Oregon Coast Cape Meares Lighthouse

Going south from Tillamook Head lighthouse you will find my favorite lighthouse near Cape Meares Oregon. The Oregon State parks system runs the Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint that is located 10 miles west of Tillamook Oregon. The beach is nearby in the Oceanside/Netarts area where you can find some great ocean view vacation rentals to stay in while enjoying your tour.

The Cape Meares Lighthouse stands 217 feet above the ocean but the tower itself is only 38 feet tall. You can walk up the spiral staircase inside, it offers one of the easiest and closest views of a first-order Fresnel lens that you will find anywhere. After standing next to the glass panes that make the structure of the lens, you will realize the power of a lighthouse!

This park offers some of the most spectacular views to be seen anywhere along the Oregon Coast so plan on spending some extra time walking and observing the viewpoints overlooking the offshore islets where you will find nesting sea birds and stellar sea lions. Don’t forget to hike up the secondary trail to view the enormous arms of a unique tree called the “Octopus Tree” and  just beyond it…  yet another awesome coastline view!

Don’t forget to stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory Visitor’s Center… take the self-guided tour, sample some cheese, enjoy ice cream on a fresh waffle cone watch the “cheese makers” in action upstairs. 

Next up… let’s head south to visit “Yaquina Head” lighthouse just north of Newport Oregon.

~Thanks & have fun AT THE BEACH!

Oregon State has nine lighthouses along the coast that guarantee your next trip to the beach will be a memorable one… Let’s start in the north and work our way south exploring the Lighthouses of the Oregon Coast. There is plenty of lodging to choose from nearby in Seaside and Cannon Beach  if you want to stay in the area before your next stop.

The Tillamook Rock Lighthouse or “Terrible Tilly” as it came to be known sits 1 mile west of “Tillamook Head” between Cannon Beach and Seaside Oregon. It was commissioned in 1881 to help guide ships entering the mighty Columbia River and operated until 1957 when it was replaced by a whistle buoy. Sitting on a basalt rock islet, the 62-foot tower displayed a first-order Fresnel lens that sat at 133 feet above sea level. Tillamook Rock Lighthouse is included on the National Register of Historic Places and is the only privately owned lighthouse along the Oregon Coast.

After it was decommissioned, it was sold several times to private investors, and was eventually used as a columbarium, a storage place for the ashes of the deceased. There is no public access but you can view this majestic lighthouse using a trail that runs from Ecola State park near Cannon Beach on the south to Seaside Oregon from the north that takes you around Tillamook Head. Remember, for access to Ecola State park, there is an Oregon State park day use fee or use your annual parking permit or Oregon Pacific Coast Passport.

Next up is my favorite lighthouse, Cape Meares near Tillamook Oregon…

~Thanks & have fun AT THE BEACH!