Courtesy of North Head Lighthouse
If you are an enjoyer of the sea or a fan of the 2019 A24 film “The Lighthouse,” the Pacific coast’s many historic lighthouses might be a good destination for your next off campus trip. My boyfriend Jacob and I have spent the spring semester visiting lighthouses along the Washington, Oregon and Northern California shorelines, and I have found these destinations to be beautiful, interesting and very underrated places to visit.
Coastal lighthouses have an intriguing history, and they decorate some of the most naturally beautiful places I have seen. A fun addition to our experience has been our discovery of the United States Lighthouse Society and their passport program. For only $15, you can purchase a commemorative passport to collect unique stamps from participating locations. Following is a list of the lighthouses we have visited, but there are even more along the West coast and Willamette River that we have yet to explore.
North Head Lighthouse
Located just across the bridge from Astoria, Oregon (a beautiful coastal town only a two-hour drive from campus), this lighthouse in Ilwaco, Washington, has an impressive 65-foot tower and fantastic views of the Pacific Ocean. At any time of year you can walk the grounds and go right up to the base of the lighthouse. Constructed in 1897, this white and black lighthouse with a conical head is still operational. Nearby there are lighthouse keeper residences where you can stay overnight. Interior tours are available May-September for only $3 per adult. In the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center located inside the park, you can see the original Fresnel lens — the unique grooved light used in most lighthouses — and learn about the Chinook tribe and pioneering history. If you purchased a passport, you can pick up a stamp here as well. The Cape Disappointment State Park has a $10 day-long parking pass, but this pass will allow you into Washington state parks all day. Visit the Cape Disappointment State Park website for more information and hours.
Cape Disappointment Lighthouse
Two miles from the North Head Lighthouse is the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. Your Washington State Park parking pass from North Head will allow you access to this lighthouse on the same day. Getting to Cape Disappointment takes you past an active Coast Guard base and the dramatically named Dead Man’s Cove. Cape Disappointment overlooks the mouth of the Columbia River, and its observation deck is actively used by the Coast Guard to monitor bar conditions. Due to its active role in monitoring bar conditions, this lighthouse is only available to view from the outside by the public. While visiting this lighthouse, which stood tall with a black stripe in the middle and a rounded dome top, I was lucky enough to spot a bald eagle flying overhead. Despite its name, I would not call a visit to this lighthouse disappointing.
The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was first built in 1856 and included both a light and a fog bell.
Tillamook Rock Lighthouse
Located 1.2 miles offshore, this deactivated lighthouse sits on less than an acre of basalt rock amid the ocean. Its square base, with the light tower extending out of its center, makes it slightly resemble a chapel. It is the northernmost lighthouse in Oregon and is known as “Terrible Tilly.” Visible as a small silhouette from Cannon Beach or Seaside, Oregon, the best view of this lighthouse is from inside Ecola State Park. Unfortunately, when I visited, the road to Ecola State Park had been washed out, and the best view was inaccessible. Regardless, a visit to the Cannon Beach History Center & Museum allowed more insight into the wild history of this lighthouse and two more unique stamps for our passport.
Officially lit on January 21, 1881, Tillamook Rock Lighthouse was the most expensive lighthouse construction project at the time. Notably, surveyor John Trewavas was swept out to sea while attempting to land on the rock in September 1879, and his body was never recovered. The project’s infamous reputation and the resulting public uproar led to trouble finding workers, but the lighthouse was nevertheless completed. Just three weeks before its lighting, a boat named Lupatia tragically crashed into Tillamook Head. All 16 crew members perished, with only the ship’s dog surviving. The lighthouse was active for 76 years, garnering a reputation as isolated, dangerous and possibly haunted. The lighthouse is now privately owned by Eternity at Sea Columbarium and was briefly used as a resting place for about 30 urns, until its license was revoked in 1999 by the Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board. Today the lighthouse property is for sale and is home to sea lions, seals and various sea birds.
Cape Meares Lighthouse
Located in Tillamook County, this lighthouse is small in stature (the shortest in Oregon at about 38 feet), but allows visitors to look into its striking red lens at almost eye level along the slight hill of the upper trail. It looks like a gem caught in a wizard’s caged tower. Built in 1889 and lit the next year, the light was visible for 21 miles and had an alternating red and white pattern. Suffering multiple instances of vandalism, the lighthouse was restored and opened to the public in 1980. The 2015 narrative video game “Life is Strange” used Cape Meares Lighthouse as inspiration for its lighthouse in the fictional town of Arcadia Bay. Cape Meares has stunning views of the Pacific coast and is home to thousands of seabirds including common murres, pelagic and Brandt’s cormorants, pigeon guillemots, and the occasional peregrine falcon. Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint is part of a national wildlife refuge and contains a forest of old growth spruce, including the impressive eight trunked “Octopus Tree” a very short walk from the lighthouse, all which are free to visit.
Yaquina Head and Yaquina Bay Lighthouses
Originally called Cape Foulweather Light at Yaquina Point, the spire-like Yaquina Head Lighthouse is located in one of the most striking (and windy) locations of all the sites I visited. This lighthouse is found just north of the town of Newport, Oregon. First lit in 1873, this lighthouse is the tallest on the Oregon Coast at 93 feet, featuring 114 steps in the tower. There is a $7 entrance fee that will allow you to view the lighthouse and explore its surrounding beaches and tide pools. A passport stamp can be acquired at the Yaquina Head Interpretive Center which also houses information on the lighthouse’s history and the marine flora and fauna located around the head. Occasional tours of the lighthouse are offered weather permitting. The lighthouse still uses its original 1868 French-made fixed Fresnel lens. The lighthouse was featured in the 2002 horror film “The Ring” and the 1983 spoof horror film “Hysterical” (free to watch on YouTube) and in an episode of the 1977 series “The Nancy Drew Mysteries.”
The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse was the cutest of the ones I visited. It has more house than light, appearing like a suburban home with a pointed, one-story tower extending out of its roof. This small lighthouse is free to access and is a short way from the town of Newport. It sits beside stunning views of the Yaquina Bay and its bridge. This lighthouse was active only three years (1871-1874) due to the building of the larger Yaquina Head lighthouse. This lighthouse is the only one in Oregon in which the light is in the same building as the living quarters. Seasonal tours of the lighthouse interior and passport stamps are available.
Heceta Head Lighthouse
Heceta Head Lighthouse, a pretty, white pillar with a red roof and a visible golden lens, stands at 56 feet tall and sits 206 feet above the Pacific Ocean. Heceta Head has volunteer-led tours of the lighthouse, and visitors may enter the base but not climb up to the light. There is also a cute gift shop near the lightkeepers quarters where you can get a passport stamp. The lightkeepers quarters were renovated and now function as a bed and breakfast. While I was visiting, there were also Whale Watch volunteers pointing out the migrating grey whales. Completed in 1893 but first illuminated in 1894, the lighthouse has great scenery and is situated on Siuslaw traditional lands. Siuslaw nation members used the head as sea lion hunting grounds and gathered sea bird eggs. It is the site of a legend in which the Grizzly Bear brothers met their deaths. We were lucky to see sea lions swimming in the waters beneath the lighthouse while visiting.
Umpqua River Lighthouse
After visiting the town of Florence, Oregon and its cute old town along the riverfront, go slightly south to see this Mediterranean-looking lighthouse. Located within a Coast Guard base, the standing lighthouse, which was built in 1894, is the successor to a previous one built in 1855 which was destroyed by consistent flooding and structural damage from the elements. It was built at the same time as the Heceta Head Lighthouse and used the same plans, making the two nearly identical. The lighthouse is free to park at and view from behind a short gate. There is a gift shop nearby where you can get a passport stamp. The adjacent Lighthouse Museum offers tours of the lighthouse year round for a small fee of $8.
