Cape Cod Highland Light

Truro · 27 Highland Light Rd Truro MA 02666

Location Details

Visual Character

“Oldest lighthouse on Cape Cod (1797); dramatic cliffs above Atlantic; lighthouse moved inland 1996; Cape Cod National Seashore setting; fog and coastal mood”

About this location

Cape Cod Highland Light — also called Cape Cod Light — is the oldest and tallest lighthouse on Cape Cod, occupying the highest elevation on the Cape at Truro's outer edge. The white tower (originally 1797, current structure 1857) was famously moved 450 feet inland in 1996 to save it from the rapidly eroding Outer Cape cliffs. Those dramatic clay and sand cliffs remain a visual centerpiece — a raw, crumbling coastline that changes with every storm. The Cape Cod National Seashore manages commercial film permits. The adjacent Highland House Museum offers period interior spaces and historic context. Cape Cod's legendary fog, sea light, and seasonal mood changes — summer brightness giving way to autumn melancholy — create a naturally cinematic atmosphere. An ideal location for literary adaptations, character dramas, and stories rooted in New England's maritime tradition. Near Provincetown's arts community.

Where you'll be