Lighthouse Road Trip - Top-5 Best Maritime Canada Lighthouses
I spent three weeks doing a lighthouse road trip around Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island (PEI), the three provinces that make up Maritime Canada. During that time I saw dozens of lighthouses. While there are hundreds of Maritime Canada lighthouses throughout the three provinces, and while I only visited a couple dozen of them, I believe the following are some of the coolest. Leave a comment below and tell me which one is your favorite. For details on these 5 Maritime Canada Lighthouses, visit:
Warren Cove Range Front Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
This is the front range light of the Warren Cove range lights which guide vessels in Charlottetown harbour, Prince Edward Island. This tower, built in 1907, is located on the grounds of the Port-la-Joye—Fort Amherst National Historic Site of Canada.
The tower was originally covered in wood shingles but received new siding in 2008. The rear light is located about 330 meters to the west of the front range light.
Latitude: 46.1990
Longitude: -63.1382
Haszard Point Range Front Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
This range light is a tapered, wood shingled tower built in 1889, it stands fifty-seven feet high from base to vane. Around 1948 the height of the tower was increased by eight feet, which resulted in the lighthouse having an unusual appearance, as the slope of the upper and lower portion are different. The seaward side of the tower is painted red with a vertical black stripe. The other three sides are painted white. Due to the height of the tower and the modest size of the base of the structure the tower is supported against high winds by four guy wires.
The range lights take their name from the land they were originally built on, a farm owned by the Honorable Francis L. Haszard (1849-1938), who would serve as Premier of Prince Edward Island from 1908 to 1911 and Judge of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island from 1911 to 1930.
Location: Located on the east side of the entrance to the harbor at Charlottetown.
Latitude: 46.1944
Longitude: -63.07372
Murray Harbour Range Front Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
This small tower was built in 1878. It is located in the community of Beach Point, Prince Edward Island.
The tower displays a fixed red light. This structure stands about twenty-four feet tall, with a vertical red stripe on its seaward face. The companion rear range light stands about forty-five feet tall, also featuring a red stripe on its white tower, and exhibits a fixed red light at a focal plane of fifty-eight feet.
Storm surges in December of 2010 swept the front range light away, but the Department of Fisheries and Ocean (DFO) dragged the tower back to land and left it lying on its side.
Several months later a crane was brought in to place the tower atop a new concrete foundation. Repairs were made to the tower and it has been placed back in service. Currently it is in excellent condition.
Location:
Latitude: 46.02093
Longitude: -62.4783
Point Prim Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
The Point Prim Lighthouse holds the distinction of being the first lighthouse built on Prince Edward Island, constructed in 1845 with the light being lit for the first time on December 4, 1845. This tower was designed by noted architect Isaac Smith, who also designed Province House in Charlottetown. The Tower is also noteworthy in that it is one of only two circular brick lighthouses in Canada. Although constructed of brick the tower was covered in wood shingles in 1847 due to deterioration of the brick caused by freeze/thaw cycles and other environmental factors.
The Point Prim Lighthouse stands 61 feet tall and has five levels including the ground floor, three landings & lantern deck.
A museum is operated in the summer with guided tours.
Location: Located on Point Prim, 10.9km west of Belfast.
Latitude: 46.05036
Longitude: -63.03844
Climbing the Souris East Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
Climbing to the top of the Souris East Lighthouse in Souris, Prince Edward Island, on July 14, 2012.
Port Borden Range Rear Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
The Port Borden Rear Range Lighthouse is a square, wood shingled, pyramidal structure which stands forty-two feet tall from base to vane. It was built in 1917 and remained in operation until 1997 when the ferry service to the mainland was discontinued with the opening of the Confederation Bridge.
The tower no longer stands in its original location, it was relocated and is now is located in a park beside the bridge.
Location: Located in the Marine/Rail Historic Park just east of the Confederate Bridge in Port Borden.
Latitude: 46.24979
Longitude: -63.70517
Port Borden Range Front Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
The Port Borden Front Range Lighthouse is located in the community of Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island.
This 22 foot high range light was built in 1917 to guide traffic into the port of Borden. It operated until 1997 when it was taken out of service, as it was no longer required with the discontinuation of the Marine Atlantic ferry service following the opening of the Confederation Bridge to the mainland.
Latitude: 46.24985
Longitude: -63.69264
Souris East Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
Located On Knight Point in the town of Souris, Prince Edward Island, the Souris East Lighthouse was built in 1880 for $630. The structure is a square pyramidal tower painted white & stands 14.3 meters above the cliff and 26 meters above the water line.
On 1880 Angus McDonald served as the first keeper. In 1991, Frank McIntosh, the last lighthouse keeper on PEI, retired from the Souris East Light.
Visitors can climb the 45 steps to the lantern room and proceed to the outer platform where they can enjoy the panoramic view of Colville Bay, the Northumberland Strait, the Town of Souris, the Madeleine Island ferry, and on a clear day, the Cape Breton Highlands.
GPS Position is North 46.34651 and West 62.24742
Georgetown Range Rear Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
The Georgetown Range Rear Light is located near St. Andrew's Point (aka Wightman's Point), it was constructed in 1895 to replace an earlier structure which was destroyed by fire. The 1895 structure is thirty-four feet tall and consists of a square wood shingled white tower with a red strip on its front face.
