Fall in love with the Oregon Coast

Photo by Debbie Stone

Lighthouses are the sentinels of a coastline, visible from miles away. They serve as points of reference for seafaring folks. And for those of us on land, they are wonderful photograph-worthy subjects and romanticized symbols.

You’d be hard pressed to find travelers to the Oregon Coast who haven’t seen at least one of the dozen or so lighthouses that dot the area. They’re a thing of beauty along this special windswept and rugged stretch of land.

Photo by Debbie Stone

Some are very accessible; others are not, whether due to their location or the fact they are on private land. In these “new normal” times, none are actually open to visitors. You can, however, still get close up to a few and learn about their colorful histories, while marveling at their designs and the dramatic views they offer.

One of my favorites is Cape Meares Lighthouse, situated outside the town of Oceanside. Depending on your perspective, it’s either the shortest lighthouse on the coast or the tallest. Though it’s only 38 feet tall, it sits on a cliff towering over 200 feet high. It was named for Captain John Meares, a British explorer, who was the first to sail into Tillamook Bay. The lighthouse’s lens was built in Paris and shipped to Oregon in the late 1800s, then hoisted up the cliff using a large wooden crane.

Photo by Debbie Stone

The panorama from Cape Meares is stunning and, in my opinion, it is one of the most impressive coastal scenes in Oregon. After you’ve drank in the views, take the nearby trail to the famed Octopus Tree, a national heritage landmark. This botanical oddity is a massive Sitka spruce shaped like an upside-down octopus with branch-like tentacles. Believed to be two-to-three hundred years old, it was possibly shaped by natural forces or by Native Americans. The truth remains a mystery.

Photo by Debbie Stone

Heceta Head Lighthouse, near Florence, is another gem and boasts the strongest light on the Oregon Coast. Perched atop a jaw-dropping bluff jutting out into the sea, this notable watchman has been directing ships away from danger since 1894. The lighthouse makes a striking, picture postcard from afar, but with just a little effort, you can walk right up to it and see it in all its glory.

Those who want the complete experience can stay in a lightkeeper’s cottage, at the onsite Heceta Head Lighthouse B&B. Just beware, the inn has a reputation as one of the most haunted places on the West Coast. Its resident, harmless ghost is named “Rue,” and story has it that she might have been a lighthouse keeper’s wife. One of her daughters supposedly drowned and years later, after Rue herself passed away, her spirit returned to look for her daughter. Guests and employees of the inn have reported strange noises coming from the attic, furniture being moved at night and apparitions of a gray-haired woman wearing a Victorian-era dress.

Photo by Debbie Stone