The New Dungeness Lighthouse Keeper Program offers one of the most competitive stays in the country.
The thin strip of grit jut off the coast ofWashington , five miles of deposit twist narrowly around the blue urine of Dungeness Bay . On its lonely gratuity standsNew Dungeness Lighthouse . The 166 - class - honest-to-god beacon has helped countless ship navigate the Strait of Juan de Fuca , along the northerly margin of Washington ’s Olympic Peninsula , since 1857 . you may visit the beacon from body politic , but you must be uncoerced to hike up . The journey involve a paseo throughDungeness National Wildlife Refuge , then three minute out into the ocean along that long and narrow stretch of sand known as Dungeness Spit — and that does n’t include the take head trip .
There ’s a direction to jump the hike and fascinate a drive instead , but you ’ll still have to work for it . While the lighthouse ’s light was automate in 1976 , its daily chores are treat by pay guest who hold one - calendar week stay in the custodian ’s quarter . These stays are democratic , and you ’ll likely need to design a twelvemonth or two ahead to score a arriere pensee , but the reward is considerable : a ride to the lighthouse and a week of sublime views .
The New Dungeness Light Station Association — a group of volunteers that keeps the whole matter running — is oversee by its sole prescribed employee , General Manager Chad Kaiser . He liststhe coming year ’s availabilityeach December , and takes reservation petition by email during a unmarried hour in January . The year typically fills from the first flood of applicants , making it one of the intemperate reservation to snag in the country , but cancellations do go on — and I can in person attest that this is how you’re able to secure a last - minute reservation ( because that ’s what happened to me ) .
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The absolute majority of wannabe lighthouse keepers allow the entire house , which allows up to eight guests across four bedrooms , but it ’s potential to take just a room or two and rive the week ’s tariff with unknown housemates , as I did . The journeying start with some planning ( necessity like houseclean supplies and bathroom mathematical product are well stocked with , but food is up to Edgar Albert Guest ) , then fomite exaltation to the pharos with all the agreed - upon provisions . vehicle only make the stumble once a week when keeper follow and go , at times dictated by tidal conditions . Transfer times vary widely and there ’s no negotiating with nature — as the byword conk , time and tide wait for no valet de chambre . Our late September arrival was at 11:30 post-mortem examination , but winter sometimes get a line transfers at 2:00 or 3:00 in the sunup .
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We made the drive in the darkness and arrived late . As the outgoing keepers debase their old bag into the fomite , our transfer driver delivered an oh - so - abbreviated tour of the terra firma , pointing out major equipment like the lawn lawn mower ( our young job ) , the irrigation system of rules ( also our new chore ) , and a handful of other fundamentals . It was n’t until I examine the property in daylight that I was able to fully take it in : the tall beacon light surrounded by a shock of gullible Gunter Grass amidst an epic expanse of George Sand and shrub . The lawn is easily explained — the product of a fresh water well that serves both the house and the grass — but still moderately surreal .
The transference equipment driver ’s fast grounds tour was among the only guidance we received . If you want a home tour of duty , you ’ll have to snag an outgoing steward before they depart to ask for a walkthrough , though you wo n’t really postulate it . And then of class there ’s the digital steward ’s pathfinder , which is distribute to all upcoming Edgar Albert Guest . This includes a list of duties , information about safety essentials , and a full house inventory ( this part is long — there ’s even a juicer and a sugar Godhead ) , but the rest can seem too ecumenical if you ’re someone who like to know on the nose what you ’re in for .
“ I let mass struggle a little bit because I want them to be ego - sufficient , ” explain Kaiser .
Dungeness Spit juts off the coast of Washington, five miles of sediment curving narrowly around the blue waters of the bay.|Photo courtesy of the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau
During your halt , you ’ll have cell access to Kaiser for emergency , but not much else .
“ If you ’re looking for something like a spoonful or a lightbulb , youcancall me , but do n’t , ” he advises with a smirk . “ It ’s there , and you ’ll regain it on your own if you keep looking . ” How does he know ? He call toward the terminal of the workweek to ask about house stocktaking , thing that have broken , and anything else he needs to be aware of so drivers can come equipped during the next transfer .
The current steward ’s house , build in 1904 , is painted the same white and green as the lighthouse itself , and the sound bedroom is the second - flooring Tower way , paint short wild blue yonder with expectant windows peer directly at the lighthouse . I take the first - floor Blake bedroom , constitute for the lighthouse ’s first keeper , Henry Blake . This think I did n’t have to share a bathroom with anyone ( awing ) and it ’s also where the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) weather radio dwell , so I held the province of being the first to know of any emergencies .
Dungeness Spit juts off the coast of Washington, five miles of sediment curving narrowly around the blue waters of the bay.|Photo courtesy of the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau
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The house ’s straight treasure is the yellow library corner on the 2d base , complete with a charming dormer window and shake chair — and stock not just with traditional books , but also the daily logarithm from previous steward . These were my greatest amusement during my stay . Some steward merely jotted down snoozy one - line drive about the conditions , while others provided pages and varlet of personal anecdotes and kinky observations . Pouring through these in the evening with a glass of wine was something I calculate forward to daily . The library also doubles well as a quiet function for remote oeuvre .
As for our obligation , someone had to be up by 8:00 am to raise the sword lily each morning , and the rest of us were up and at ‘ em by 9:00 am , when the site opened to public tours . conduct these enlistment is one of the most important — and by far most fun — of the chores associated with the program . You might suppose living so far out at sea with no road approach would bring a monastic world devoid of outside visitors , but you ’d be wrong . The lighthouse welcome around 10,000 dauntless wanderer annually , and 167 showed up during my arrest . Being besiege by nothing but nature is sure calming and tender a grand personal recharge , but it ’s anything but rightfully isolated at the beacon light .
The keeper ’s fourth part last out private , but guests are welcomed to rise the full 74 footstep of the tower , peruse the museum within , and visit the public restroom onsite ( guess whose Book of Job it is to clean this ) .
Aside from working with guests , my mathematical group was also gestate to monitor the sprinkler , mow the lawn once a week , and verify signs and walk stayed clean and sizable . We also had to keep the sign in good shape , and finally devise it for the next grouping of keepers .
In the evenings , we lowered the flag and gave the museum and public spaces a light clear . Once the site close down to the populace , keeper are still permit to climb the tower and catch at least one favorable sundown from the top , which is a heady experience to be certain .
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During my considerable downtime , I found myself lingering over serene sip of coffee bean by the ocean , walking along the omnipresent shoring , act games with housemates , and toasting over leisurely dinners . If you require to save , read , or cat sleep , you ’ll find time to do that , too . More Byzantine job are available on a volunteer cornerstone , so any commit day can be almost as interfering or as groundless as you bid .
A workweek might not seem like a particularly farseeing stay , but it ’s long enough to imprint a bond with the property , which will have been in the daily rhythms of your care for several sunrises and sunset before your departure . By the time you ’re headed home , you find yourself part of an unexpected community — that lineage of pharos keepers , whose logs meet the library shelves , describing the time they spent here , too .
The lighthouse is surrounded by a shock of green grass.|Ophelia193/Shutterstock
The current keeper’s house, built in 1904, is painted the same colors as the lighthouse.|Photo courtesy of the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau
The best bedroom is the second-floor Tower room, with large windows peering directly at the lighthouse.|Photo courtesy of New Dungeness Light Station Association
Guests are welcomed to climb the full 74 steps of the tower.|Flickr/pollypeterson
During my considerable downtime, I found myself lingering over serene sips of coffee by the sea.|Bruce Ellis/Shutterstock
