Acadia National Park, occupying a large section of Mount Desert Island, is one the most popular tourist destinations in Maine. Taking up 30,000 acres, Acadia offers a stunning collection of well-worn granite mountains, miles of scenic shoreline and a beautiful interaction between cliff-lines and the powerful Atlantic Ocean. Sectioned off by finger lakes, mountain ridges, bays, coves and sounds, Mount Desert Island scenery is filled with windswept promintories, forests of hardwoods and fir, picturesque harbors and quiet villages.
   Among lighthouse fans, one of the most popular destinations is located at the southwestern tip of Mount Desert Island where Bass Harbor Head juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Here a 32 foot tall lighthouse was erected in 1858 to mark the entrance to Bass Harbor and a stern warning to mariners of the Bass Harbor bar. The light sits high on a rocky cliff, 56 feet above the sea, and also marks the entrance to Blue Hill Bay, between Bass Harbor Head and Great Gott Island.
   Today, the iconic lighthouse is automated and the lightkeeper's home is off limits to visitors. But a path off to the east of the lighthouse leads to stairs that descend to one of Maine's most picturesque lighthouse views. Local sea cruises offer a different perspective of this scenic lighthouse view and the rocky cliffs. This view from the west, catching the late afternoon light, requires a tough scramble down the rocky shoreline. Capturing this beautiful golden glow on Acadia's cliffs makes it all worthwhile.

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