I Climbed Up PEI’s Tallest Lighthouse

The West Point Lighthouse is Prince Edward Island’s tallest lighthouse, sitting on the westernmost coast of the island. As part of my random driving around on the west side of the island, I drove to this isolated lighthouse, which was also an inn and a campground. It had been raining on the day I visited the lighthouse, so I had the lighthouse all to myself because there were no other tourists.

I walk inside the lighthouse, and there was a mini gift shop and a lone attendant at the till. I do not imagine her being the only person here, as this is an inn and I would assume that there are other staff around. I pay the admission and start my self-guided tour of the lighthouse.

This lighthouse (built in 1875) was also a museum, and there were rooms, exhibits, and artifacts describing the history of the lighthouse. The ground level had a refurnished light-keeper’s room which I think is where the light-keeper would stay. This looked like how a 19th century room would look like.

I walk up the first set of stairs to the second level, and already the stairs were narrow (more on this later). The room here was an actual guest room. You could book to stay inside this room in the lighthouse. I feel like this would be quite lonely.

I walk up the next set of stairs and now this floor has no separate room. This was strictly museum space with all the different bulbs and lanterns.

I made sure to take a picture outside with the balconies of the rooms in the inn. It was not a good day to spend outside as the weather was blustery.

I walk up the next set of stairs, which were steeper and narrower than the last set, and had the big lantern and other lighthouse essentials.

I reached the last set of stairs to get to the top floor of the lighthouse, and this set of stairs was not stairs anymore. This set was essentially a ladder to the top, and it was so steep and narrow that I did not think I would get up there safely. I tempted fate and squeezed my way up the steps, making sure to hold onto the railing and take one step at a time.

Eventually, I made it to the top, and I got the full 360-degree view of the west side of Prince Edward Island. On the west side was the West Point Beach, but the waves were rough so I do not think people could swim in it. I am not sure if you could see all the way to New Brunswick on a clear day.

On the north side were many wind turbines, which I assume are for harvesting wind energy.

It was boiling at the top of the lighthouse, due to the lantern and the bulb creating much of the heat, along with my own fear in climbing up the lighthouse in the first place.

Regardless, in trusting my own abilities, the view from the lighthouse was a true blessing. This was probably the most memorable view of my Prince Edward Island trip.

The real trouble was trying to get down the first set of stairs. I had go backwards trying to get down the stairs, trusting that each foot would hit solid ground. It was a slow go, but I was able to get all the way down to the bottom of the lighthouse and back to the gift shop.

Going to check out the West Point Lighthouse was out-of-the-way and with some less-than-ideal weather, but it was the best outing on the trip, with some great views.