Fall Foliage Cruise — Portland Fall Foliage by Tour Boat

Portland fall foliage by boat

Of all the fall foliage stops we made this voyage, Portland displayed perhaps the most stunning colors. Maybe even more so than what we witnessed in Bar Harbor.

Portland fall foliage by boat

But more on those spectacular colors in a moment. First, a couple more lighthouse shots, including another view of Portland Head Light:

Portland Head Light and light keeper’s house

And another lighthouse I’ve not yet shown to you. Visible in the distance from Portland Head Light, to the east northeast, is a lonely lighthouse that appears to sit all alone out in the Casco Bay. Just east of Cushing Island lies uninhabited Ram Island. Extending south from Ram Island is a quarter-mile series of rocky ledges. To the southeast, hidden beneath shallow water, is Witch Rock, and to the south lies Jordan Reef. All three pose hazards to ships entering and exiting Casco Bay for Portland. Indeed, in February of 1900, the steamship Californian ran aground here, endangering her 21 passengers and crew. Thus was born the need for a lighthouse seemingly in the middle of nowhere. This is the Ram Island Ledge Light (1905), which as you can see from the image below can be quite dramatic even in relatively calm seas: