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Highland Lighthouse

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North Truro, MA
Highland Lighthouse

Cape Cod's first lighthouse, established 1797. Open daily, May 1-October 25, 2026, from 9 am-5 pm; the last tour begins at 4:30 pm. Come visit!

Highland Light Station, also known as Cape Cod Light, is located on Outer Cape Cod within Cape Cod National Seashore in North Truro. Established in 1797 as the 20th light station in the United States, the original 45-foot tall wooden tower and keeper's dwelling were built more than 500 feet from the edge of a 125-foot tall clay cliff. A new brick lighthouse was erected near the original tower in 1831. The present 66-foot tall brick light tower, keeper's house and generator shed replaced the previous structures in 1857. An enclosed walkway connects the tower and the one-and-one-half-story, L-shaped, Queen Anne style keeper's dwelling. Erosion of the steep cliff throughout the years brought the present light station around 100 feet from the cliff's edge by the early 1990s. Using funds raised by the Truro Historical Society combined with state and federal grants, Highland Light Station was successfully moved 450 feet back to safer ground. After the 18-day move, the light was relit on November 3, 1996, and is an active aid to navigation. Today, the keeper's house features a gift shop and museum exhibits and a dedicated staff provides tours of the tower.

08/30/2026

Highland Light is open daily, from 9am-5pm. Tours run continually from 9am until 4:30pm. Come visit!

08/07/2026

Happy National Lighthouse Day!

National Lighthouse Day is celebrated every year on August 7th. It honors the date in 1789 when Congress passed the Act for the Establishment and Support of Lighthouse, Beacons, Buoys, and Public Piers. The day highlights the history and safety value of these maritime towers.

Join us tomorrow on Facebook Live!

07/29/2026

We hope you have enjoyed the last 18 days with us, remembering this fantastic engineering feat. It is an important part of our history, which dates back to 1796 when George Washington first commissioned it.

Come visit the Highland Light site to learn more and take a tour of the lighthouse. We are open daily from 9 am-5 pm from May 1 through October 25, with the last tour beginning at 4:30 pm. Children must be 48" tall to climb the tower.

07/28/2026

On Sunday, November 3, 1996 Highland Light was relighted in its new location. Over 200 people toured the tower's interior before the relighting ceremony.

The Highland Light Bagpipe Band performed in full regalia, and Congressman Gerry Studds, an important proponent of the move, spoke to the assembled crowd.

"While this light may not save lives," said Studds, "it will inspire lives for a long time to come."

During the event, official ownership of the light station was transferred from the US Coast Guard to the National Park Service, although the Coast Guard continues operating the actual light as an active aid to navigation.

07/27/2026

What other lighthouses have been moved?

In 1993, International Chimney Company and Expert House Movers had partnered to orchestrate the 300-foot move of the Southeast Lighthouse on Block Island (located in Rhode Island Sound). The Block Island project had been a "soft" move, where the lighthouse had traveled over unreinforced earth. They used a similar technique at the North Truro site.

The Southeast Lighthouse structure was very similar to the types of large buildings they were used to moving. Highland Light was the first time they attempted a tall, conical shaped lighthouse.

Since then, they have moved several lighthouses, including Nauset Light in 1996, Cape Hatteras in 1999, Sankaty Head Lighthouse in 2007, and Gay Head/Aquinnah in 2015.

07/26/2026

When will it have to be moved again?

The terrain of the Truro Highlands consists of loose glacial sand and clay deposits. Because these bluffs lack solid rock formations, they have virtually no resistance to regular wind and rain, as well as high-energy wave attacks during winter storms, a vulnerability that could be heavily accelerated by rising sea levels. Currently, the rate of erosion ranges from 3 to 5 feet per year.

After the relocation, Highland Light is expected to remain in its current spot for over a century. The 450-foot move placed it safely about 570 feet from the bluffs. We have lost about 90 feet in the 30 years since the move.

07/25/2026

Have there been any renovations since the move?

Working over a period of 10 months in 2014, Park Service architects installed censors to monitor temperature and humidity, and announced that the lighthouse was suffering from severe moisture retention and accelerated deterioration. This occurred because the structural air spaces were filled with a cement-like material to stabilize the tower during its historic 450-foot move away from eroding cliffs in 1996. Temporary venting repairs were done quickly to safely reopen the tower for the 2015 tourist season.

The lighthouse needed a facelift in April 2001. The job, performed by the Campbell Construction Group of Beverly, MA, entailed sandblasting the lead paint from the interior of the lantern room and the tower's stairs, removing rust from the exterior iron work and replacing some railing sections as well as rusted iron panels. Some cracks in the iron were welded with certanium. A new window was installed and some of the brick work on the ocean-facing side of the tower had to be replaced. The interior of the lantern room and the stairs were repainted, as was the entire exterior of the tower.

In 2019-2022, a major $2 million rehabilitation completely updated the structure. The project restored the original ventilation, repaired the cracked brick masonry, removed the non-breathable exterior coating, and replaced corroded ironwork. Henry General Contractors of Springfield, MA were responsible for the project under the direction of Park Service specialists.

07/24/2026

The Highland Links golf course, built in 1892, surrounds the lighthouse site. Highland Light is immediately flanked on the north and south by the nine-hole links-style golf course that is owned by the National Park Service and managed by Johnson Golf Management, Inc.

Prior to the move, many heated discussions took place between town managers, members of the Save the Cape Cod Lighthouse committee, and the US Coast Guard about the possibility of golf balls hitting the lighthouse, and even the visitors who were walking nearby.

The lighthouse and golf course had been neighbors for many years. However, the move placed the building in a rather unusual position: it would now be within 10 feet of the golf course's seventh fairway. Consequently, shatter-proof glass had to be installed at the lantern deck and trees planted at the base of the tower to protect the beacon from stray golf balls. Even so, windows on the lantern deck have been broken and have had to be replaced after the lighthouse was in its new position. It is not uncommon for golf balls to strike the tower and the house at any time. One golf ball came right through the window of the connector building!

07/23/2026

The entire relocation process of the Highland lighthouse and its keeper's dwelling took six weeks. Moving the lighthouse structure alone took more than two weeks, about 18 days. The moving team successfully moved the buildings on time, within budget, and without incident.

Once the project was completed in 1996, Highland Lighthouse sat 570 feet from the Truro bluffs, safely away from the Atlantic Ocean for another 150 years. The United State Coast Guard continues to operate the light as an active navigational aid. The National Park Service owns the property. It is operated by Eastern National.

There is currently a rock on the site to mark the center of the lighthouse prior to its relocation.

07/22/2026

How much did it cost?

The relocation in 1996 cost about 1.55 million dollars. Financing the project took state and federal support, but the effort would not have begun if it were not for the Truro Historical Society, which spearheaded the project starting in 1987. Gordon Russell, president of both the THS and the Save the Light Committee, said that he and the other volunteers sent out 30,000 brochures and collected 140,000 signatures on a petition to show support for the move.

A group within the Truro Historical Society began raising funds in 1989 for the moving of Highland Light. Local residents and tourists made donations and bought t-shirts and other souvenirs, and the society raised over $150,000. This was combined with funds from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the US Coast Guard and the National Park Service.

Address

27 Highland Light Road
North Truro, MA
02652

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	9am - 5pm
Sunday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+15084049117

Website

http://www.highlandlighthouse.org/

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