Climbing the Cape May Lighthouse

The Cape May Lighthouse stands, a tall sentinel, at the southernmost tip of New Jersey. For years, this beacon has been guiding mariners, inspiring photographers and attracting lighthouse lovers from all over.

More than a historic marker, the Cape May lighthouse is still operational, although not tended by a lighthouse keeper since the 1930s. While automated by the US Coast Guard, the lighthouse is maintained by a special lease arrangement with a local historic and preservation group, the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts. Their website http://www.capemaymac.org/Lighthouse/this-week-in-cape-may-lighthouse.htm) is a treasure-trove of Cape May lighthouse information, and the lease arrangement is explained this way:

"In December, 1986, through special agreement with both the Coast Guard and the State of New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, the Cape May Lighthouse was leased to the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC). A non-profit organization headquartered at the Emlen Physick Estate, MAC has assumed the responsibility of restoring the lighthouse, interpreting it as a historic site and opening it to the public. "

On July 3, 2006, I visited the lighthouse, as I have several times in the past. The climb can be arduous, but well worth the sore muscles and sweating. The lighthouse stairs spiral around and around, an engineering work of art often taken for granted. Thankfully, several landings along the way provide a place to rest, a glimpse of the views to come through small windows, and displays of historic photos and stories. The winding stairs lead you to the room at the top where former lighthouse keepers could tend the light, which now turns almost noiselessly over the visitors' heads. Signing the guestbook and checking out the additional historic photos and information in this room let me catch my breath and mop my sweaty forehead before going out the small doorway, onto the walkway that encircles the structure.

The view is breathtaking, even on a day when humidity and haze lessen the vista. Stand on one side, and the ever-changing shoreline stretches out before you. On this visit, the World War II bunker, usually under water, sits high and dry on the sand - evidence of how the whims of wind and water constantly reshape Cape May Point. Another vista reveals the tidal marshland that is home to thousands of migratory birds. Follow the walkway around, and you can gaze down at the rooftops of the Victorian era sea homes that cluster together on this southern tip of New Jersey.

The breeze is strong and refreshing, it invigorates me so much that I hardly notice the almost 200 steps required to get back to the bottom. No trip is complete without a stop in the gift shop, if only to see the huge panoramic photograph of the view from the lighthouse. Usually several people are gathered around, comparing how the view captured in the photograph differs from the view they just witnessed in person.

Climbing the Cape May Lighthouse, or even just taking in the visitor's center is a stop not to be missed when visiting the Cape May, New Jersey area.