Seek out lighthouses for a coastal adventure this summer that shines

written by Cathy Carroll
photography by Christian Heeb/Travel Oregon

Why venture out to Oregon’s lighthouses? Ben Ervin, a state park ranger in Florence, summed it up thusly: “They’re cool!”

That is, they offer a tempting trifecta. First, these beacons of bygone days, when sea captains squinted toward shore for guidance, reel us in by piquing our imaginations. Secondly, they offer stellar views and prime perches for spotting seabirds and seals in summer and fall and, in spring and winter, migrating gray whales. Finally, they cast light on century-old stories, offering an enlightening blend of nature and culture.

FLORENCE

1. Heceta Head Lighthouse

Walk a half-mile up the paved path to the Queen Anne-style lighthouse, 206 feet above sea level, for stellar views. Watch cormorants, common murres and puffins nesting on rocks offshore in Oregon’s largest protected area of ocean, the Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve. State park volunteers answer questions, offer wildlife viewing through their spotting scopes and talk about the lighthouse, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily depending on weather and staffing, through mid-August, Ervin said.

Step inside the 56-foot lighthouse tower, where the original spiral staircase from 1894 winds up toward the English-made Fresnel lens beaming the most powerful light on the Oregon Coast. Catch sunset from this ideal spot, and as night falls, be mesmerized by the distinctive light signature, alternating red and white beams. Sleep at the adjacent Heceta Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast, once the lightkeeper’s home. Here, you may encounter the ghost of Rue, a lighthouse keeper’s wife, evidenced through the sudden scent of rose perfume or her body’s imprint on the bed as if she’d just been there a moment before.

NEWPORT

2. Yaquina Head Lighthouse

On a narrow spit of basalt spanning nearly a mile into the Pacific, this lighthouse is the state’s tallest at 93 feet. Built in 1872, its light once came from an oil lamp, but has since been replaced with electric LED bulbs. They flash a hypnotic, meditative pattern: two seconds on, two seconds off, two seconds on, fourteen seconds off, according to the nonprofit Friends of Yaquina Lighthouses.

Look for nesting colonies of pigeon guillemots and black oystercatchers as well as bald eagles and a pair of peregrine falcons. Head to the Cobble Beach tide pools at low tide to see orange sea stars, purple sea urchins and giant green anemones. At high tide, waves tumble thousands of rounded basalt rocks that sound as if they are applauding you for making the trip.

WINCHESTER BAY

3 Umpqua River Lighthouse

Built in 1894 using the same plans as the Heceta Head Lighthouse in Florence, this 65-foot-tall lighthouse also circulates alternating red and white beams out onto the horizon. Umpqua Valley Museums offers tours of the lighthouse, which has a 2-ton Fresnel lens of 616 glass prisms handcrafted in France.

PORT ORFORD

4 Cape Blanco Lighthouse

This lighthouse has the state’s longest continually operating light, is the westernmost lighthouse and sits at the highest point, about 250 feet above the sea. Its interpretive center adjoins a gift shop in part of the U.S. Coast Guard’s former 1945 headquarters. Docents offer tours of the lighthouse exterior while repair needs are being assessed.

BANDON

5 Coquille River Lighthouse

Built in 1896, this lighthouse guided mariners across treacherous sandbars as they navigated into the Coquille River. The signal room is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. through September with volunteers who talk about its history. It’s in Bullards Beach State Park, where you can mountain bike the hard-packed sand along the edge of the surf for nearly 5 miles of beach.

TILLAMOOK

6 Cape Meares Lighthouse

The state’s shortest lighthouse at 38 feet tall is 217 feet above sea level at Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint. Built in 1890, it has its original Fresnel lens and is open daily from April through October. Watch sea lions and seabirds and stroll to the nearby Octopus Tree, a Sitka spruce with tentacle-like trunks.

MORE OREGON LIGHTHOUSES

7 Tillamook Rock Lighthouse | Seaside

It’s known as “Terrible Tilly” because of the challenges of building it on a rock about a mile off the coast. It can be seen from Ecola State Park, just south of Seaside.

8 Pelican Bay Lighthouse | Brookings

First lit in 1999 and commissioned by the U.S. Coast Guard as a private aid to navigation, it’s now a three-bedroom vacation rental home.

9 Yaquina Bay Lighthouse | Newport

Oregon’s last wooden lighthouse is closed while being remodeled.

10 Cape Arago Lighthouse | Coos Bay

This lighthouse is not accessible to the public, but can be seen from points along the Cape Arago Highway.

11 Cleft of the Rock Lighthouse | Yachats

Privately owned and not open to the public, it can be seen from Highway 101.