Coquille River Lighthouse
Right outside of Bandon, Oregon, Coquille River Lighthouse is located within Bullards Beach State Park. This lighthouse is located on Coquille tribal land and began operation in 1896. A day-use parking permit is required at this park, costing $10 for residents of Oregon. This lighthouse is unique due to its squat stature, rusted red look and Spanish-inspired stucco walls. The cylindrical tower is attached to an octagonal room, which once housed a fog signal. The surrounding jetty and sand dunes make for a great view at this one-of-a-kind park. A passport stamp can be obtained from the ranger’s station.
Cape Blanco Lighthouse
The most intense wind I have ever experienced in my life was while visiting Cape Blanco Lighthouse, just outside of Port Orford, Oregon in Cape Blanco State Park. Forty-five mph winds forcibly closed my car doors, blew my boyfriend’s beanie straight off his head and almost pushed me over a cliff. Despite these treacherous conditions, I cannot deny that the white-and-red Cape Blanco sits on a stunning panoramic view of the coast. The Greeting Center Gift Shop offers interesting information and a passport stamp (open April 1- Oct. 31). Built in 1870 on 47 acres of land, this is the oldest standing lighthouse on the Oregon Coast. On the way to Cape Blanco, you can also visit the historic Victorian Hughes House which offers a glimpse into the pioneering lifestyle.
Battery Point Lighthouse
Surviving a 1964 tsunami, this similarly chapel-like lighthouse is located in Northern California’s Crescent City. During the tsunami, keepers were stranded in the lighthouse and they gave a vivid testimony of the deadly wave. “Suddenly there it was, a mammoth wall of water barreling in toward us, a terrifying mass of destruction, stretching from the floor of the ocean upwards: it looked much higher than the island, black in the moonlight,” a lighthouse keeper said in her eyewitness testimony. Accessing this lighthouse includes a small walk across the sand and is dependent on the tide, so be sure to check when low tide is the day you visit. This lighthouse is active and aids in private navigation. Lighthouse keepers still reside in the housing below the light tower. Tours are available April-September. Three stamps for this lighthouse (and one for the St. George Reef Light, which is located 6 miles out at sea and can be seen from the shore on a sunny day) can be added to your book. These can be found on site at the keepers house of Battery Point, at the Del Norte County Historical Society or at the Crescent City Chamber of Commerce. The St. George Reef Lighthouse has an interesting history of shipwreck and lost treasure that I recommend looking into as well before a trip.
Trinidad Head and Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse
These lighthouses have a special place in my heart as they are in my own hometown of Trinidad, California! The Trinidad Head Lighthouse, with a small, square base and a short tower extending out like a turret, is located 196 feet above sea level, though a keeper once reported a rogue wave reaching the lighthouse in 1914. The Trinidad Head Lighthouse is only available for viewing and touring the first Saturday of each month 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. However, the memorial lighthouse and hikes around the head are open and free every day of the year. Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse was recently moved beneath the beautiful Trinidad Head to prevent it from falling into the ocean. This lighthouse is a small replica of the Trinidad Head lighthouse and holds the original lens and fog bell. A stamp for each of these lighthouses can be found at the free-to-access Trinidad Museum in town. The museum holds information on the lighthouse as well as the natural, Indigenous and colonial history of Trinidad. My favorite fact is that the restaurant in town called The Eatery is on a site that was once a whaling company. While visiting Trinidad, I encourage any reader to walk the beautiful beaches (my favorite is College Cove) and try out Beachcomber Cafe!
Next time you find yourself on the coast, do not skip out on the lighthouses. They are an underrated part of the Pacific Northwest’s history and are located in beautiful parts of the coastline. Often they come with stories of shipwrecks, hauntings and unique histories. Trips to these landmarks are cheap, educational and beautiful. They are a perfect place to see crashing waves and coastal flora and fauna. Lighthouses serve as landmarks to history and interesting places along the Pacific and can act as a great framework for a trip down the coast. Each light comes with its own stories and myths trapped within its walls waiting to be discovered. Who knows, maybe you could find your next employment opportunity as a lighthouse keeper after graduation!
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