. . .A volunteer lighthouse keeper, that is. Alerted by our friends Miriam and Gene to a late cancellation, my husband and I scored a coveted weeklong stay at the New Dungeness Light Station in Sequim last week. There are only three ways to reach this beautiful and remote spot and none of them are easy: a five mile trek each way along the beach, tides permitting; by boat, landing by permit only; or, as a keeper, transported by the New Dungeness Light Station Association (NDLSA), with food, gear, and enthusiasm for a stint that includes greeting visitors, keeping up the lighthouse and keeper’s quarters, and other duties as assigned. Here’s the setting:
Completed in 1857, the lighthouse is one of the oldest in the Pacific Northwest and one of very few that allows the opportunity for a stay. After the U.S. Coast Guard withdrew its last keeper in 1994, the NDLSA stepped in to protect and preserve the Station and has continuously staffed the Station with volunteer keepers. It is an extraordinary place in an incomparable setting.
The Light Station property includes the Keeper’s Quarters, on the right above, completed in 1904 for the Officer-in-charge. Volunteer keepers stay in one of three bedrooms here, sharing a well-equipped kitchen, dining room, and comfortable living room. A 600-foot-deep artesian well provides water and a cable to shore provides power to the Station. NDLSA volunteer workers do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to site maintenance and they stay in quarters located in the original lighthouse building. The love and care poured into this very special place is evident at every turn.
I’ll post more pictures of the lighthouse, the keeper’s quarters, and its stunning environment in the coming days.
An interesting way to maintain a light house. I wonder how long volunteers stay and how many are retirees. Your photos are splendid and it makes me long for the sea.
What an amazing opportunity you and your husband had! This is a fabulous seties. Thank you, Kay, for giving us the opportunity to share a glimpse into such a memorable experience. Wow.
Your top photo is just SUPERB!
Thank you! I’ve only met a handful of volunteers. Those I’ve met so far are “young” retirees. Workers stay a couple of days, long enough to complete planned tasks. The people involved seem talented, interesting, and thoughtful.
This model works nicely. Continuous occupation of the quarters keeps it alive and well, as does the work done to keep things ship shape and abates deterioration. Having people there also discourages vandalism, though its location also does this.
I agree with Gunn, that top photo blew me away…they are all beatiful shots. What an experience and memory that would be.
Did you have to share the place with other keepers or were you there alone?
The Lighthouse Association requires at least 4 adults in residence each week. This makes sense given the remoteness of the location. You can reserve one bedroom and the others will go to whoever also reserves. Some groups will reserve the whole house together. We were joined by another couple who had been there 4 or 5 times before. We spoke by phone beforehand and loosely coordinated meals which we shared. We all got along very well and we truly enjoyed their company. We even brought them home with us the night we came back so they didn’t have to drive home (Seattle area) in the dark and windy night.
Wow, I am a slight shade of green having reading this. I love the place and the idea of volunteer keepers, what a great idea. We have somewhere similar, Spurn Point here in Yorkshire, but you have to be a member of the full time lifeboat crew to live there.