Bass Harbor Head Light is officially part of Acadia National Park following transfer from the U.S. Coast Guard/NPS file, Kristi Rugg

You now can visit Bass Harbor Head Light on Mount Desert Island without leaving Acadia National Park.

On July 8 the U.S. General Services Administration transferred the light station from the U.S. Coast Guard to the National Park Service.

Constructed in 1858, the light station was transferred at no expense to the NPS under the authority of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. The Bass Harbor Head Light Station is now one of three light stations in Acadia National Park joining the Baker Island and Bear Island lights.

“We are grateful to Friends of Acadia for supporting this transfer through their 2018 benefit auction,” said Superintendent Kevin Schneider. “We were able to use that support to complete a Historic Structures Report that will guide our preservation of the building into the future.”

The acquisition includes five historic buildings on two acres of land. The Park Service will maintain the lighthouse in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and will develop plans to stabilize the structure, protect it from deterioration, and potentially provide for visitor access in the future. The U.S. Coast Guard will continue to operate and maintain the automated aid to navigation.  

The light station was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.