Pacific Coast light houses

[photo joe]

This summer my wife who likes light houses and I who enjoy photography are planning a trip along the Washington & Oregon coast. I would appreciate any info & sources of info on where to find light houses in this area.

[don_baccus4]

Let's see, from south to north:

 

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o Crescent City, California (10 miles south of the OR/CA border)

 

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Oregon:

 

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o Cape Blanco (north of Port Orford)

o Coquille River Light (north of Bandon)

o Cape Arago Light (south of North Bend)

o Umpqua River Light (southwest of Reedsport)

o Heceta Head Light (north of Florence, probably the most photographed)

o Yaquina Bay and Yaquine Head Lights (Newport)

o Tillamook Light (on Cape Meares, southwest of Tillamook)

 

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Washington:

 

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o North Head Light (north jetty, Columbia River)

o Cape Flattery Light (on Tatoosh Island, good luck!)

 

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Guess which state wins? :)

 

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I can't resist a little geology lesson, here. The Columbia River dumps a gazillion tons (give or take a few bazillion) of sand into the Pacific Ocean. The northern Oregon and southern Washington coasts consist of sandy beaches, particularly those of southern Washington which consists of a couple of sandy spits and shallow bays of little use to shipping. The bulk of the sand runs north because the Japanese current runs north just offshore.

 

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Further north lies the rugged Olympic Penninsula. There, too, there's a lack of navigatible waters. At the northern end of Washington lies the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which leads to Puget Sound and the largest port in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle).

 

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In contrast, the Oregon Coast is dotted with medium-sized harbors which host anything from fishing fleets to full-sized ships used as lumber carriers. Thus, more lights.

 

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I don't guarantee the above list of lights is correct, I skimmed the Oregon and Washington DeLorme Atlases.

 

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Do folks know about these Atlases? These are topo maps of entire states, with complete lists of National and State public lands (forests, parks, refuges) and a bunch of other stuff. Very valuable when poking around. The birding community in Oregon now lists rare birds on e-mail and phone hotlists by DeLorme reference - we just assume everyone has one.

 

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The series was begun a few years ago, and a couple of new state atlases have been published each year.

 

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There's a rival series which has just begun with an edition on New Mexico (as yet uncovered by DeLorme). I was just down there and bought it, the publisher's Benchmark Maps. This atlas isn't nearly as good as the DeLorme ones are, though. Haven't decided if this is

"unfortunately" (since DeLorme has no New Mexico atlas) or "fortunately" (as I'm not sure the market's large enough to support two publishers!)

 

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DeLorme has a webpage - can you figure out the URL? :)

 

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Don Baccus(http://donb.photo.net)

[bill_steinhurst]

Don wrotep:

 

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Yaquina Bay and Yaquine Head Lights (Newport) o Tillamook Light (on Cape Meares, southwest of Tillamook)

 

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This area is very striking and the lighthouses are striking. One of them is a National Park or something and there are guided tours of the inside. (Write if you want me to look up which one it is.) Being on the west coast, they are nicely silhouetted against the sunsest :-) One tip: be prepared for amazing wind coming off the water, especially if you are standing on one of the cliffs the lights tend to be located on! Any kind of long exposure will require serious tripod weighting.

[don_baccus4]

Yaquina Head is a BLM natural area, I suspect this is the area Bill described as a "National Park or something". Oregon only has one National Park (Crater Lake).

 

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I don't remember offhand which lighthouses are open to the public. They're usually staffed by volunteers and raise money for their preservation via the usual gift-shop stuff. Because of this, they tend to be open during the high visitation months. I think, but can't guarantee, that Yaquina Head is one which is open during the summer.

 

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Just off Yaquina Head is an islet which is home to a massive colony of nesting seabirds. Common murres, all three of the northern cormorants, and tufted puffin nest there. Along with a lot of western gulls to happily munch their chicks. Too far off for good photos, but worth looking at.

