Pacific Coast Lighthouse

"Man must behave like a lighthouse; he must shine day and night for the goodness of everyman." ―Mehmet Murat ildan

One of the things we like looking for when we are cruising are lighthouses. We don’t go out of our way to find them but we do enjoy them when we are close. Some lighthouses are easier to see from land and some can only be seen from the water. The west coast has a lot of interesting lighthouses; unfortunately we missed a few we were close to because of fog, restricted access or time. We covered 3000 miles on our Pacific coast adventure, that’s about the same or even more than some of our entire cruising seasons. It’s amazing how much of the countryside you can cover in one day when you travel by car compared to a slow boat, but when we travel on the boat we absorb so much more…we have more time to soak it all in. This was a fun adventure, but I think I prefer traveling on our boat. That way no matter where we are…we’re home.

We've seen 200 lighthouses while we've cruised the coast of the United States, Canada and the Bahamas. You can see those pictures at this link.

The Yaquina Head Light, also known early in its existence as the Cape Foulweather Lighthouse was built in 1871 and opened in 1873. It’s located near Newport, OR. The tower stands 93 feet tall and is the tallest lighthouse in Oregon. It was built in Paris and shipped to Oregon.

The Yaquina Bay Light was built in 1871 soon after the founding of the city of Newport, Oregon. It’s located on the north side of Yaquina Bay. Newport was the most populated port between Puget Sound and San Francisco at the time.  The light was active for only three years due to the establishment of the Yaquina Head Light in 1873 which is located 3 miles north of Yaquina Bay. 

Cleft of the Rock Light is a privately owned lighthouse located 1.8 miles south of Yachats on Cape Perpetua, it marks the spot for vessels sailing the coast between Coos Bay and Yaquina Bay. It was built in 1976 by former lighthouse keeper and noted maritime historian Jim Gibbs, Cleft of the Rock Lighthouse takes its name from the hymn by Fanny J. Crosby, “He Hideth My Soul in the Cleft of the Rock,” which is based on Exodus 33:22.

Heceta Head Lighthouse is a working lighthouse built in 1894. It sits 205 feet above the ocean and the light can be seen from 21 miles out to sea. It's the brightest light on the Oregon coast and said to be the most photographed lighthouse in the United States. It’s located 13 miles south of Yachats, OR and 13 miles north of Florence, OR. 

The Umpqua River Light was built in 1892 and first lit in 1894. It is located at the mouth of the Umpqua River on Winchester Bay, OR. 

Coquille River Light was built in 1895 located near Bandon, OR.  It's located in Bullards Beach State Park at the end of the beach access road. 

Cape Blanco Light was built in 1870 and located on Cape Blanco, near Port Orford, OR. It stands on Oregon’s farthest west point of land and is the oldest lighthouse continually operating in Oregon. 

After modern counterparts replaced the original fog bell and Fresnel lens at Trinidad Head Lighthouse in 1947, the Coast Guard donated the historic artifacts to the Trinidad Civic Club for display in a planned memorial park overlooking Trinidad Bay, CA. In 1949 the club built a concrete Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse which is an accurate replica of the original Trinidad Head Lighthouse.

Table Bluff Lighthouse was built in 1892 and is located on Table Bluff just south of Humboldt Bay close to Eureka, CA 

Fisherman's Memorial in Eureka, CA