Portland Head Light

Portland Head Light, completed in 1791, is the oldest lighthouse in Maine. The lighthouse is located on the eastern edge of  90 acre Fort Williams Park which has walking trails, a small rocky beach, ruins of the mid 1800s Goddard Mansion, battery ruins from the fort that operated from 1872 to 1964, a children's garden, and game courts - a lot to explore.

 

The terrain is hilly and some of sections are not accessible. Others may be accessible with assistance. The coast is rocky so although many paths lead to the water there isn't any wheelchair access. The paths to the mansion and Battery Keys are steeply uphill. The roads from the parking lots to the lighthouse have a designated walking lane but some are steep. The paths at the lighthouse and to overlooks are paved and level. Paths and roads around Battery Blair and Battery Garesche are paved or hard packed and accessible. The cliff side path from Battery Hobart to the lighthouse is rolling with a very steep section at the lighthouse. The lighthouse is open one day a year. The keeper's house is now a museum. Both it and the gift shop close at 2:00 on weekdays so we missed seeing them but both are accessible. We did not visit the children's garden.

There are three large lots and several smaller lots in the park. Most of the lots have fee stations that accept cash or credit cards. We parked at the loop end of the lot near Battery Keys because the spaces were a bit wider. There's a small lot at the lighthouse where vans will fit. A dirt lot (maybe overflow and maybe free) where any RV will fit is located across from the Woodland Garden. Lighthouse  43.62546, -70.21443