Location: Located alongside St. Andrews Point Road.
Latitude: 46.1653, Longitude: -62.5372
Covehead Harbour Lighthouse., Prince Edward Island
This lighthouse was built in 1967, and is located beside the entrance to Covehead Bay on the north shore of Prince Edward Island. The lighthouse is situated right in the dunes of the National Park, and is easily seen from the main road.
The Covehead Harbour Lighthouse is 27 feet in height with a focal plane of 33 feet above the surrounding water, it serves as a coastal light not a range light. The revolving bull's-eyed Fresnel lens in the lantern room emits a white 0.5-second flash followed by an eclipse of 4.5 seconds.
A plaque on the side of the lighthouse describes the Yankee Gale of 1851 which took the lives of 150 men.
Location: Latitude: 46.43006 Longitude: -63.14314
Brighton Beach Front Range Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
The Brighton Front Range is a white square tower sloping sides and stands about 41 feet tall, it rests on a concrete foundation in the waters of Charlottetown Harbor near the Brighton Beach sea wall, in the city of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
The tower has a small lantern with a window facing seaward to show the fixed yellow navigation light. The seaward side of the tower features a vertical striped red day mark.
In the winter of 2000 the Brighton Beach Front Range was severely damaged during a storm surge. During repair work, the top 6 m (20 feet) was removed and placed on the lawn of the adjacent property, while the lower 3.6 m (12 feet) had to be completely demolished and rebuilt from the ground up.
Brighton Beach Front Range Light became the first Prince Edward Island lighthouse to receive designation under the new Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act.
Prince Edward Island Lighthouses
Canada's smallest province, approx 140 miles long has 63 lighthouses and rangelight buildings. That is 1 for every 34 square miles, which we believe is the highest concentration of lighthouses in any province or state in North America.
Howards Cove Lighthouse in the Winter, Prince Edward Island
A mid winter look at the Howards Cove Lighthouse.
This is the little lighthouse located at Howard's Cove, Prince Edward Island. This wood frame lighthouse sits on top of the hill overlooking the harbour and fish plant. Placing the lighthouse on the hill made a high tower unnecessary, therefore this the shortest lighthouse in the province at about nineteen feet high, however it still has a focal height of over 46 feet.
The lights signature is white: flash, 2 seconds; eclipse 4 seconds, and has a range of about 15 miles / 24km.
Latitude: 46.740173
Longitude: -64.37676
PEI Lighthouses
PEI Lighthouses are almost as famous as their beaches.
Cascumpec Sandhill Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
The Cascumpec Lighthouse is located on Sandy Island just off the north shore of Prince Edward Island near the town of Alberton.
There is no access to this island. The video was taken from the shore at several points about 1.5 to 1.7 km away.
Louisbourg Lighthouse First In Canada
Louisbourg Lighthouse is a historic Canadian lighthouse at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, and is the site of the first lighthouse in Canada.
Construction began on the lighthouse in 1730 to assist navigation to Fortress Louisbourg. It was completed in 1734. A fire in 1736 destroyed the lantern but the stone tower was unharmed and a new lantern was installed in 1738.[1] Lighthouse Point played a decisive role in both sieges of Fortress Louisbourg as, once captured, it provided a commanding gun battery location to bombard the fortress. This lighthouse was badly damaged in 1758 during the Final Siege of Louisbourg and abandoned by the British after they demolished the fortress. Stonework ruins from the first tower are still visibile at the site.
A square wooden lighthouse with a black stripe was built by the government of Nova Scotia in 1842. The lighthouse was a large 2 1⁄2-story wooden building supported by a massive masonry base. It included the keeper's dwelling in the base of the light. A fog horn building was added in 1902. This lighthouse was destroyed by fire in 1922. The foundation remains visible today and has been excavated and stabilized by Parks Canada archaeologists.
Cape Egmont Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
The Cape Egmont Lighthouse and surroundings in Prince Edward Island, July, 2013.
Wright's Front Range Lighthouse, Victoria, Prince Edward Island
The present Wrights Front Rage Light, a white, square, pyramidal tower that stands 12 feet tall, replaced the original structure in 1903. It used to show a red light that produced a 0.5-second flash every second from a window near the top of the channel face of the tower. The rear tower is located 2,280 feet from the front range, and displayed a two-second, red flash every four seconds.
The Coast Guard deactivated Wrights Range in 2011.
Location: Located just west of the harbour at Victoria.
Latitude: 46.20479
Longitude: -63.496
Cape Egmont Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
The Cape Egmont Lighthouse was completed and put in operation in September of 1884. This square, pyramidal structure is 40-1/2 feet in height from base to vane and was built to the same design as the lighthouses at Wood Islands and Cape Bear. The shingled tower is enhanced by decorative details including pedimented windows. Originally it had an attached dwelling, which was removed in 1958 along with the station's oil house.
The Lighthouse was moved back from the surrounding bluffs in April, 2000
due to shoreline erosion.
The Cape Egmont Lighthouse currently has a signature of a two-second white flash, followed by an eclipse of three seconds.
Location: Located on Cape Egmont, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Latitude: 46.40171
Longitude: -64.13492