[paul_di_biase]

Don't forget the light houses on the Puget Sound in Washington State. While these are not on the coast they are very scenic. These lighthouses have lots of great names like Point No-Point.

[daniel_welch]

Bob mentioned the Cape Flattery lighthouse on Tatoosh Island. It *is* very difficult to get to a position to photograph it, but the area is a treasure trove if you persevere.

 

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The biggest problem is that the trails which actually go out to Cape Flattery are on an Indian reservation, which means they are very poorly maintained and hard to find. The trails lead you out onto a spit of land maybe 20 feet long and 10 feet wide, with a sharp dropoff on both sides to rocks and water -- a LONG way down.

 

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But you can see the lighthouse from there. At sunset it is spectacular. Be forewarned, however, "sunset" at Cape Flattery in the summer means 9-10pm. You might look at the position of the sun and think it is going down in 20 minutes, when actually it is more like an 1:20.

[photo joe]

I want to thank all of you who have replied to my original question. I'm new to the internet and didn't know how to really search for things. But ever since I posted the question I have been "surfing the net" and I sumble on the perfect website to answer my question. I felt compel to post the find here. The web site is call The Keepers of the Light and they are @

<a href="http://www.aracnet.com/~jkandik/">http://www.aracnet.com/~jkandik/</a>. If you are interest in lighthouses, this is a good place to start. They have the whole Pacific Coast covered and have links websites concerning lighthouses.

 

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Thanks again,

 

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Joe Bottomlee

new email joe.bottomlee@iname.com

[mel_coulter]

You have chosen some excellent portrait subjects. Many of the lighthouses along the Oregon coast have immediate access by road. I am familiar with several. The one at Cpe Blanco between Port Orford is striking, but difficult to photograph without a tilt and shift lens because it's hard to find a good vantage point from a distance. The lighthouse at Charleston out of Coos Bay is unique, because it lies along ajetty. I believe it is closed, but you can drive right to it and get some interesting photos.

 

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You cannot get to Haceta Head Lighthouse north of Florence easily (perhaps not at all), but there are several vistas which are good for shooting it. It is a working lighthouse and often is lighted. There's a good turnout to the south that allows you good shooting. Forewarned, everyone stops there and you have to watch carefully when pulling back on to Highway 101.

 

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Perhaps the most photographed Oregon lighthouse is the Yawuina near Newport. Indeed, it is operated by the BLM as a nature area. You can drive to it through an abandoned gravel quarry. There are good views of it as you drive in, but don't wander off the road into the fragile vegetation to take a photograph. It will destroy the environment and bring upon you the wrath of caretakers and naturists alike.

 

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Perhaps the one you were referring to is the Cape Mears lighthouse near Tillamook. It no longer is in service, but volunteers staff it and a small museum located at its base. The locale is beautiful, definitely worth the drive. There are some interesting twisted tree formations lining the paved walkway.

 

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If you have found a web site, you already have good insight to what the Oregon Coast has to offer. Washington is a little tougher. Highway 101 strays inland and there aren't a lot of easy access points, nothing like the freeway that parallels Oregon's coast. The suggestion about looking into the lighthouses along the Puget Sound is worth considering. I believe there are more located on the sound than you will find on the entire Oregon coast. My heart still is along the salty shores of Oregon. I hope you enjoy the pilgramage and have a lot of fun and rewarding stops along the way.

 

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Mel

[mel_coulter]

It's late and I'm not typing or thinking well. Cape Blanco is between Port Orford and Bandon. And that's Yaquina not some other obscure name I attatched to it. sorry:(

mel

[nes_suno]

<P><I>Sunset</I> magazine gives The Best Lighthouse award to Battery Point Lighthouse, Crescent City, California, in the July 1997 article on the 40 Best Beaches on the West Coast.

 

<P>This lighthouse is apparently still operational. It is inaccessible at high tide. Tours: 10 A.M. - 4 P.M. Wed-Sun, April-September. Phone: (707) 464-3089.

[greg_vinyard]

Check out Lighthouse Collectables.com