![]() If you want a house tour, you’ll have to snag an outgoing keeper before they depart to ask for a walkthrough, though you won’t really need it. The transfer driver’s quick grounds tour was among the only guidance we received. The lawn is easily explained-the product of a freshwater well that serves both the house and the grass-but still somewhat surreal. It wasn’t until I saw the property in daylight that I was able to fully take it in: the tall lighthouse surrounded by a shock of green grass amidst an epic expanse of sand and shrub. As the outgoing keepers loaded their bags into the vehicle, our transfer driver delivered an oh-so-brief tour of the grounds, pointing out major equipment like the lawn mower (our new job), the irrigation system (also our new job), and a handful of other basics. We made the drive in the dark and arrived late. Our late September arrival was at 11:30 pm, but winter sometimes sees transfers at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. Transfer times vary widely and there’s no negotiating with nature-as the proverb goes, time and tide wait for no man. Vehicles only make the trip once a week when keepers come and go, at times dictated by tidal conditions. ![]() The journey begins with some planning (essentials like cleaning supplies and bathroom products are well stocked, but food is up to guests), then vehicle transport to the lighthouse with all the agreed-upon provisions. The majority of wannabe lighthouse keepers reserve the entire house, which allows up to eight guests across four bedrooms, but it’s possible to take just a room or two and split the week’s duties with unknown housemates, as I did. The year typically fills from the first flood of applicants, making it one of the hardest reservations to snag in the country, but cancellations do occur-and I can personally attest that this is how you can secure a last-minute booking (because that’s what happened to me). He lists the coming year’s availability each December, and takes booking requests by email during a single minute in January. The New Dungeness Light Station Association-a group of volunteers that keeps the whole thing running-is overseen by its sole official employee, General Manager Chad Kaiser. | Photo courtesy of the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau Dungeness Spit juts off the coast of Washington, five miles of sediment curving narrowly around the blue waters of the bay. These stays are popular, and you’ll likely need to plan a year or two ahead to score a reservation, but the reward is considerable: a ride to the lighthouse and a week of sublime views. While the lighthouse’s light was automated in 1976, its daily chores are handled by paying guests who book one-week stays in the keeper’s quarters. There’s a way to skip the hike and catch a ride instead, but you’ll still have to work for it. The journey involves a walk through Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, then three hours out into the ocean along that long and narrow stretch of sand known as Dungeness Spit-and that doesn’t include the return trip. You can visit the lighthouse from land, but you must be willing to hike. The 166-year-old lighthouse has helped countless ships navigate the Strait of Juan de Fuca, along the northern border of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, since 1857. On its lonely tip stands New Dungeness Lighthouse. The thin strip of sand juts off the coast of Washington, five miles of sediment curving narrowly around the blue waters of Dungeness Bay.
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