Rockland Breakwater Light parking — Attraction in Rockland

I have walked out to the lighthouse several times. The weather is always different. Once, in October, the wild roses were still in bloom along the shore, but the weather was very cold and windy. Luckily, my husband and I had jackets to wear. At the lighthouse, I rescued a honeybee that was caught in a spider's web and was shivering from the cold. I held it gently in my closed hand and kept my hand inside my jacket pocket the entire windy, cold walk back to shore. I then released it into the rose bushes, hoping that it would find the energy to make its back to the hive, wherever that may have been.

The most recent time I visited, the weather was starkly different -- unbearably hot with an unforgiving sun and surprisingly little wind. I had an umbrella to protect me from the sun, and wore sunscreen, but later discovered that I had unfortunately forgotten to put any sunscreen on my sandaled feet -- the tops of which glared red later that evening when I finally got home. There were no honeybees to rescue on this trip, but the lighthouse was home to many large spiders clinging to their unfurled webs. On the windward side of the lighthouse, dragonflies danced in the faint breeze, zipping here and there like mini jet fighters. A few white jellyfish waved gracefully at us in the water on the leeward side of the jetty, playing hide and seek among the seaweed. Far out in the water, a curious seal popped his head out and stared at us until it decided we were too far up on the jetty and too big to eat. Then it disappeared. A "huge" fish swam alongside the jetty, heading out towards the lighthouse until it was out of sight. We were excited to see it, but a nearby fisherman didn't seem impressed by our description of its size (of about 24 inches long). On our return walk, we witnessed a different fisherman catch a shining mackerel, deftly adding it to the bucket that already contained a few others. We wondered aloud why he had no water in the bucket, but he either didn't hear, or didn't care to reply. We also witnessed a Coast Guard boat come to the rescue of a marooned sailboat that had somehow broken from its mooring and lay on its side near the beach. The tide must have come in just enough to allow the coast guard captain to nudge the sailboat out into deeper water and then pull it to "safety".

If there was anything to make our visits to the lighthouse better, I imagine having golf carts to drive out along the jetty would help tremendously. Also, there should be vendors selling sunscreen, umbrellas, comfortable shoes, sunhats, and lemonade for those hot, sunny days and mittens, scarves, woolen hats, jackets and hot chocolate and coffee for those who visit on brisk days. Also, at any time of the year, it would be nice if cell phone cases with lanyards on them could be available for purchase. This would prevent accidentally dropping your brand new cell phone into the ocean (which is what my cousin's son did). I am kidding about these "wishes", but those who visit might consider the possibility of any of these items that they may want to have while traversing the nearly 1 mile walk...

This lighthouse is a hike to get to. It's about a 2-mile round trip over a breakwater barrier that doesn't have the most secure footing. There are no barriers or hand rails, so hiking pikes can be helpful if want some extra stability. For those with little kids, be careful. There are large spaces and uneven footing along the breakwater. Definitely wear sneakers or sturdy sandals, and bring water. The lighthouse is usually closed, so there is no shade or facilities.

In having said that, it was well worth the walk out there! You're walking through the middle of an inlet, and you get to see boats, be next to the water, and enjoy the views. The lighthouse is pretty and cool to look at. If you enjoy viewing lighthouses, like long walks along the water, or just want a walk after a picnic along the water, this is the...

Amazing. An absolute must do if you are in the area. Plenty of parking. My Dad, who is 70, is a little unsteady due to drop foot and neuropathy from chemo 18 years ago. He chose not to go but my Mom did. The rock path is wide but you do need to watch your step due to some holes between the rocks. Keep your little ones close. We saw one little guy trip, he skinned his arm and knee but he was ok. We also saw a cute couple get in the water from the rocks to cool off. We stopped for pictures quite a bit along the way and round trip was about 90 minutes. We went at high tide, because that’s when we could go, the water was calm the whole way. This is one of the highlights from our trip. There is no bathroom so plan...