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- Tours are held in July and August on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 9:00, 10:30, and 12:00. Each tour lasts for two hours.
- Visitors meet their tour host at Vines Landing 30 minutes before the boat departs. Visitors must sign-in on the trip roster and, by their signature, they agree to our Release of Liability and our Tower Rules. The Release and the Tower Rules are available to read on our website and also at the Vines Landing sign-in location.
- The tour starts with a brief introduction at the lighthouse bell, located at the landing. The host will begin the presentation as soon as most of the group has assembled.
- Visitors then board our boat, Light Runner, which can carry 13 visitors on each scheduled trip. We take a 15 minute boat ride across Winter Harbor to Wood Island and disembark from Light Runner at the boat ramp.
- Pausing at the boat house, the host welcomes visitors to the island and shares information about the history of the island, the lighthouse, and the life of the lighthouse keepers.
- We walk on a raised wooden boardwalk 1/2 mile across the island to the lighthouse. The boardwalk is flat and safe but is quite high off the ground in some places and has no handrails.
- When the group arrives at the lighthouse, visitors are free to explore the keeper’s house, the bottom of the tower, and the connecting building. Visitors may also explore the grounds.
- Visitors who are at least 10 years old may choose to climb the 60 stairs to the top of the lighthouse tower. The tower host will accompany small groups (no more than 6 at a time) to the top. The view of Wood Island and Saco Bay from the lantern room is amazing!
- When it is time to depart, the tour host will call the group together and all will gather at the platform in front of the keeper’s house to begin the 1/2 mile walk back to the boat house.
- If you visit Wood Island Lighthouse, you will have visited one of only two Maine island lighthouses that are open to the public and have scheduled tours. It is a rare experience!
- The Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse share Wood Island with Maine Audubon. Wood Island Lighthouse guests arrive at the western end of the island and traverse the island over the boardwalk through Maine Audubon property. The entire island serves as a sanctuary for birds and other animals and, as a result, the Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse and Maine Audubon do not allow any pets on the island other than service animals as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act. For additional information, see our Service Animal Policy