars max, but nobody else was there the morning we did it, likely because it was early in the morning, and we were in the very last week of the tourist season. Once you park, you have to walk about 200 yards along a wide gravel foot path that runs along the south side of the adjacent Samoset Golf and Tennis Resort and terminates at the head (north end) of the breakwater.
WARNINGS AND CAUTIONS:
There is a small billboard sign at the parking lot that provides CLEAR CAUTIONARY WARNINGS about the hazards associated with doing this hike (see my attached photo of this sign). READ AND HEED these advisories!
PHOTO ADVISORY NOTE: When you reach the lighthouse on your walk out to the breakwater, there are signs warning you not to walk around on the back (i.e., south) side of it because the lighthouse's poured concrete structural base/foundation was heavily damaged by giant waves during a winter storm that hit the area a few years ago. That said, you can't enter the lighthouse (it's locked and boarded up) nor can you climb up onto its foundation base area. You should plan to take your selfie photos (with the lighthouse in the background) when you are about 100-200 yards north of it as you approach it from the north, or on your way back to shore.
CHILDREN: I would NOT recommend this hike be attempted with any children under the age of 8-9 years old. A hyper-active or poorly behaved child (or an older child who is accident prone or spastic) will quickly and seriously injure themselves on this breakwater because of the serious slip and fall hazards. Every step on the breakwater is potentially hazardous (see my photo of the gaps between the giant granite blocks).
ADA ACCESSIBILITY: The breakwater is NOT accessible to wheelchairs nor scooters. There is no central paved or smooth path that runs along the top of the breakwater. Handicapped persons should plan to see this lighthouse by an ADA equipped motor or sailing vessel, if so desired.
RESTROOMS: During the morning of our visit, there were two porta-johns located on the far north and midpoint of the parking lot, one of which was "filled to the brim" and rather disgustingly dirty. I had to use the other one of the porta-johns (after we finished our walk) and it was only marginally clean. (i.e., well overdue for a pump-out and inside cleaning). Fortunately, I had packed my own toilet paper as well. I'd bring your own toilet paper and some sanitary wipes for the toilet seat just be safe.

Cory A.

This walk is beautiful any time . Best in late spring early late summer . Fall and Winter can be tricky but able to do . just bundle up and watch the wind !

Francesco G.

Bellissimo faro posizionato davanti alla città di Rockland. Per raggiungerlo bisogna percorrere un lunghissimo molo, la passeggiata è molto bella. Purtroppo il faro non è visitabile all'interno, ma si può girare intorno all'edificio. Vicino al faro, ancorata al molo c'è una piattaforma galleggiante da cui è possibile scattare delle bellissime foto del faro, vi consiglio di salirci. Faro assolutamente da visitare.

Miss V.

We stopped here on a Tuesday late afternoon in mid-November while vacationing in Maine. There were not many cars in the parking area and only a couple of others on the walk way. It was a little over 3/4 of a mile walk out to the lighthouse according to my Garmin watch - 1.61 miles round trip ish - probably a bit farther if you start tracking from the parking lot. It’s a straight flat out and back walk. Very cool to just be waking right down the middle of the water. It was a little cold out there and there was a little bit of water splish splashing up on the to the rocks. The lighthouse was under construction when we went so we could only get so far - see my picture. We enjoyed the walk and would do it again. I’m sure there would be more people here in the summer months. Maybe construction will be done by summer of 2025 - who knows - check the website.

Anna F.

A must visit spot in Maine!!! Beautiful walk and a super cool lighthouse at the end. What more could you want!
It’s amazing how different it looks every time you visit — lots of fog sometimes and then clear, blue skies at other times. Just a super wonderful spot.