Photo Compliments of Port Watch Vacation Rental~

Port Orford is located on the the Southern Oregon Coast approximately a 1/2 hour drive south of Bandon and 1 hour north of Brookings. Enjoy your stay while lodging in a Port Orford vacation rental, many homes offer river, lake or ocean front views. The location between these two cities provide great opportunities for day trip exploring while making Port Oford your vacation destination. This unique coastal community has an unhurried atmosphere along with spectacular seascapes and uncrowded beaches.

The Port Orford area offers plenty of outdoor activities for your vacation including… ocean surfing, windsurfing, fishing, boating, hiking, beachcombing, crabbing, clamming and more. Hikers can enjoy amazing views of the southern Oregon Coast from the top of Humbug Mountain, a three mile hiking trail through beautiful groves of Port Orford cedars.

Things to See in the Port Orford area:

The Port of Port Orford - is a unique open water Port, the only natural open water port for 600 miles and only one of six “dolly” ports in the world. Fishing boats can’t be moored in the harbor due to it being unprotected from the southerly winds, so the boast are hoisted in and out each day

Battle Rock Park – A great spot for beachcombing, whale watching, surfing and kayaking… benches and a brickwork wall provide a natural amphitheater for the Annual 4th of July Jubilee fireworks

Cape Blanco Lighthouse - Located in the Cape Blanco State Park 9 miles northwest of Port Orford, where you’ll find the lighthouse and the Historic Hughes House open for tours from April to October

Elk & Sixes Rivers – Known for great salmon and steelhead fishing

Humbug Mountain State Park – A popular spot for hikers, campers, cyclists, and whale watchers

~Thanks & have fun AT THE BEACH!

Cape Blanco Fresnel Lens~ Photo by Lance & Cromwell

Cape Blanco is the last stop on our Oregon Coast Lighthouse Tour… it’s  located on the beautiful Southern Oregon Coast in the Cape Blanco State Park, 9 miles northwest of Port Orford, Oregon. There you will find the lighthouse and the Historic Hughes House open for tours from April to October.  For your lodging needs, Port Orford has a wide selection of vacation homes featuring river, lake & ocean front views.

Sitting on top of a 200 foot tall white chalky colored cliff, Cape Blanco or White Cape got its name from the early Spanish explorers. Cape Blanco lighthouse has the distinctions of being the southernmost of Oregon’s lighthouses…  the furthest point west in the state… the oldest continuously operating light in Oregon…  sits on the highest focal plane above the sea at 256 feet and…  had Oregon’s first woman keeper!

The light was proposed in 1864, and the first-order fixed (non-rotating) Fresnel lens was lit for the first time on December 20, 1870. In 1936 the original lens was replaced with a smaller, second order rotating Fresnel lens. In 1992, vandals broke into the lantern room and smashed several sections of the lens, including one of the eight bull’s-eyes. Two years later… Cape Blanco’s Fresnel lens shone again!

Cape Blanco is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  All tours are guided by trained volunteers, making your visit informative and memorable. NOTE: gates close when the final tour times are booked, about 3:15

I hope you have enjoyed our blog tour of “Lighthouses of the Oregon Coast” as much as I have.

~ Thanks & have fun AT THE BEACH!