Highland Lighthouse Area

New England Hikes #1- Cape Cod's Highland Lighthouse Area
By Christopher Seufert

Whether you're driving from on or off Cape Cod a great sunset hike can be had at one of the most beautiful vistas in New England. Truro's Highland Light and the Jenny Lind tower are located about 75 miles down Cape Cod and frame an easy, but naturally and historically interesting, hike. Actually this is more jaunt then hike. Traveling north on Route 6, the Highland Lighthouse area is 3.3 miles north of Truro Center. Take the "Cape Cod Light/Highland Road" exit. Turn right onto Highland Road and follow to the Highland Lighthouse area, where there is plenty of free parking for your car. Don't forget your camera and binoculars on this one.

In front of you is the Highland Lighthouse, which was the first lighthouse built on Cape Cod in 1797, though the present 66-foot brick tower dates from 1857. Today the lighthouse is automated, as are all the lighthouses on the Cape now. A 1,000 watt bulb now does the job that, in earlier years, was accomplished with fifteen whale oil lamps or a huge Fresnel lens. Plan to take the Truro Historical Society tour (Children must be 51" tall). The hours are May 1st through October, 7 days a week, 10:00 am until 5:45 pm, and the Lighthouse Gift Shop is open 10 a.m. until sunset.

Once at the top of the tower you'll be treated with a magnificent vantage point of the 100-foot cliff. The Highland cliffs were once considered the ideal location for a lighthouse. Clay deposits in the cliffs, referred to as "Clay Pounds," were seen as a buffer against storm waves. Yet, it is clear today that the clay is unstable and slides off in tremendous chunks when undermined by waves. Though this clay was in the past used by the local people it is now a federal law to dig it out, although it can be taken freely if it is loose.